She's A Highway Man - Zoe Wren

Thanks to Acoustic Magazine for their exclusive share of the single from Zoe Wren's second EP. This single is the first track from Zoe's forthcoming EP Gold and Smoke out early 2017. She's a Highwayman is out 17th November on Folkstock Records. Produced by Lauren Deakin Davies. 'She's a Highwayman' is a twist on the story of the traditional song 'The Female Highwayman', in which the protagonist Silvie (or Sovay) dresses up as a highwayman and robs her lover in order to test his loyalty. It's a great example of an independent and intrepid heroine in folklore, however in the original story, everything works out fine and goes back to normal. So I wondered what might really happen when Silvie gets her first taste of true freedom, and whether a humorous swapping of gender roles might in fact reveal something a bit more interesting... Zoe Wren is wonderfully talented young singersongwriter with a gorgeous voice, recently awarded a bursary from the PRS Foundation. Her last single Nothing to See played on BBC Radio 2 and she has been on all three Folkstock compilations with great reviews in Sunday Times Culture Magazine. She’s just completed her music degree at Cambridge University, and is now pursuing her music career full time, supporting stars like Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker and Ralph McTell. Her next single release, She’s a Highwayman, is coming out on Folkstock Records on 17th November ahead of her second EP in spring 2018, recorded by award winning producer Lauren Deakin Davies. http://www.zoewren.com/

Our next LCM featured artist London based singer-songwriter Zoe Wren will be supporting Lauren Housley at her album launch at SPOC on Wednesday. Zoe has just left Uni in Cambridge, so we are delighted to invite her onto the bill of one our LCM gigs. We have know Zoe for a few years now since just before the Folkstock festival in 2013 and we have been following her musically journey. Zoe will be releasing her new single and our LCM #TrackOfTheDay 'She's A Highway Man' today through Folkstock Records.

Folk-influenced singer-songwriter Zoё Wren was the youngest performer to play the main stage at Folkstock Festival when she was just 16.  A recipient of the 2017 PRS Lynsey de Paul Prize for emerging female singer-songwriters, Zoё's new EP, based on bold contemporary re-tellings of traditional folk stories, is supported by this grant, and will be released in November. Her debut EP Pandora's Box was released with Folkstock in 2014, and her most recent single, Nothing to See, was released in 2016 and received airplay on BBC Radio 2 on the Whispering Bob Harris show.

Zoё’s growing reputation has seen her invited to perform at Cambridge Folk Festival by Hitchin Folk Club in the summer or 2016, having previously been invited to perform on Stage 2 in Brian McNeill’s Festival Session at the festival after her floor spot in the Club tent the day before. In the final year of a music degree at Cambridge University, Zoё is certainly attracting attention having supported various artists including Peter Knight's Gigspanner at Cambridge Folk Club and Jim Causley at Hitchin Folk Club, where she has been booked three times in one season, as a result of winning the Best Newcomer award at Folkstock's Love Folk Live Awards. FATEA Magazine featured Zoё in their Autumn Showcase 2014 and her first headline gig was a sell out at Redbourn Folk Club in the summer of 2015. Powerful and pervasive, her songs hook you from the first line. "It takes an especially strong new voice to rise above the general hubbub of the current English folk song flashmob... Zoё showcases a maturing voice and songs that have depth to match their indisputable charm". "blending a finesse voice with the soothing tones of acoustic strumming...tantalising .. lashings of potential to work the cross genre songbook. She can sing quite comfortably in the classical traditional style and still retain a contemporary charm to captivate the listener". Instrumentali Musicale.