Ben Hunter & Joe Seamons
with Phil Wiggins
Wednesday February 1st £14 adv, Cwtch Coffee Music, Pembroke Dock, SA72 6BT, 01646 687635
https://www.facebook.com/events/1269711229754126/
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“Exceptional” – Songlines
“Push back the chairs and break out the hooch” – Acoustic magazine
"A skilled act - roots tradition with tangible joy” – R2 magazine
Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons present their swirling musical whirlpool of pre-war
American vintage music. Always happy to team up with kindred spirits, they appear
in trio format with legendary blues harmonica player Phil Wiggins.
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Nathan Bell
Thursday February 9 £12 adv. Drover’s Arms, Puncheston, SA62 5RJ ~ 01348 881469
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https://www.facebook.com/events/1063004770477381
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'Bell’s intellectual acuity isn’t like most people’s – it’s sharper, edgier.'
'His lyricism has the same hardness you’d imagine from a Clint Eastwood or Paul Newman character, or from writer Jim Harrison. It’s unblinking, strong, true.'
- Holly Gleason, Option Magazine
'Bell lives in a world of less thans, left behinds, lost souls and not enoughs - and isn’t afraid to rail against the scraps that are supposed to suffice. Get ready to be inspired.'
- The Yummy List
Bell is a songwriter’s songwriter, a man who has shared bills with legends Townes Van Zandt, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal and Norman Blake.
The working man’s blues – a chat with Nathan Bell
BY PAUL KERR
JANUARY 11, 2017
http://nodepression.com/interview/working-man’s-blues-–-chat-nathan-bell
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Connla
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Tue February 14 £12 adv. Drover’s Arms, Puncheston, SA62 5RJ ~ 01348 881469
Wed February 15 £14 adv. Cwtch Music, Pembroke Dock, SA72 6BT ~ 01646 687635
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Connla have released their new debut album - "River Waiting"
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“Consider this your early warning system....there is something serious on the horizon and that creative storm is Connla .”
Irish Music Magazine
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"A ground-breaking band in the
making." - Folk Radio UK
"Hear this album once and you're
hooked!" - Folkwords
"Irish Music at it's best....
A Stunner!" - Irish American News
"A must have for you, not if you love Irish Music, but if you just love music." - Live Ireland
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Connla are an exciting new band with strong traditional roots as well as influences from across the globe. Their sensitive and innovative arrangements of traditional and modern folk songs and tunes have earned them praise across the folk community. Having met whilst studying Music at Ulster University, they quickly began performing together and developing friendships.
They hail from the cities of Armagh and Derry: Ciara McCafferty (vocals), Ciaran Carlin (whistles) and Paul Starrett (guitar) are familiar faces on the local music scene, and are joined by Armagh siblings Emer and Conor Mallon on harp and uilleann pipes.
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Bronwynne Brent
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"BRONWYNNE BRENT has the kind of stop-in-your-tracks voice that sounds like Southern sunshine"
"There’s a hint of Delta blues behind the ache in Brent's songs, a glimpse of honky-tonk twang, an echo of riverboat can-cans, a whiff of Morricone, and an atmosphere of the darker side of country songwriting"
Tue March 14 £14 adv. Cwtch Music, Pembroke Dock, SA72 6BT ~ 01646 687635
Wed March 15 £12 adv. Drover’s Arms, Puncheston, SA62 5RJ ~ 01348 881469
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Bluebird's Ghost (Norway)
Wed April 12 £14 adv. Cwtch Music, Pembroke Dock, SA72 6BT ~ 01646 687635
skiddle.com/e/12946182​
Sat April 15 £12 adv. Drover’s Arms, Puncheston, SA62 5RJ ~ 01348 881469
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The Lowest Pair
Tue May 9 £14 adv. Cwtch Music, Pembroke Dock, SA72 6BT ~ 01646 687635
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“Vocal perfection”
– David Innes, R2 magazine
“Incredibly atmospheric”
– Julian Piper, Acoustic magazine
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'With their bare-bones instrumentation and country-inspired,
heartstring-tugging narratives, The Lowest Pair might be
one of the best under-the-radar Americana duos today.'
-PASTE MAGAZINE, Hillary Saunders
“Music for sunshine and mint juleps”
– Folk radio UK
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Hat Fitz and Cara
Thu May 11 £12 adv Regency Hall, Saundersfoot, Milford Street, SA69 9EW 01834 811700
skiddle.com/e/12948050
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“Covering a staggering array of instrumentation, the duo embellish impeccable rootsy originals
- and Robinson shows she can belt it out too.”
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“Hat Fitz and Cara have the songs, the musical ability, the drive and the self belief to offer something refreshingly vibrant and new” Get Ready To Rock – Pete Feenstra
Hat Fitz is a “veteran” wild man of the blues scene in Australia. He has a record 18 straight appearances at Byron’s East Coast Blues and Roots Festival, a record that is not likely to ever be broken, and one which bears testimony to his amazing live performances and popularity with festival goers.
Cara draws on her soul background (she’s toured Europe and the United States with singers such as Jamiroquai and the hugely popular Corinne Bailey-Rae), and although blessed with a sensational voice she was not content to be labelled as ‘just a singer’. She has taken to drumming duties as well as washboards, flute and tin whistle, sometimes all at once
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James Clode at Cwtch
Sat Jun 20 £14 adv Cwtch Music Venue, Pembroke Dock, SA72 6BT ~ 01646 687635
skiddle.com/e/12948050
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“I saw James Clode singing at Rumney Folk Club, he was really, really good. He is, in my opinion, one of the best singer / songwriters that Wales has produced in a long time. I wish he would now concentrate on singing at larger venues because I fear that his light will be overshadowed if he doesn't really commit to what he so obviously loves to do in life. He should go full time now singing, because I for one would definitely go to any concerts that he is at, he is also hot! It's nice for us to have a singer / songwriter who is so great looking, a lot of them in folkclubs are scruffy and a bit manky looking, James is like a breath of fresh air. He is hot hot hot! And his voice is just so great, he is a real singer, not a pretender".
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- online review
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Low Lily
Thu Jul 6 £12 adv Drover’s Arms, Puncheston, Haverfordwest SA62 5RJ01348 881469
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“... an incredible knack for putting a little pop twist
on a traditional folk/americana sound... it’s a blend
that works beautifully.”
– PopMatters
“Another reliable act who compellingly yet
unassumingly mix contemporary folk and bluegrass
sensibilities with a sensitive use of their keen
musicianship”.
– Fatea
“Fresh and inviting melodic lines... impressive”.
– TradConnect
The string and vocal trio Low Lily explores
the roots and branches of American folk music
with traditional influences and modern
inspiration that makes a unique brand of acoustic
music.
Liz Simmons (vocals and guitar), Flynn Cohen
(vocals, guitar, and mandolin), and Lissa
Schneckenburger (vocals and fiddle) are masterful
players with deep relationships to traditional music
styles ranging from bluegrass to Irish, Scottish,
New England, and Old Time Appalachian sounds.
When you combine this with stellar composition
skills and inventive arrangements you get music
that is both rooted and contemporary.
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Robert Lane
Sat Jul 15 £14 Cwtch Music Venue SA72 6BT ~ 01646 687635
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In June 2017 Robert went on a joint headline tour with Nashville based singer songwriter Kyshona Armstrong.
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"Check out the vibrant new song from Robert Lane." Telegraph Music
"a talented songwriter and singer. EP Ends and Starts is full of deceptively simple songs with clever and witty lyrics across a range of styles."
R2 Magazine
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"A great talent to work with." Neil King, Fatea Magazine and Busk Love Folk Festival
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"Robert Lane is making a bit of a splash across social and other media just now, due to an engaging manner and a lively presence."
Fatea Magazine
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"Here is a catchy tune married to clever words – once upon a time it would have been a hit single. It is a perfect feel-good song."
Folking.com
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"Lane is a charismatic presence on stage, engaging with the audience and injecting the odd moment of levity into the event. While that levity doesn't always make it into his music (there aren't a lot of laughs in songs such as Break My Heart Blues), his music never fails to draw you in."
Adam Jenkins, Fatea Magazine
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Gerard Cousins
Sat Aug 19 £14 Cwtch Music Venue SA72 6BT ~ 01646 687635
e-ticket: skiddle.com/e/13024527
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Gerard Cousins is going to be huge. He's not only a truly great classical guitar player: he also can think and play off-genre
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"It is obvious that Cousins is a formidable player... hair-raisingly difficult arpeggio patterns...hypnotic arrays of patterns and harmonies...beautiful and different...wonderful creations...yet the music sounds effortless which proves what an excellent musician Cousins is. " Classical Guitar USA
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Gerard Cousins is a rare beast, a classical player who has broken free from the bounds of his training to make new music. He is technically remarkable… His nylon strings are played with precision and verve…the beauty of the tune and the playing are all that matters. HiFI+
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"we were intrigued...impeccable technique....a unique edge" Guitarist
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"beautifully played with a clean and fluid technique...this whole album is very calming and extremely fulfilling listen" Guitar Technique
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TORNISH
Fri Sep 15 £14 Cwtch Music Venue SA72 6BT ~ 01646 687635
"spine-tingling foot-tapping inter-Celtic folk"
Weaving traditional tunes and songs from Scotland, Ireland and Wales
into their own compositions, Tornish both surprise and delight. Mesmeric
harp and haunting flute and whistles shift into lively tunes with bold
counter-melodies and percussion. Add to that subtle harmony singing in
English, Welsh and Scots, and a Tornish performance is a truly
inter-Celtic experience.
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​"Many thanks for your outstanding performance at Cwmafan Folk Club
last night. It really was a treat to be present when two individually
talented musicians play a concert of cleverly constructed and masterly
played instrumental duets, coloured with a great choice of songs.
Thanks again"
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​"just two of the inspiring musicians who are building a wonderful weave
of the rich tradition of Welsh culture......Tornish never let up on their
dreamy charm... Tune, song and tune kept on tumbling out... The audience
went wild and shouted for more."
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FRONT COUNTRY
Tue Oct 10 £10 ADV/£12 Door, Burnett's Hill Chapel, Martletwy SA67 8AX
“They somehow strike that perfect blend of soaring
vocals, impressive playing and interesting song choices”
- Fretboard Journal
"A ground-breaking, genre-shaking performance San Francisco
based group screwed up every tradition of the sound America
gave to the world and remoulded it again"
- Spalding Today UK
"Their music occupies a hinterland that extends much further
than bluegrass, however, reaching into a beyond that at times
makes them the missing link between Punch Brothers and the
Penguin Café Orchestra and even extends to the prog rock of
Family and King Crimson"
- The Herald, Scotland UK
"They're progressive yet organic with a sound that's brand new
but familiar at the same time"
- Tim Carbone
Harry Bird and the Rubber Wellies
Thu Oct 12 £14 Cwtch Music Venue SA72 6BT ~ 01646 687635
"Travelling folksters The Rubber Wellies present their intimate cabaret
of joyful sing-a-long choruses and general participatory fun.
Pirates, lizards, cracks in the wall and Basque Cyclists all inhabit the
songscape. And let's not forget that Beard Snood...
Based in Bilbao and Dublin they have spent the last eight years touring
Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe playing bars, cafes, theatres,
circus galas, festivals and folk clubs alike.
Their debut album "Long Way to Be Free" appeared in 2009 on
Hot Drop Records followed by "The Bones on Black" in 2012 and
"Bricks and Feathers" in 2015.
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Nathan Bell
Sat Nov 11 £14 Cwtch Music Venue SA72 6BT ~ 01646 687635
“Gritty and authentic,” wrote Martin Chilton in The Telegraph, awarding Bell's record a Best of 2016 accolade, while Country Music People declared it was “powerful – excellent!” Maverick magazine awarded the album “stand-out" status and said: “poetry is coursing through his veins,” while BBC’s Ricky Ross told listeners it was “really, really special.”
"Nathan Bell is one of the best songwriters you've never heard of. His songs tell you something about yourself that you didn't know was in you." Americana Music Show Best of 2016
Now there's a new album ‘Love > Fear’ ...
"There’s a reliability to a new album from Nathan Bell - it will always cut deep and hard, and ‘Love > Fear’ (48 hours in traitorland)’ delivers as expected. The man writes songs designed to make their mark and he never fails."
Folkwords UK- 2017
There’s an incredible amount of eloquence in his ‘plain’ poetry’, along with truth that burns like a welding torch, pounds like a hammer and beats with the resilience of the human heart.
No Depression Magazine
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Ninebarrow
Wed Nov 29 £14 Cwtch Music Venue SA72 6BT ~ 01646 687635
"Exquisite harmonies, fine instrumental playing and beautifully crafted songs are Ninebarrow’s hallmark"
Clayhidon
"You can always expect an excellent show from this duo"
Fatea Magazine
"Constantly compelling...undeniably impressive"
Northern Sky Magazine
"Ninebarrow whisked the audience away to a special place of folklore, fun and incredible music"
The Bournemouth Echo
"There are very few musicians or bands that inspire such affection from their audiences"
FATEA Magazine
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Lowri Evans & Lee Mason
Thu Dec 7 £10 Tafarn Sinc SA667QU ~ 01437 532214
“Wonderful singer songwriter” Bob Harris BBC Radio 2
“Lowri Evans has surely cut one of the albums of this or any other year. Its simply a dream” Rock ’n’ Reel (R2)
“Class act” Martin Simpson
“Lovely stuff” Cherrie McIlwaine BBC Ulster
“Very nice altogether” Bruce MacGregor Radio Scotland
“Lovely-very nice” Genevieve Tudor BBC Shropshire
“Fantastic voice, can’t wait to get my little mitts on the new album” Frank Hennessy BBC Radio Wales
“Evans is like one of those rare gold nuggets, not often found, nestling within the Welsh valleys” Isthismusic.com