Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight #26 April 2010
1. Zoë Nicol – I Am A Boy
2. Rosie Jones – Maybe We’ll Fly
3. Rachael Wright – The House
4. Tina Refsnes – Patterns
bonus track
5. Emily Smith – Caledonia
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This month we’ve got a very special Liverpool Acoustic Live. It takes place on Friday 23rd April at the Vew Two Gallery on Mathew Street and will be a LIPA Special!
All four acts are graduating this year from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, and this event is the perfect way for us all to celebrate with them.
Zoë Nicol played for us back in October 2009 and was such a hit that we just had to have her back. Tonight Zoë will be performing with her 6 piece female folk group Zoë Nicol and the Worry Dolls who have been closely working together for her final year at LIPA. You can expect a colorful and vibrant evening, as Zoe and the Worry Dolls tell stories of transvestites, crimes, dreams, strength, courage, life and friends. The debut album These Are The Stories will be avaliable for purchase from the merchandise table.
Rosie Jones played a solo set for us in October, stepping in for a musician who was ill. She impressed us so much that we’ve invited her back this time to play with her band Rosie Jones and the Mystery Machine.
Rachael Wright is a performer we’ve been trying to book for a while but she’s always been in demand to play gigs right around the country. We’re delighted that Rachael is able to play a solo acoustic set for us, and we’re really looking forward to it.
Tina Refsnes, another talented performer from Liverpool’s ever-growing Norwegian community, completes the line-up on the night.
There are only 50 tickets available online for £3 in advance from wegottickets.com – when these are gone then entry will be limited to a small number of £4 tickets available on the door.
Doors open at 8.00pm with music starting at 8.30pm sharp. The night finishes at 11.15pm
Zoë Nicol zoenicol.com myspace.com/zoenicolmusic
Singer Songwriter Zoë Nicol is a maverick in the world of folk music – a storyteller with a lyrical twist, but more than that, Zoë is an artist who possesses the rare ability to leave an audience breathless. Music promoter Paul Dunton writes “I recall the moment I first heard Zoë sing I felt completely moved and inspired, you could hear a pin drop as the audience listened intently, everyone present was totally absorbed by her performance.Her songs are beautifully crafted, rich in both melody and creative edge.”
Zoë grew up with the influence of Joni Mitchell and Eva Cassidy who inspired her to become the sincere and heartfelt artist her fans have come to love. Her captivating stage presence is embellished further by her modest and enchanting persona, she is able to reach out and connect to an audience through her live performances and recordings.
Zoë hails from Tunbridge Wells in Kent and attended LIPA studying performance and song writing. Her debut EP entitled Walk Against The Wind was released in the summer of 2008 and sold out by the winter of that same year. Her debut album, being launched on 23rd April, will be available to buy online soon.
Zoë will be performing with her band The Worry Dolls for the last time in Liverpool on the 30th of April, 6.30 at LIPA as part of the 3rd Degree Music Festival. If you would like to buy tickets please contact Zoë on zoeicol[at]hotmail.co.uk or buy a ticket at the Liverpool Acoustic Live gig.
Rosie Jones rosiejones.org myspace.com/rosiexjones
Rosie Jones and the Mystery Machine is a Liverpool-based contemporary folk outfit, fronted by singer/songwriter Rosie Jones.
Rosie Jones grew up in a field in Devon where there wasn’t really anything to do except sit around in her room and dream of being a rock star. Listing some of her influences as “good music, kittens, mittens, cows, tea, wellies and anything with banjo”, Rosie and her band – The Mystery Machine – create an eclectic mix of delightful, acoustic post-folk that just begs to be listened to on a sunny day, with a mug of cinnamon tea.
Having supported the likes of Johnny Flynn and Frank Turner, the band are headlining an evening of folk-inspired music at the Paul McCartney Auditorium in Liverpool on May 1st to close the 3rd Degree Music Festival, along with Norwegian singer/songwriter Tina Refsnes and folk songstresses The Staves, who will be fresh from their UK tour with New York’s Joshua Radin. Tickets for the event are just £4 and will be available soon from Seetickets.com.
The ‘What Would Rosie Jones Do?’ EP is available to download from rosiejones.bandcamp.com on a ‘name your price’ basis, or the handmade, physical edition is for sale at gigs.
Rachael Wright rachaelwright.com myspace.com/rachaelwrightmusic
Rachael Wright is a singer and songwriter from Liverpool. Her emotive, feisty brand of personal, evocative stories and observations portray the tension between the melancholic and the hopeful.
Starting out as a solo artist at 19, she made a mark for herself in the bars and cafes of Liverpool. Rachael subsequently released her debut acoustic album Just Like He Said on her own Jump Rope label, and performed numerous shows the length and breadth of the UK, including support slots with the Levellers and The Blind Boys of Alabama at the Liverpool Philharmonic.
One of the album tracks, Black Horse and Me was featured on the soundtrack for David Morrissey/Tubedale Films release Don’t Worry About Me (2009). Rachael is currently working on new material with her band, The Good Sons that has a fresh energy, aggression and bite with influences such as Nick Cave and PJ Harvey.
The album Just Like He Said can be bought via Rachael’s website rachaelwright.com
Tina Refsnes myspace.com/tinarefsnes
Tina Refsnes comes from a small town on the west-coast of Norway; known to the world for little else than stuff that has to do with fish (though an adorable town it must be added).
She makes songs about things that take place inside her head (about demons and enemies, horses and houses) and in the genre of alt-country/americana meets pop, she creates quirky melodies and clever, honest lyrics.
The EP Trust can be bought from tinarefsnes.bandcamp.com
Emily Smith emilysmith.org myspace.com/emilysmithband
Though only in her mid twenties, award winning Scottish singer and songwriter Emily Smith has firmly established herself as one of Scotland’s leading lights in folk music.
Since becoming BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year in 2002 Smith has gone on to gain further accolades of ‘Up and Coming Artist of the Year’ nominee (Scots Trad music Awards, 2003) and ‘Scots singer of the Year’ nominee (Scots Trad Music Awards 2005), and winning Scots Singer of the Year 2008-09.
She gained an Honours degree in Scottish Music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and is now not only a respected interpreter of traditional songs but is also gathering interest with her own compelling songwriting. Emily became the first ever winner from Scotland in the USA Songwriting Competition in 2005 after winning the folk section with her song ‘Edward of Morton’, another of her songs ‘Always a Smile’ was short listed in the final ten. To date she has released three studio albums ‘A Day Like Today’ (2002) and ‘A Different Life’ (2005) and ‘Too Long Away’ (2008).
Raised in rural Dumfriesshire in the South West of Scotland, Smith has always held a passion for local history and a keen sense of belonging, which shines through in her music and the enthusiasm she displays when talking of her home region. “Dumfries and Galloway is often a forgotten part of Scotland and through my material, whether traditional or my own songs, I try to portray the beauty and diversity of where I come from. I love being able to sing a song and picture the exact setting of where the event took place, or to sing some of Robert Burns’ material and know that he travelled the same roads and admired the same landscapes as I do today.”
Emily will be performing with Jamie McClennan at the Pacific Road Arts Centre on Thursday 22nd April. Full details from pacificroad.co.uk/Content.aspx?ID=93
Emily’s albums can be bought from her website emilysmith.org along with her newest CD Adoon Winding Nith, an album of lesser-known Robert Burns songs recorded with Jamie McClennan.
Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight #26 – April 2010
If you get the chance, please support your local artists by emailing them, joining their mailing lists, leaving them comments, going to their gigs, and buying their music direct from them where possible.
The Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight is produced and presented by Graham Holland on behalf of the Liverpool Acoustic website. It is also available on the Internet courtesy of Art In Liverpool FM (Defnet Media), and is a proud member of the Association of Music Podcasting – supported by Libsyn
The theme music is King of the Faeries by Andrew Ellis from his CD Midnight On The Water.