		Newsletter 17^th March 2009		Contact details Tel. 01342 716975 or email: info_at_acousticsussex_dot_org_dot_uk
Win tickets in fund-raiser for the Teenage Cancer Trust! At next week's MARK ERELLI show on Monday 23 March (see below), we are holding a charity raffle, with all proceeds from the evening going to the Teenage Cancer Trust. (At a similar show last year, we raised £500 for Dave Swarbrick’s chosen charity, Ethiopiaid.) Raffle tickets can only be bought on the night, so I hope you can support us by coming along to the show. With prizes like these, who wouldn’t? 2 tickets for what is being dubbed the 'Folk Gig of the Year' at London's Albert Hall on Wednesday 25th March as part of the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts, featuring FAIRPORT CONVENTION, SETH LAKEMAN, KATE RUSBY, ELIZA CARTHY & REG MEUROSS 2 tickets for FAIRPORT CONVENTION at the Pavilion Hailsham on 3 May 2 tickets for SETH LAKEMAN on 27 March in Horsham as part of his 'small venues' mini-tour 2 tickets for KATE RUSBY at The Hawth, Crawley on Friday 8th May 2 tickets for ELIZA CARTHY at Chequer Mead, East Grinstead on 1 April
	*PLUS* 2 tickets for the reunion concert of 70s progressive folk-rock band GRYPHON at the QE Hall at London's Southbank on 6th June (featuring Acoustic Sussex’ very own soundman, Dave Oberlé – click here for PDF News Release)
…and other prizes to be announced! *You’ve got to be ‘in it to win it’, so if you haven’t already got tickets for Mark Erelli, book now!*
More about the Teenage Cancer Trust TCT’s top priority is building units in NHS hospitals specifically for teenagers with cancer. As well as superior medical facilities, these units are equipped with day rooms, kitchens and chill-out rooms where teenagers can relax and feel at home or have friends and family to visit in a comfortable environment. There are computers with internet access, pool tables, playstations, satellite TV, musical instruments, and other things teenagers might like to occupy their time with, or share with friends. Most importantly, the units provide an environment where teenagers can meet others in a similar situation and allow patients to build friendships and mechanisms to cope with their disease. The hospital staff on these units are devoted to treating teenagers with cancer, and TCT funds activities coordinators in some units to help patients cope with their disease and pass the time in hospital. These units cost upwards of 2 million each to build, and TCT has built 8 around the UK so far. We estimate that to reach our goal of giving every teenager with cancer in the UK access to treatment in a specialist unit, we will need to build at least 15 more.				Teenage Cancer Trust’s concerts have fast become one of the most eagerly anticipated events in the annual British music calendar. Now into their ninth year, the concerts were the brainchild of the TCT Patron and The Who frontman, Roger Daltrey CBE
Monday 23 March, 8pm MARK ERELLI at The Ravenswood Sharpthorne www.theravenswood.co.uk Support: Cate Ferris £10 advance Tel. 01342 714810 or buy online via Acoustic Sussex website Tickets are also available at Hobgoblin in Crawley and Bullfrog in East Grinstead BACK TO TOP Click here for News Release and full biography (PDF file)			“A masterclass in simple, effective writing” Netrhythms “Striding defiantly outside an industry laden with contrived and formulaic music” Madmission Over the past 9 years, New-Englander Mark Erelli has been steadily gaining the reputation of one of the most talented writers and gifted musicians on the American folk scene, settling into a timeless, classic folk singer-songwriter groove where gritty, honest songs reflect the world around us. His lyrical and musical intelligence marks him out as one of the finest storytellers in contemporary folk and he deservedly won the International Songwriting Contest in 2006. Mark released his self-titled debut at 24, exhibiting an uncommon musical maturity. Now 34, with an assured and varied back-catalogue, multiple awards and growing notoriety as an accompanist, he has one of the most impressive and varied reputations in modern roots music. Beyond his solo career, Mark has also fashioned himself into one of the most in-demand instrumental sidemen, touring with Lori McKenna and gaining strong attention as a writer, performing in Nashville song circles and backstage pickin’ parties with the likes of Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood, Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt and others. Mark Erelli’s songwriting talent is the reason he’s been chosen to join 7 other top international songwriters in the Darwin Song Project, taking place this week in Shrewsbury (Darwin’s birthplace). The project is one of a number of events taking place in 2009 to mark the bi-centennial of the birth of Charles Darwin. (With a Masters Degree in Evolutionary Biology, he’s uniquely qualified to take part.) The 8 musicians aim to write songs that have a resonance and relevance to the life of Darwin. The artists are Mark Erelli, Karine Polwart, Rachael McShane, Jez Lowe, Chris Wood, Stu Hanna, Krista Detor and Emily Smith. The songs will be performed in a special concert in Shrewsbury this Thursday (19^th) to be recorded for CD release. BBC 4 has commissioned a documentary on the project that is planned for broadcast on 27 March. Mark is doing just two UK shows during this UK visit to coincide with the Shrewsbury project, so don’t miss this Sussex date! “(Delivered is) darkly magnificent...Mark Erelli (has) something to say and a unique, poetic, compelling way of saying it.” Vintage Guitar “When it comes to providing thoughtful, compelling folk-rock and Americana, Erelli is a masterful expert” AllMusic.com “Erelli addresses tough issues (war, development, love, post-9/11) with the grit of John Hiatt and the melancholy beauty of Ron Sexsmith.” Washington Post	For the next few days only, click here to listen to 6 full tracks on the ‘new-look’ Acoustic Sussex MySpace jukebox Click here for the Darwin Song Project website Click here for updates on the project, courtesy of Spiral Earth Cate Ferris
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.				Regional Gig Guide
*For* *your future diaries...* BACK TO TOP			Future 2009 dates in the Acoustic Sussex programme include: 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 – SOLD OUT Ø 26-28 June – Crawley Folk Festival Ø 6 July – Christine Collister Ø 20 July – Iain Matthews + Mary Leay Ø 7 September – Sam Baker (band) + The Haley Sisters 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* If you do not wish to be on this mailing list, please reply to this email, ensuring you include your name in the email and the word 'unsubscribe' in the heading. (Please note the list has recently been re-built so please accept our apologies if you have received this newsletter in error.) Thank you.