From: Folk in the Barn [debs_at_folkinthebarn_dot_co_dot_uk]
Sent: 01 November 2017 12:08
Subject: Much More Than The 'Welsh
Springsteen'
Hey
Guys
A
warm welcome if you've recently signed up. We had a lot of new 'joiners'
at the Breabach gig which is always heartwarming. What a beautiful
concert and thanks so much for coming along. We were 60 down on last time
strangely but I guess there is a lot else going on at the moment, so we're
grateful to have your support. Here's a snap showing their beautiful
gobo.
Coming
next we have the one and only Martyn Joseph, this Sunday at the Cathedral
Lodge.
Now
it occurred to me maybe I take for granted how unique and brilliant this man
is. There may be many of you reading this that haven't yet come across
the fire, compassion and poetry of this hard working singer songwriter from
Penarth. We found him by accident, back in 2002 he toured with
Steve Knightley of Show of Hands, and Tom Robinson as a trio titled aptly
Faith, Folk and Anarchy, you can work out who was who. We went along because
we were fans of Steve and curious to see the others. When we started
promoting gigs back in 2003 and by 2005 realised that we were probably
going to continue doing this, top of my list was to book Martyn and we did and
have been ever since. He is one of a very select few that gets to return
each year. One friend put it like this. "If I were told
the world would end tomorrow, and had the chance to see one last gig, it
would be a Martyn Joseph gig".
Rather
than go on about him myself (too much), I'll post below a gig review that I
found online from a show he did in January. Among a sea of
amazingly talented wannabees in the business of entertainment, he is the real
deal. Honest, harder working than any musician out there, driven to put
his music to people to tell it as it is, to cut through the froth, to highlight
the beauty, the hope and the kindness. He put his money where his
mouth is and started a charity to support varied projects all over the world to
help people in small ways and make a difference. It's already achieved
amazing things. Above all his music is the best. Moving, powerful,
transporting, meaningful and beautiful, and what a voice! Yep I'm a huge
fan.
Martyn Joseph
Sunday
5th November 2017, Canterbury Cathedral Lodge
Doors
6.45pm for 7.30pm start
Tickets
?16 online
?17 offline (cash or cheque in advance)
?18 on the door
?8 Students
Martyn
Joseph at The Lantern, Colston Hall - Live Music Review, January 2017
Demonstrating
his unique, incomparable ability to combine songs of personal intimacy and
political intensity, folk music legend Martyn Joseph played an enthralling set
at The Lantern venue in Bristol's Colston Hall on Wednesday 18 January 2017.
On
stage donning jeans, checked shirt and with his trusty acoustic guitar strapped
across his shoulder, he performed against a minimalist, simply-lit stage
background and proved to the packed-out crowd precisely why he's one of the
most talented, uncompromising and brilliant artists working in the genre today.
Born
in Penarth, Joseph's career has spanned more than 30 years with over 30 albums
to his credit with musical stylings that also skillfully straddle soul and
Americana. He won Best Male Artist at 2004's BBC Welsh Music Awards and in 2012
took home the gong for Best Folk Song and World Independent Music Awards for
There's Always Maybe, while over the years he's toured with the likes of Art
Garfunkel and Jools Holland.
Often
cited as the Welsh Springsteen there were certainly strong echoes of that
particular American legend, but throughout the two-and-a-half hour set there
were also hints and shades of Ralph McTell, Leonard Cohen and John Mayer.
Make
no mistake though, Joseph has a style, personality and character all his own -
not just in terms of his music which primarily encompasses themes of social
justice, the opportunities for real global change and the immutable forces of
love and hope, but also in terms of his easy-going, affable charm and endearing
charisma.
Passion
is the pure motivation and the ultimate driving force for Joseph in his life
and his work and this constantly shines through; a man who is as comfortable
riffing off the crowd - the majority of which were clearly made up of a
hardcore, loyal fanbase - with interesting tales and anecdotes of his life,
travels, encounters and his amazing charity work which has raised thousands of
pounds for a raft of well-deserving humanitarian causes in the UK and abroad.
Many
of the evening's songs were comprised of tracks from this latest album,
Sanctuary, and the gig kick-started his UK tour promoting it. From his opening
salvo to I Searched For You, The Light of Guatemala, Cardiff Bay and Her Name
Is Rose, a doffing of the cap to his Welsh political hero Nye Bevan, and to the
protracted, crowd-pleasing encore of On My Way, it was a set that
circumnavigated the entire gamut of emotions.
Personal
and political fire blended with intense passion and feeling, themes of love,
loss, friendship, humanity and compassion vying for attention with sometimes
contentious, provocative political tropes across a catalogue of
past-and-present tracks that traversed folksy lyricism with raw, gutsy energy.
A
consummate craftsman and artist, a stunningly masterful acoustic guitar
virtuoso with a vocal range that accordingly alternated between rough, gravelly
textures and a softer, melodic lightness of touch, Joseph is a musician
unquestionably now at the top of his game.
Using
the power of folk music as a definite force for good in the world (his
life-changing fundraising initiatives have shown - unlike many artists full of
self-congratulatory, sententious hot air - his track record and dedication to
helping mankind and enriching the lives of others is hard to beat), this is a
courageous, warm-hearted man capable of articulating life's joys, agonies,
marvels, verisimilitude and the whole damned meaning of it all.
"I
was wondering if I still had it," Joseph ruminated at one point. He needn't
have worried. To the man and his music, the gig was an undisputed triumph from
start to finish.
5/5
Jamie
Caddick
(Thanks to Martin Smith for the photo taken in concert at
the Cathedral Lodge last year)
Hope
you'll give him a try if you haven't before.
cheers
Debs
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