From: Martin Snodin [martin_dot_snodin_at_homecall_dot_co_dot_uk]
Sent: 31 August 2008 21:01
Subject: Acoustic Sussex Newsletter 2008-09-01 - Reminder

Newsletter         1st September 2008

 

Contact details
Tel. 01342 716975
or email:
info_at_acousticsussex_dot_org_dot_uk

REMINDER

Monday 8th September at The Ravenswood, Sharpthorne

 

'”Shivering, hollering, edgy, dark, delightful, disturbing, involving, beautifully phrased, acoustic music'”  The Living Tradition

‘Imagine Laura Viers’ immersion in the natural world combined with Michelle Shocked’s dedication to the political’ - Time Out


Now playing on our MySpace jukebox – Kirsty McGee & Mat Martin (4 tracks) and The Mercurymen (2 tracks) - click here

“Kirsty McGee and Mat Martin are different. Everything about them, from the way they look, what they play, the way they play, the way they have taken control of their music and their career, is unconventional. Kirsty may write the songs, and her long time collaborator, Mat, may work on the arrangements, but their musical partnership is so close, so mutually creative, that it is difficult to know where one’s contribution starts and the other finishes. They are about to release a new collection of songs, THE KANSAS SESSIONS, Kirsty’s fourth, on their own record label, hobopop records; a company set up to spearhead their own sense of musical fair-trade. This CD too is strikingly different. It is dominated by Kirsty’s clear, intimate, English diction and phrasing, her dark, sometimes macabre, celebrations of life, and Mat’s inspirational musicianship, but it was recorded in the United States, it is full of joyously engaging songs, and shining with American influences.”      (Extract from this month’s Maverick magazine)

 

Monday
8 September
KIRSTY McGEE and MAT MARTIN
at The Ravenswood
Sharpthorne

www.theravenswood.co.uk
Support:
The Mercurymen

£10 (£12  door)     8pm
Tickets 01342 714810
or
buy online via Acoustic Sussex website

Tickets are also available at Hobgoblin in Crawley and Bullfrog in East Grinstead

 

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What they say…
Kirsty McGee describes herself as “a maker of delicate yet stubborn songs, an instinctive traveller, a human scrapbook”. Years spent as a hitchhiker and a period of homelessness have enriched her knowledge of people and places, all whilst keeping her moving. After spending a while building tree houses and bagging-out earth from tunnels at road protest camps Kirsty sold all her possessions and hitched to Cornwall where she lived in a beach hut and learnt to fingerpick.

Her affinity with a life of perpetual movement and a hand-to-mouth existence has made its mark on her songs in a manner reminiscent of Jack Kerouac and the ’beat’ generation, and has made her music difficult to classify. She has been variously described as producing ’folk noir’ and ’hobo-pop’, and she and Mat were described in Maverick magazine as ’Simon and Garfunkel -the Tim Burton version.’

Her studio albums have attracted collaborations with some of the most important names in the scene, such as producers John Wood (Honeysuckle, 2002), Boo Hewerdine (Frost, 2004), and Neill MacColl (Two Birds, 2006). Her albums are recorded live in the studio, her shows are simple and direct, and much of her work has been made using the instruments she has built herself. Her fourth album due out in September promises to encapsulate the hobo-pop style in a new collection of simple, edgy songs played on traditional American instruments.

“A wonderful voice”  Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2
“Perfect understatement ; not an extraneous word or not” Karine Polwart
“Absolutely superb, memorable... I love her songs, I love her way’”  Bob Harris

What we say…
Definitely a one-off, the self-effacing Kirsty makes beautiful music that is best heard live – very highly recommended. Joined by new Sony signing, The Mercurymen, this is more of a double-header, making a great start to our Autumn programme.

The Mercury Men have recently been signed to Sony BMG Records after a rush from major labels to snap them up. Likened to artists such as Crowded House, the band has supported Sinead O'Connor and, most recently, Deacon Blue on their sell-out tour. It wasn't until Jinder, Gavin Wyatt and Simon Johnson first jammed together after a gig in 2006 that they realised their potential as a band. Friends for years, they continually bumped into each other on the gigging circuit, and decided to explore their potential as a harmony-based trio. Dubbed an 'acoustic supergroup', the trio were soon signed to international giants Sony for a four album deal.

Preview tracks from the new album can be heard on the band's MySpace site at www.myspace.com/themercurymen.

 


Kirsty McGee


 “The Kansas Sessions is full of beautifully produced, immediately accessible, joyously engaging music that, like a carnival barker, draws you inside to take a closer look at the disturbing, the weird and the wonderful... if it was a film, it would be a Coen Brothers film”. Maverick

 

 


The Mercurymen

 

Don’t forget that as well as our own shows, the Acoustic Sussex website has a Regional Gig Guide and links to venues and clubs in the South East that offer folk, roots and acoustic music – and our MySpace site contains over 500 links to a variety of other MySpace ‘friends’ sites, including musicians, venues, magazines and lots more.

 


Regional Gig Guide

For your future diaries...

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Other 2008 dates in the Acoustic Sussex programme include:

Ø    22 September – Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick + Lisa Knapp (SOLD OUT)

Ø    3 October – Eliza Gilkyson with Robert McEntee

Ø    11 October – Richie Havens (special promotion with The Hawth)

Ø    22 October – Bob Fox & Stu Luckley + Cathy Burton

Ø    3 November – John Tams & Barry Coope + support (Michael Chapman)

Ø    17 November – Kreg Viesselman + support (tbc)

Ø    9 December – Dougie MacLean + support (Jane Taylor)

 

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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Thank you.

 



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