Martello presents the first Acoustic Music Day at the Canopy Theatre in Beccles on Saturday 28th April.
Our headliners are contemporary folk/acoustic duo GILMORE & ROBERTS who combine award-winning songwriting with astounding musicianship and their trademark harmonies to create a powerful sound. Nominated twice at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Katriona Gilmore (fiddle, mandolin) and Jamie Roberts (guitar) met while studying at Leeds College of Music and released their debut album in 2008.
Since then, the duo have toured Canada and mainland Europe, played some of the UK’s biggest acoustic festivals, toured with folk rock legends Fairport Convention and won countless accolades for their genre-spanning work.
2015 saw the release of their fourth album, Conflict Tourism, which appeared on several end-of-year Best Album lists and received national airplay on both BBC Radio 2 & BBC 6music.
In 2016, the duo marked a decade of performing together with the release of their first live album, limited to one thousand hand-numbered copies and recorded on the duo’s 2016 spring tour. A new studio album is due soon.
You can see them perform at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYmxwKbtPWQ . They will be onstage at 21.20 for 60 minutes.
Other featured artists include DOGHOUSE ROSES. a highly acclaimed folk / Americana duo from Glasgow formed by guitarist Paul Tasker and singer Iona Macdonald in 2006.
The tenth anniversary of the band was marked with the release of their third studio album, ‘Lost Is Not Losing’ in November 2016 which has subsequently gained superb reviews across the music press. On the week of its release it was album of the week on BBC Radio Scotland, and the Daily Express declared that it ‘delivers an extraordinary punch’.
Previous years saw the duo establish their reputation through the UK and Central Europe, touring on their own and as members of U.S. based alt-country collective The Willard Grant Conspiracy. Maverick magazine described Paul Tasker as “One of THE guitarists of his generation” and Rolling Stone magazine said that “In Iona Macdonald’s singing resides a loveliness that cannot be taught.”
You can see them perform 4 songs here: http://doghouseroses.net/video/ . They will be on stage at 20.15 for 45 minutes and will be joined for part of their set by Joseph Parsons.
JOSEPH PARSONS who comes from Philadelphia and is a prolific songwriter, recording artist and performer with over 20 commercial label releases. He brings a heart and soul to his songs through energy and emotional honesty, ranging from stories of people caught in hard times to uplifting songs of love and life.
His CDs are always a journey for the listener and his most recent, ‘The Field The Forest’ , is no exception. His stage shows are dynamic, spirited and deeply moving experiences. built through a rigorous touring schedule throughout Europe and his native USA, including last year’s successful tours of the UK and Germany with Doghouse Roses.
You can see him performing 3 songs here: http://josephparsons.co./video . He will be on stage at 19.10 for 45 minutes and will be joined for some numbers by Doghouse Roses.
The popular husband and wife duo PENNY AND STUART MACK have been playing together since 1993 and, until they moved to Northampton a few years ago, appeared regularly all over East Anglia and at many festivals across the country as well as undertaking tours on mainland Europe. They are known for their powerful vocals and strong lyrics and accompany themselves on guitars, whistles and percussion. Their acclaimed album“Toby” has been a consistently strong seller since its release.
They also contributed 4 tracks of their own and played on many other tracks on the Various Artists album “In Bloom” which celebrated 15 years of their record label, Green Fingers. This was featured heavily on BBC Radio Suffolk, including a special hour long programme dedicated to their music. They recently performed at a very successful “Songwriters’ Circle” at Hungate church, showcasing their wide-ranging original material.
They will be on stage at 15.40 for 45 minutes. There will be a break for people to get some refreshments before the evening session begins at 19.00.
Norwich based folk / Americana trio Christina Alden (vocals/guitar/mandolin), Alex Patterson (fiddle/vocals) and Noel Dashwood (dobro/vocals) began gigging in early 2016 as ALDEN, PATTERSON AND DASHWOOD. They weave rich vocal harmonies around beautifully written original songs about young travellers, sleepy seas and affection for home, mixed with uplifting tunes, taking influences from the folk tradition on both sides of the Atlantic.
Their independently-released debut album ‘Call Me Home’ (presented in attractive hand-made covers designed and printed at home by the band) was chosen by the editor of fROOTS magazine as his “Album of the Year” in 2016 and also received a **** review in both Songlines and R n R magazines.
They will soon be releasing their second album and you can see them perform a number of songs at https://aldenpattersonanddashwood.com/under the “sounds” heading.
They will be on stage at 14.45 for 60 minutes.
The second act in this opening session are British folk and roots inspired duo, HONEY & THE BEARwho combine delicately interweaving vocal harmonies with powerful guitar riffs, foot stomping rhythms and catchy melodies. The multi – instrumentalist pair, comprised of songwriters Jon Hart (guitar, bass, mandolin) and Lucy Sampson (guitar, ukulele, bass, banjo & percussion), have been writing together since early 2014, having met at a songwriting event two years previously.
Since then, they have played many venues across East Anglia as well as travelling to Germany for their first European tour. Together they have played an array of fantastic UK festivals including Ely Folk, FolkEast and Maverick. 2016 saw the release of their debut EP ‘About Time’, which received airplay on BBC Radio Suffolk, as well as Cambridge Radio & Norfolk Radio. They are now putting the finishing touches to their first full album and you can see them perform in a range of videos athttp://www.honeyandthebear.co.uk/music-videos/
They will be on stage at 13.45 for an hour, following which there will be a break of approx. 55 minutes.
The BURKITT FAMILY – a four piece family band hailing from the Bawdsey Peninsula in Suffolk. They offer a beguiling mix of contemporary and traditional acoustic music, featuring tight vocal harmonies and beautifully played arrangements of well – chosen songs.
Ross is an accomplished guitarist and singer and his partner Ali adds vocals and ethereal flute. They are joined by their daughter Eliza, who wins new admirers wherever she plays with her fluent, assured violin playing and strong vocals and their son Sam, a talented cellist and guitarist. They are regular performers in East Anglia and played at last year’s Bury Folk Festival. You can see their performance of “Running Up That Hill” filmed at Folk At The Froize here:https://vimeo.com/185222243
They will be the first act, on stage at 12.45 for 45 minutes.
Tickets for the whole event are just £20 for the day and can be purchased in person from Beccles Books, I Exchange Square Beccles or online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/459147
NEXT SEASON
Tickets are already on sale for the highly talented singer/songwriter Edwina Hayes. Edwina spends a lot of time in Nashville USA, gigging and recording with the likes of Nanci Griffith and Gretchen Peters. She will be at the Seagull Theatre in Pakefield on Monday 28 January 2019. Tickets can be obtained in person from the box office, by phone (01502 589726) or online at http://www.theseagull.co.uk/event/edwina-hayes/ and you can see a great video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBHqMDutZEs . Tickets are £12 (concessions £11).
Finally, I can now reveal that our first show in the new season will feature Winter Wilson. This will be an intimate, entirely acoustic, performance from this very talented duo at Hungate Church, Hungate, Beccles on Saturday 22 September at 8.00 p.m. Tickets are very limited and are now on sale at www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/486912. They will not be available at Beccles Books for over the counter sales until 28 April.
More info about Winter Wilson in the next newsletter, but in the meantime you can see them perform here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoTo9zzTQGg&feature=youtu.be
Ellen McAteer 