|
Newsletter 16th January 2009 |
|
Contact
details | ||
Last reminder for our first
show of the year – Tuesday 20
January
SPECIAL
SINGER SONGWRITER SHOWCASE |
|
Watch high
quality (full length) videostream of Anais Mitchell live in Amsterdam on
her recent tour with Ani DiFranco | ||
|
| ||||
|
Tuesday ANAIS
MITCHELL + Andy Whittle + Sadie Jemmett + Tickets are also
available at Hobgoblin in Crawley and Bullfrog in Click
here for News Release (PDF file) |
Four
exciting singer-songwriters - including the just-announced 2009 BBC Young
Folk Awards winners, Megan & Joe
Henwood - and one of the most exciting
US artists around, Anais
Mitchell, on the first night of her
short, five-date tour of the UK. Joined by Andy
Whittle and Sadie
Jemmett, all come together for a
special showcase event dedicated to the craft of song-writing.
Listening to Anais
Mitchell perform her meticulously written songs,
fervently singing them in a distinctive, almost childlike voice, you'd
think it was her life mission to rouse the hearts and minds of her
listeners with an acoustic guitar. But Mitchell wasn't always committed to
the idea. "I used to tell people I
wanted to be a journalist. There is a lonely egotism and self-composure to
journalists. Not unlike artists, they're always travelling, always
writing, loving their loneliness, feeling somehow that they have their
finger on the pulse - worshipping the truth and trying to render it
legible." Despite
her journalistic leanings, Mitchell started writing songs at age 17 and
eventually started performing them live, punctuated by a remarkable amount
of travelling. In a short period of time, Anaïs made several trips to the
Middle East, and also spent time in Europe and Her
2004 album, Hymns For The Exiled, reached the ears of Grammy award-winning
Ani DiFranco, who signed the artist to her label, Righteous Babe Records.
For her 2007 album, The Brightness, Anaïs lived above the studio, which
was built into an old Anais
has recently written and produced a unique and compelling ‘folk-opera’
called Hadestown, based on the myth of Hades and Eurydice. A touring
production to date; a CD version is expected soon and Anais’ set tonight
can be expected to include material from this exciting and unique
project. "A
songwriter of startling clarity and depth, equally skilled at turning a
melody or lyrical phrase into what you didn’t know you needed until you
heard it.” Acoustic
Guitar magazine "She's
been getting fantastic reviews in "Not
since Bob Dylan's early years has a 23 year old songwriter had such power
and meaning. Political and poetic, personal and universal, Anaïs
Mitchell's work is my latest obsession"
Jonathan Byrd Andy
Whittle is a Midlands-based songsmith
whose poetic lyrics with memorable melodies are inspired by great
songwriters, but his style is quite unique, revealing a sensitivity beyond
his years. Andy has played once before in the Acoustic Sussex programme
(supporting the Ric Sanders Group). Ex-Sussex-resident (now living
in Completing the line-up are the
recent 2009
BBC Young Folk Awards winners, a brother and sister
duo from Oxfordshire, Megan & Joe
Henwood. 20 year old Megan first stood on a stage to
perform her own composition at the age of 9 and draws inspiration through
her Mother's love of folk music and evenings spent at Nettlebed Folk Club.
Megan is accompanied on saxophone by her 15 year brother Joe, who is still
in his final GCSE year. According to awards judge Jim
Moray (winner of Mojo’s 2008 Folk Album of the Year), Megan & Joe
Henwood stood out from the incredibly strong competition at the Young Folk
Awards because of Megan's song-writing; something Moray described as
'world class'. A wonderful
evening awaits! |
|
Now playing on
our MySpace jukebox: Anais
Mitchell, Andy
Whittle, Sadie
Jemmett, Megan & Joe
Henwood (live from the Folk Awards) - click
here | |
|
Don’t
forget that as well as our own shows, the Acoustic Sussex website has a
Regional Gig
Guide and links to
venues and clubs in the South East that offer folk, roots and acoustic
music – and our MySpace site
contains over 500 links to a variety of other MySpace ‘friends’ sites,
including musicians, venues, magazines and lots
more. |
|
|||
|
For
your
future diaries... |
Future
2009 dates in the Acoustic Sussex programme
include: Ø
9 February – ‘Celebration of the Guitar’
showcase’ – Gordon
Giltrap, Alan Prosser
(Oysterband), Jon Gomm and
Duncan
McKenzie Ø
23 February – Martin Harley
Band + Jemima
Price Ø
23 March – Mark
Erelli + Emily
Baker Ø
1 April – Eliza
Carthy + Robert
Brown Ø
13 April – Bridget St
John + Michael
Chapman Ø
4 May – Karine
Polwart + Dan Reed Ø
21 May – Cara
Dillon + Horses
Brawl Ø
8 June – Dick
Gaughan + Mary
Hampton Ø
19 June – Show of
Hands with Miranda Sykes – CLOSE TO
SELL-OUT – tickets - Box Office 01342
302000 Ø
26-28 June – Crawley Folk
Festival (NEW) Ø
20 July – Iain
Matthews (NEW) More
information on all up-and-coming artists can be found on our website:
www.acousticsussex.org.uk. You
can also find us on MySpace (with samples from some of the artists
appearing) at: www.myspace.com/acoustic_sussex. If
you know anyone who you think may enjoy our events, please forward this
email to them. |
|
UNSUBSCRIBE | |