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Newsletter 6th August 2006 |
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Contact
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The
holiday season is well and truly upon us, so it’s goodbye from us for a
few weeks, but don’t forget to get your tickets nice and early for our
first event of the Autumn season when
Shirley Collins’
starts her nationwide tour of the book ‘America Over the Water’ at Chequer
Mead, East Grinstead on Saturday 2 September. More
on ‘America Over the Water’ below Later
in the season, we have some great events planned. Follow these links for details
of: Ø
Johnny Dickenson – 11 September, The Ravenswood,
Sharpthorne Ø
Richard Durrant – 25 September, The
Ravenswood Ø
Bob Fox and Billy Mitchell – 16 October, The
Ravenswood Ø
Pierre Bensusan – 6 November, The
Ravenswood |
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For
more information on Acoustic
Sussex shows including sound samples, click on the artists'
website links below or visit our | |
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Saturday
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Shirley
Collins, one of the most important
figures on the British folk scene, is touring a show based on her book
America Over the Water, telling how, in 1959, Shirley, a young folk singer
from Hastings, set out across the American South with the legendary
folklorist Alan Lomax, collecting and recording songs from both black and
white communities across six states. Shirley:“It was a journey that started in Virginia, took
us into Parchman Farm, the notorious Mississippi State Penitentiary, up
Kentucky mountainsides to record Primitive Baptists’ Open Air Prayer
meetings, to the heart of Alabama for the Sacred Harp Convention, into
tiny hamlets in the tornado belt of rural Arkansas where the pioneering
spirit still existed, and into isolated black communities in Northern
Mississippi…. ending our journey on one of the Georgia Sea Islands that
had been settled by escaped
slaves.” America Over the Water combines the personal story of Shirley’s relationship with Alan Lomax with a unique first-hand account – through the song collecting - of the evolving social history of a racially segregated America on the cusp of the Civil Rights Movement. It goes to the roots of Anglo/American traditional music. The American story is interleaved with Shirley’s other journey: that of growing up in Hastings during and just after the Second World War, becoming a folk singer, and so meeting Alan Lomax in London. The show features
readings by Shirley and actor Pip
Barnes, many musical excerpts from the field recordings
themselves, and a visual display incorporating photographs taken on the
trip or derived from contemporaneous sources. “'I
found it very touching indeed....... truly movung” -
David
Attenborough “I
think the show surprises people because they think it might be serious and
studious but it’s full of this wonderful music” Shirley
Collins “Shirley
Collins is without doubt one of England’s greatest cultural
treasures.”
Billy
Bragg “Alan
Lomax is a completely central figure in 20th century culture. Without
Lomax it’s possible there would have been no blues explosion, no R&B
movement, no Beatles and no Stones and no Velvet Underground. He was the
conduit, mainlining the uniqueness and richness and passion of
African-American music into the fertile early beginnings of Western pop
music.” Brian Eno |
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Monday 11
September |
Nominated as Musician of the
Year in the BBC Radio 2006 Folk Awards, Johnny Dickinson is regarded by many
as the UK's most potent slide player, with a unique and individual style
of playing which crosses Celtic flavours with American Blues. He’s also a
truly talented songwriter and powerful singer. Reminiscent, sometimes of Kelly
Joe Phelps, and sometimes of Martin Simpson, he’s a fast rising talent
bound for international recognition. "I'd go a long
way to listen to Johnny Dickinson.
You hear a lot of good influences in his music but the result is
something special. For me his
playing really hits the spot."
John
Renbourn "Johnny is a soulful player, singer, and a damn good writer! Don´t miss him!" Tommy Emmanuel Support to be confirmed |
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Monday 25
September |
Richard
Durrant
is a classically trained artist active in many walks of musical life.
Respected equally in the world of classical, folk and rock music, he is in
demand as recitalist, session player and composer. Best known for his
lively and entertaining guitar concerts Durrant has won devoted fans
throughout Europe - his sheer virtuosity and uncategorisable repertoire
earning him a unique place in the world of the guitar.
Alongside his concert work,
Durrant is a busy recording artist and broadcaster. He is also a
successful composer of television and concert
music. Richard played lead guitar
with Sky during their last national tour and still performs a two man show
with the legendary Mr Herbie Flowers, playing a mixture of original
material, classical and jazz. Support to be
confirmed |
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Monday
16 October |
This collaboration
between Billy Mitchell
and Bob Fox has been a long
time coming. Both men learnt their musical trade around Tyneside and have
been delighting audiences at home and away for many
years. They are both fine singers and musicians of stunning ability who can bring magic into any auditorium. Now, after many years of mutual admiration, they will share a stage and pool the wealth of talent at their disposal. In concert Billy and Bob will
perform alone and together, the material will be cherry-picked from their
solo work and the combined back catalogues of Lindisfarne, Jack the
Lad,The Hush and Bob Fox & Stu Luckley, to produce a memorable night
of songs. Support to be
confirmed |
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Monday 6
November September |
French-Algerian Pierre Bensusan is rated as one of
the top 10 finger-style guitar players in the world, and one of the most
eloquent and diverse musicians of our time, effortlessly moving from
classical to jazz to ethnic. In solo concerts that have
been described as “a must-have experience“ (sometimes lasting up to 3
hours), each performance is brimming with passion, drama, rich
ornamentation, grace and sheer joy, along with some of the most dazzling
acoustic guitar playing on the planet. "Pierre’s music
gives me the shakes. No other guitarist shares his strange gifts of sophistication,
accessibility and downright joy.
Even at its most complex, Pierre’s music only needs ears to be
enjoyed." Leo Kottke Support: Matthew Ord |
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For
your future diaries..
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Tommy
Emmanuel (28 November, Chequer Mead);
John Tams & Barry Coope
(11 December, Chequer Mead);
Acoustic Strawbs (19 January
2007, Chequer Mead). 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. |
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