Anywhere Anytime Soon - Michael Baker

We are thrilled to announce that our next LCM featured artist Michael Baker, will be joining us on Tuesday 3rd October at The Green Note, as part of our brand new 'Songwriters In The Round' show. We will be organising the night with our friends at the excellent Music Makers Festival and Vin's Night In. The full line-up includes Albert Man, Franc Cinelli and Vin Goodwin who will also MC the night. As a tempting taster our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is a live version of Michael's 'Anywhere Anytime Soon' taken from his 2016 debut album 'Dust & Bone', which we highly recommend

Michael is currently working on his second album 'Salt' which is available for pre-sale via Pledge Music.

A regular busker, not only on the streets of London, but all over Europe including the French Alps where Michael’s mother is from, Michael is no stranger to hard graft. Living in a van for 2 ½ year to enable him to afford to record his debut album Dust & Bone. The support for the album has come far and wide including an Independent Video Premier, BBC Introducing London plays, sold out supports for Sarah Jarosz at Union Chappell and David Ramirez at O2 Islington and packed-out Great Escape full band show. Michael is going into record album number 2 in November and has three collaborative ep’s lined up release. for early 2018.

“Michael Baker’s music has a raw honesty that captivates you” – Mahogany Blog

“Michael was phenomenal, really blew us away“ - Adam Maestro Head of Booking Sofar Sounds

A Lovely Day For Doing Nothing - Ben Smith & Jimmy Brewer

Our next LCM featured duo Ben Smith & Jimmy Brewer are just back from a very successful trip to Nashville where they played in the international showcase festival Americanafest. You will be very pleased to know that they will be in London tomorrow playing a set at The Islington as special guests of Kate Ellis. Reminding us of the great US duo the Milk Carton Kids our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is the very good 'A Lovely Day For Doing Nothing'

When Joan Armatrading launched her 'local talent' search for acts to support her on tour in 2012, she was looking for original artists from all over the UK to showcase their work. Ben Smith and Jimmy Brewer were two of the acts chosen, and in 2015 she called them back to support her again on her first ever solo tour. They met each other at an industry showcase that was organised by Joan, and started writing together at the suggestion of some publishers they met there.

They originally intended to just write together, but after realising that they had a natural affinity for each other's styles they soon decided to start playing live too, and their first gig as a duo was supporting Joan in November 2015 in front of a thousand people. They have played many gigs since then, and recently they showcased at The Americana Music Association UK 2017 conference and awards in London.

Their voices complement each other in a way that is redolent of some of the greatest musical partnerships, their playing styles intertwine beautifully and the songs they write combine traditional storytelling with a modern twist that will leave you humming them for days.

Jimmy's inspiration for his song-writing career came from his desire to move beyond his rural upbringing and follow in the footsteps of the musicians who shaped his interest in playing as a young child, including The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers.

Ben has also been writing and playing from an early age, and despite his original desire to learn the banjo being thwarted, he threw himself into the guitar in an effort to emulate his musical heroes: BB King, John Martyn, Jerry Reed and the Grateful Dead. 

Their eponymous debut E.P showcases their songwriting, close harmony singing and guitar style, and is available online through all major download and streaming services.

Perfect - Kat Healy

We have a little treat for you today. Our next LCM featured artist is Edinburgh based singer-songwriter Kat Healy. We love Kat's music here at LCM and we are always thrilled to hear new music from her. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is her beautifully tender and personal new song called 'Perfect'.

Kat Healy is a singer-songwriter hailing from Edinburgh, Scotland – and a previously selected winner at the CalMac Music Awards 2016 - described as a combination of well-crafted songs, beautiful voice and delightful stage presence, “Nothing short of enchanting” (****FATEA Magazine 2014).

With this new single 'Perfect' released on the 8th September, Kat shines bright with a pretty-pop edge, showcasing her ability to combine lyrical melody with a lively hook. This new direction of sound is a breath of fresh air, and a deliberate move towards an up-tempo style, revealing a more playful side to her music and a new lease of life.
 
Since her previous releases ‘When You Are Gone’ (2014), and 'Wolf' (2016), Healy has toured successfully throughout the UK and Europe, with a number of high profile gigs, including a debut performance at The Queens Hall in Edinburgh supporting Joshua Radin, as well as appearances at Folk Alliance International (2015), New York’s infamous Rockwood Music Hall and Belfast's The Empire. Healy has also landed several performance features on Scotland’s STV channel and BBC Radio Scotland, including a live studio session with Janice Forsyth (BBC The Janice Forsyth Show).

Right Love, Wrong Time - Erin Bloomer

We head of the South Coast of England to meet our next LCM featured artist, Erin Bloomer. Erin is a very good 15 year old singer-songwriter and she has been singing since she could talk. Her passion for music, dance and performing coupled with her natural song writing and guitar playing abilities makes it all seem so effortless. Described as having a beautifully captivating voice with a mesmerizing stage presence to go in-hand. Erin has burst on to the independent music scene with an experience, confidence and style beyond her age.  She started singing and posting it to YouTube a couple of years ago and now has over 1800 subscribers. Her Instagram account has over 100K followers. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is her wonderful debut original song called 'Right Love, Wrong TIme' which shows great promise. It has already been played on BBC Introducing South and was 'Track Of The Day' on BBC Radio Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire. Erin is a very talented young lady with a very bright future ahead of her..

Why Would I Know - Hannah's Yard

We head to Buckinghamshire for our next excellent young LCM featured artist. At the beating heart of the musical collective known as 'Hannah’s Yard' lies the beautifully understated voice of 21 year old singer Hannah Layton Turner. Think Nora Jones with touches of Katie Melua. The band's music is on the acoustic pop side with a heady fusion of Jazz, Folk and Country. Their debut album ‘Beginnings’ was released on 12 May 2017 and features 14 songs recorded in Hannah’s home town of Olney (not far from Milton Keynes)…the small English town where ‘Amazing Grace’ was written in the 1770s. This wonderful collection of meaningful songs about life and love includes a recording of Hannah at just 15 years of age, when she first met fellow musicians Barnaby Pinny and James Reader.

An upload of the collective’s song and our LCM #TrackOfTheDay 'Why Would I Know' to the BBC Introducing website in September 2015, resulted in a first national radio play on Mark Forrest’s BBC Introducing show the following November. Local station BBC Three Counties Radio immediately awarded the song ‘Introducing Track of the Week’ resulting in cross-station airplay and invitations to perform live on the station.  

An official launch of the song was expedited and by February 2016, following a live performance on his BBC Radio Oxford show, Alex Lester played ‘Why Would I Know’ on his Radio Two programme. Hannah’s Yard went on to appear on Robert Elms’ BBC Radio London show at the end of February marking a remarkable six months of progress for Hannah and her musicians.

Excitingly the band supported Gordon Haskell on his UK tour earlier this year.

Clouded - Matt Perriment

Our LCM featured artist today is Matt Perriment who is a 24 year old London based singer songwriter with a great vocal. Establishing himself on the South England festival scene, he began writing folk and indie inspired music seven years ago. Matt played an impressive set at the Music Makers Festival. Matt reminded me of vocally of a little of Jamie Lawson and Ross Wilson with a nod to acts like Bears Den, Passenger and Ben Howard. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is a live version of 'Clouded' taken from his debut EP 'Everlast' released in March. It was recorded at a Fairlight Session.

Matt is due to play a headline date at the Servant Jazz Quarters in Dalston on the 23rd August and then he will head to the stunning New Zealand on tour. Catch him if you can.

Not In Birmingham - Hannah Johnson

It's a very exciting time for Country artists at the moment, as the genre is finally getting the recognition in the UK that it richly deserves. Today's LCM featured artist Hannah Johnson is one person we would love to see with a much higher profile. She has just released her debut solo album 'Shaken', which was successfully crowd-funded through Indiegogo. You may recognise Hannah originally from 'The Toy Hearts' and then when her sister Sophia took a hiatus from the band to go to the US, 'Hannah & The Broken Hearts'. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is a great live cover of a Roger Miller song called 'Not In Nottingham'.  The song is originally from the Walt Disney's animated classic 'Robin Hood'.  Hannah changed the town name to Birmingham where she grew up and still lives. The video also features her very talented father Stewart 'Daddy Cool' Johnson on pedal steel.  The song is about being conflicted about how you feel about your home town.

The album was recorded at The Ameripolitan Studios in Austin, Texas. It features some of Hannah's favourite musicians including Stewart Johnson, Bryce Clarke, Chris Shirley, Beth Chrisman, Joshua Hoag, Emily Gimble, Tom Lewis, Sophia Johnson, Brian Kremer and Devin Jake. 

Hannah delves deep into her influences of old country, the blues and honky tonk music. The choice of material is imperative to Hannah, who has spent a long time studying the vocal styles of country greats such as Faron Young, George Jones & Ray Price.

At a time when it is fashionably cool to be “Americana” and dressing “vintage” is de rigueur, it is easy to feel tired of the cliches around the modern country scene. Much of the music coming out of Nashville today seems to be either watered down country pop, or stylistically affected Americana with chanted choruses and stomping bass drums.

However, there is also reaction against these extreme ends of the industry machine and artists like Hannah Johnson are approaching their music with a refreshing honesty and commitment to the core principles of ‘old’ country music, celebrating the heritage and history rather than diluting it. Undoubtedly spending so much time in Austin, Texas has influenced her immensely, as the music she is making falls much more under the bracket of what Dale Watson is doing with his “Ameripolitan” genre than the new country from Nashville. Hannah sings classic country songs about drinking and heart ache straight from a Honky Tonk, her sultry and smokey voice taking on the likes of Patsy Cline, Skeets McDonald and Willie Nelson. But what also cannot be ignored in her voice is the strong influence from the blues, as exemplified on her cover of an old Charlie Patton number and her powerful rendition of ‘Trouble In Mind’.

The stand out tracks however, are her own compositions, ‘Your Girlfriend Hates Me’ could perhaps be seen as a modern, less aggressive take on Loretta’s “fist city”, clearly placing relationships between women at the centre of her experience, and proving not always easy being the only girl in the band. ‘Morning Cocktail’ then takes her in a more soulful and reflective direction, lamenting a highly destructive lost love, the dangerous numbing qualities of alcohol, while demonstrating her vocal prowess. ‘Nowhere Train’ immediately hits an infectious country groove, delivering classic twangy telecaster and providing a strong catchy chorus as the album’s opener.

Hannah's fans include Imelda May, Robert Plant and Ronnie Wood, indeed Hannah and her band provided the entertainment for Ronnie’s recent 70th Birthday party. She is set to spend the summer 2017 gigging and promoting her record in Austin, TX.

Can't See Straight - Jamie Lawson

Our next Ivor Novello award winning LCM featured artist Jamie Lawson has been a firm favourite since we first met him at The World End in Finsbury Park back in 2013. Already at the time with a number one hit in Ireland with 'I Wasn't Expecting That',  now a big hit in the UK. Plymouth born Jamie has always been an excellent singer-songwriter and we were delighted when he was the first signing to Ed Sheeran's new Gingerbread Man Records. Jamie has since gone from strength to strength and is now set to release a highly anticipated new album in September called 'Happy Accidents', which many are saying is his best one yet. Recorded at the Sunset Sound Studio in LA in late 2016 and the spring of 2017, Jamie is joined on the album by top quality musicians Roger Manning Jr on keys and Matt Chamberlain on drums. The album is produced by Joe Chiccarelli. The album title is taken from the chance meeting at the Bedford in Balham of Jamie and his now wife, the same venue he also first met Ed.....'Happy Accidents'. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is one of the wonderful lead singles 'Can't See Straight'. Let us know what you think?

Jamie will be headlining in London at The Tabernacle on the 13th September. Catch him if you can.

Warm Your Bones - Mark Sullivan

We complete our review of some of the stars of the recent Music Maker's Festival with our next LCM featured artist, Hertfordshire based singer-songwriter Mark Sullivan. Mark is an accomplished performer with a massive voice and an ear for writing memorable and immediately familiar sounding songs. He is also a master of the loop pedal and expertly executed guitar solo’s. His vocal has a rich, full with a slightly gravel tone which reminds me of Antonio Lulic. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is the very good 'Warm Your Bones', Mark's latest single from his recent EP 'Still Good For Nothing'.

After learning to play guitar Mark formed his first band 'Gekko' at the young age of 15. Gekko went on to become one of the best, most accomplished local bands over the next few years playing shows at some great venues/festivals including Dublin Castle, Bulldog Bash and Rock In The Park as well as performances on local BBC Introducing shows. When the band split in later years Mark continued to play as frontman of 'The Marksman' acoustic duo with percussionist Clint Henderson. In January 2013 he decided to pursue his dream of his originals career as a soloist under management and started performing solo as Mark Sullivan. 

With the solo career starting well and his fanbase growing Mark was starting to play some good venues and getting booked around London a lot more, playing shows at venues such as the 12 Bar Club, Alleycat Bar and Proud, Camden. In August 2014 Mark was booked to perform at Osfest, a growing festival which now boasted a 10.000 attendance which marked the first stepping stone to bigger things. With London shows now a weekly thing Mark was getting booked for special events such as venue launch nights in the city. Off the back of the performance at Osfest the start of 2015 Mark was booked to play a show at The Troubadour, London which in turn secured him a small UK tour with London based music agency Live and Loud. This made way the chance to play at some great venues around the country including Elland Road Stadium, Ricoh Arena, Bolton Arena and Wembley Arena through the start of 2015. Whilst on tour we received confirmation Mark had been selected as a finalist for Government backed 'Rock The House' which was a scheme aimed at finding the best emerging musicians the UK had to offer. Mark performed and won soloist category at The Bedford, London and went on to play at the Houses Of Parliament Guest Rooms, followed a few months later with an exclusive VIP show at the US Ambassadors residence at Winfield House, London. 

This raised Mark's profile higher again and went on in the second half of 2015 to play shows at The Water Rats, Ronnie Scotts, The Bedford, Farr Festival, Marylebone Summer Festival, Rhythms Of The World and also supporting artist Kelvin Jones several times at shows. At the end of 2015 Mark was booked to play a new night at London's 02 Brooklyn Bowl, 'New Blood' which again highlighted the very best emerging musicians on the scene.

Starting 2016 strong he was being booked at some top venues including, The Garage, The Hard
Rock Cafe and Century Club, Soho. With his career now progressing it was time to start recording some new music and after speaking with several top producers, Mark flew out to America (NJ) to record the next EP with Grammy nominated producer Steve Greenwell, and was lucky enough to have some great session players feature on the tracks including Jack Daley on bass. On return from America and the new tracks being prepared for release Mark was invited to London TV to talk about his music and blossoming career which then led to a slot at the first Major festival, Isle Of Wight 2016. After this, booking agency Coallition Talent booked Mark for the well recognised Coffee House Sessions tour around London and were so impressed they booked Mark for two festivals following this, The Big Feastival (20,000) and Camper Calling (6,000).

Willow Tree - Tom Speight

Shortly after the start of a very promising musical career working with Mumford & Sons and Travis, our LCM featured artist today Tom Speight was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Tom was forced to take a two-year break, following emergency surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation process for the condition that could have killed him and his career. We are delighted to report that Tom has made a remarkable recovery both personally and musically. He was one of stars of last weekend's Music Maker's festival along with his bandmates Lydia Clowes and Tommy Ashby, so we thought we would share some of his excellent music with you. Our choice for LCM #TrackOfTheDay is the beautiful and heartfelt title track from his 'Willow Tree' EP released back in March. Tom is joined on the song by the equally very talented Jessica Staveley Taylor from 'The Staves'. 'Willow Tree' was the final installment of a quartet of EP's he released through 2016 and into early 2017. Tom has a wonderfully pure and rich vocal and with the feel of Tom's music, it reminds us a little of another fantastic singer-songwriter Al Lewis on his 'Battles' album.

Discussing the song, Tom says: "We recorded around 11pm… all huddled around playing live next to each other. There was something really special about it because it felt so human. I feel like Willow Tree is my least comprised recording to date because of they way we tracked it."

This is one of four videos that have been directed and produced by JP Davidson (Young Fathers) for Tom, the others are 'Little Love', 'Falling' (ft. Rachel Sermanni) and 'Love'. This video features subtle references to the previous videos and songs through Polaroid pictures and other objects that are featured. Tom himself is a keen photographer and likes to make his own album and single artwork. For this video alone, he took more than 100 photos, which were given away with the deluxe CD edition of 'Willow Tree'. 

Tom's music takes the best elements of folk and pop music and puts them together to create a raw and infectious sound. 'Willow Tree' is a wonderful example of this. It is a melodic track, which has a haunting guitar riff accompanied by ethereal keys and strings as the backdrop for Tom's distinctive vocals. The addition of Jessica Staveley-Taylor creates some great harmonies. 

Tom is set to release another quartet of EP’s in 2017 & 2018, the first of which is 'My My My released at the end of July, the 2nd and 3rd are due in the Autumn of 2017 and early 2018.

2017 has also seen Tom signed to Kobalt (recording) and Cooking Vinyl (publishing). Radio 2 playlist support continues and Tom has reached an amazing 10m streams on Spotify.

Please catch Tom and the band live if you can. Highly recommended.

Heart Crash - Belle Roscoe

We continue our look this week at the stars of the recent Music Makers festival with our next LCM featured band led by Australian brother and sister duo Matty & Julia Gurry aka Belle Roscoe. Originally from Melbourne but now London based Matty and Julia have a great indie folk/ rock sound and have been building a solid underground buzz across mainland Europe and the UK. Their refreshingly cool & epic indie melodies are fused with the underground old school electronic world. I had the pleasure of first meeting Matty & Julia when they came as our guests to Danni Nicholls recent album launch at SPOC. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is a lovely live version of 'Heart Crash' recorded at a 'Cuthbert Corner' session at the The Star Hotel in Port Fairy, Australia.

Belle Roscoe have been spending time in Europe defining their sound & collaborating with European musicians and renowned DJ producer Luuk Cox (Shameboy, Girls in Hawaii, Stromae, & MLCD), the band have recently worked with legendary US producer Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, The Shins, Paper Kites), and are touring across Europe.

With a new album promised later in the year, they are band on the rise. Catch them live if you can.

Paris - The City And Us (The Chainsmokers) Cover

It is always exciting to meet and introduce brand new bands & artists and this week we will be looking at a great selection from the recent Music Makers festival held over the weekend in Clapham. Our LCM featured band today 'The City And Us' are from Dublin and are definitely ones to watch for the future. Formed very recently this exciting 4 pieces are currently writing and working on next material. Their music is unique blend of acoustic tracks with a hint of electro  As a taster they have recently released a wonderful new video, a cover of The Chainsmokers 'Paris'. Let us know what you think?

'The City And Us' have been making waves in their home in Ireland and beyond with a future tour is planned for the UK, Germany, USA and all over Asia. They formed in late March of this year, with their very first show in the famous Olympia Theatre in Dublin to a sold out audience. Following the show they released a new video for their debut track 'Home'. An emotionally and honest song performed in their own unique way. The video was taped in a one shot format in a castle ballroom. Having such a large space the band used the natural reverb incorporating stomping and clapping percussion. The results are fantastic and worth checking out.

Each member has years of experience and brings a different style and experience into the rich mix of the band. 'The City And Us' are also a unique and infectious band to listen to....and one I think you will be hearing a lot more about. 'The City And Us' are Mark Hogan, Elva Trill and the two Stephens.

The Gambler - Up Down Go Machine

Summertime is festival season and along with the bigger events it is definitely worth checking out the smaller local music festivals, as some can be hidden gems. One great example would be the 'Music Makers' festival being run this weekend in the Omnibus near Clapham Common. With a full hand-picked programme is it fantastic way to discover new music. One example on yesterday's line-up were our LCM featured band today London based 'Up Down Go Machine'. With their rich Celticana sound they remind me of a cross between Blue Rose Code and Hosier. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is their new single, the very good western infused 'The Gambler' which was released on Friday as part of a new EP.

UDGM are a four piece outfit hailing from Wales, via Lincolnshire and Kent. The band weave delicate folk melodies around their stripped back, acoustic guitar led sound, which is bolstered by the telepathic harmonising of siblings Stephen and Ria Hallwood.

Their songs are unashamedly heartfelt and direct, with strong nods to Jeff Buckley and Ray LaMontagne, but never stray to far from their home grown, Celtic roots. UDGM are Stephen Hallwood (Singer/Guitar), Ria Hallwood (Keys/Main Backing Vocals), Stephen Plumb (Bass/Vocals) and Sam Martin (Drummer/Vocals)

Adrift, Adrift - Rosie Hood

We continue our look at the fast rising young stars of the recent Cambridge Folk Festival with our next LCM featured artist, Sheffield based singer-songwriter Rosie Hood. It's a exciting time for Rosie, as she has just recently released her highly anticipated debut solo album 'The Beautiful & The Actual' through RootBeat Records.  Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is the very timely and heartfelt 'Adrift, Adrift', one of the albums lead singles. A shout out as well to the very talent Elly Lucas who filmed and edited the video. The song was recorded & produced by Tom A Wright at Powered Flight Music and features Emma Smith & The Barber Sisters.

June 2017 saw Rosie Hood release her first full-length solo album 'The Beautiful & The Actual', a collection of old and new folk songs.

“I have tried to depict the beautiful and the actual”, wrote Alfred Williams in 1923 in the introduction to his book Folk Songs of the Upper Thames. A hammerman, poet, linguist and historian, Alfred Williams was also a prolific folk song collector. In the years prior to World War I he visited the towns and villages close to his home of South Marston, Wiltshire, just 10 miles from Rosie’s home village of Minety, and collected hundreds of songs, eight of which Rosie has arranged and recorded here. “I hope that my interpretations of these songs do the same”, Rosie says of Williams’ words that inspired the title of her debut album. “I feel that Alfred Williams was talking about the duality that exists within his collection of songs, but to me the title reflects the duality within the songs themselves. There’s life and death, love and betrayal, beautiful melodies and hauntingly sad lyrics,” Rosie explains.

'The Beautiful & The Actual' displays Rosie’s artistic progress and creative partnerships that have developed since releasing her eponymous E.P. in 2011. 'From A Furlong of Flight', lamenting an 11th Century monk’s unrealised dreams, effortlessly enhanced by the Barber Sisters’ strings arrangements, to the tragic traditional ballad 'Lord Lovel', sung in classic duo harmony style with Folk Award winner Jefferson Hamer, and 'Undaunted Female', the story of a bold young woman, simply accompanied by Emma Smith’s driving double bass, Rosie’s vocal holds these songs together. John Archbold’s poignant war song 'The Hills of Kandahar' features Ollie King’s sensitive melodeon playing, whilst the stark and haunting version of 'The Cruel Mother' is sung with Folk Singer of the Year nominee Emily Portman. These sparse accompaniments allow each track to breathe and for Rosie’s timeless singing to tell the stories that make up this superb debut album.

Rosie Hood a young folk singer from Minety in Wiltshire, is known for her strong, pure voice and engaging solo performance. A BBC Performing Arts Fellow in 2015 and a 2016 Horizon Award nominee at the Radio 2 Folk Awards, Rosie has become more than purely a traditional singer. Having started learning folk songs at an early age from her family, Rosie has a keen interest in the history of traditional songs, particularly those of her native Wiltshire, where she has spent time researching in the local archives and developing a broad repertoire of local songs. Rosie’s Fellowship year with the English Folk Dance & Song Society proved a pivotal point in her career giving her time and space to develop as an artist. The year saw Rosie develop her song-writing with mentor Emily Portman, hone her instrumental skills and even resulted in a transatlantic collaboration with New York based singer and guitarist Jefferson Hamer.

Crossfire - Kit Hawes & Aaron Catlow

The Cambridge Folk Festival is an excellent place not only to see your favourite artists and bands but also to discover new music and see excellent musicians who have been on our LCM recommended 'must see' wishlist. Our next LCM featured duo Kit Hawes and Aaron Catlow are a great example and it was fantastic to see them live at 'The Den' on Sunday evening. One of the highlights from their set was our LCM #TrackOfTheDay the wonderful 'Crossfire' taken from their debut album 'The Fox', which was released last year.

Kit  & Aaron are a Bristol based duo playing acoustic, folk and roots music. Best known as the virtuoso guitar and fiddle players from the band 'Sheelanagig', they draw on their many influences to created unique arrangements of traditional music, as well as their own compositions. The live show is a musical journey through Europe, America and beyond; combining dazzling playing with a fine sense of musicality and showmanship.

Their debut album 'The Fox' has been received with critical acclaim. It explores the relationship between fiddle, guitar and voice, using the fertile ground of the traditional music of the British Isles as its starting point. The product of decades of musical experience, the track listing combines self penned tunes and folk tales, all intricately arranged and heartfelt.

"Fleet fingered and ingeniously arranged. .....deserve to be thought of as up there with the best of them" (Songlines)

"such dexterity, energy and passion.....mightily impressive" - (R2 Magazine)

“The pair demonstrate an eclectic approach that lifts them head and shoulders above the rest” (Acoustic Magazine)

“Never a dull moment, with imagination firing throughout and an abundance of creative energy” (Living Tradition)

Angeline The Baker - Jamie Francis

It's a very exciting time for our LCM featured artist singer-songwriter and banjo master Jamie Francis. Not only is Jamie part of Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, The Changing Room and Stark but he has just released his 10-track solo debut album aptly titled 'The Patient Neighbour'. The album is led by Jamie's banjo, but also features fiddle and whistles from Toby Shaer (John McCusker and Heidi Talbot) and cello from Graham Coe (Jellyman's Daughter and Blue Rose Code). The tracks are a mix of Irish and American traditional tunes, as well as some original compositions by Jamie. As a very good taster our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is the instrumental 'Angeline The Baker'. 

Jamie Francis is a Cornwall based banjo player, guitarist and songwriter. He started gigging at the age of 12, and grew up surrounded by both the blues music popular in his home town of Maryport, and the Irish folk music played by his father. His playing and songwriting styles reflect these varied influences.

Jamie Francis attended the Brighton Institute of Modern Music where he received a 1st Class BA Hons in Music Performance. At University he met his long time musical collaborator Sam Kelly, whose band Sam Kelly and the Lost Boys has won a BBC Folk Award and seen Jamie play all over the world. As well as the international gigging, Jamie has played live sessions on BBC Radio 2 and 3, played in Seth Lakeman's band and supported numerous folk legends such as Cara Dillon and Sean Lakeman & Kathryn Roberts

Princess Rosanna - Top Floor Taivers

Our next LCM featured artists Top Floor Taivers are a young and fresh Glasgow based folk band performing traditional and contemporary Scots song and tunes. Coming from Scotland, England and Ireland, Top Floor Taivers combine stunning vocals with piano, fiddle and clarsach to create unique arrangements of traditional folk songs and tunes as well as their own compositions.The band comprise of Claire Hastings [2015 BBC Young Traditional Musician] (Voice/Ukulele/Guitar), Gráinne Brady (Fiddle), Heather Downie (Electro Harp) and Tina Jordan Rees (Piano). The Top Floor Taivers released their highly anticipated debut album 'A Delicate Game' at the end of February. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is a new live version one of the lead singles 'Princess Rosanna' with lyrics from Findlay Napier.

Nominated in the Up and Coming Artist category at the 2016 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards the band are going from strength to strength. With unique arrangements of traditional Scottish songs like 'The False Bride', to contemporary Scottish songs like 'Princess Rosanna' by Findlay Napier, and 'Everybody Knows' by Leonard Cohen, this exciting new album has something in it for everyone.

Since forming in 2013 the band have performed across Scotland and Ireland, with highlights including BBC Music Day, Stonehaven Folk Festival, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party, and Celtic Connections amongst others. In 2017 they will be touring their new album and will be performing a tour of Germany in 2018.

I Breathe In Life - Tobias Ben Jacob

We have been a big fans of our next LCM featured artist for quite a while now. Due to release his excellent debut solo album 'A Polyphonic Life' shortly, Exeter based singer-songwriter Tobias Ben Jacob is a real gem. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is a wonderful live version of 'I Breathe In Life' taken from a session at the Preservation Room. Tobias is joined on the video by the lovely and very talented Lukas Drinkwater and John Elliott (The Little Unsaid). We like this one a lot and think the new album is going to be pretty special from what we have heard already.

Tobias and Lukas will be headlining at the Winemaker's Club, Farringdon on the 12th August. It is highly recommended by us and well worth coming down.

Tobias is a 21st century song and dance man spinning tales of love, loss, beauty, desire, distilled life, heroes and devils, spiritual yearning and a unique form of soul cartography. His forthcoming album 'A Polyphonic Life' produced by The Little Unsaid at Cube in Cornwall is due out in Autumn 2017.

‘Really stop you in your tracks' (Fresh On The Net)
'Inventive and thrilling' (R2: Rock n Reel)
'One of our best artists' (BBC Devon Introducing)
'Definitely one to watch out for' Late Junction' (BBC Radio 3)
'A fresh and uplifting sound' (Folk Radio UK)
“stand out new Folk... superb.. excellent” (Chris Hawkins. BBC Radio 6)

Little Lies - I'm With Her

We have something a little special today from our next LCM featured artists 'I'm With Her'. This 'super group' trio of Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins and Aoife O'Donovan have just released their first original song yesterday. Written in  the hills of Echo Park in California on May 5th, it was recorded at an historic studio on Sunset Blvd. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is the beautiful 'Little Lies'. We hope you enjoy it.

All three musicians had crossed paths many times in their careers, yet it was an impromptu performance at the 2014 Telluride Bluegrass Festival that sparked the formation of 'I'm With Her'. The trio spent the Spring and Summer of 2015 touring the world garnering acclaim for their unique blend of instrumental interplay combined with their indelible harmonies “… that could be sweetly ethereal, or as tightly in tandem as country sibling teams like the Everly Brothers, or as hearty as mountain gospel.” The New York Times

Smokescreen - Sound Of The Sirens

Our LCM featured artists today are the award-winning Exeter based duo of Abbe Martin and Hannah Wood, better known as 'Sound Of The Sirens'. Already championed by Chris Evans, who declared himself “blown away” when he heard Sound of the Sirens for the first time and he subsequently invited them to perform alongside U2 and Take That on TFI Friday last year They have recently released at the end of May their excellent and high rated debut album 'For All Of Sins'. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is the lead single the very catchy 'Smokescreen'.

Abbe and Hannah will next be performing in London at The Water Rats on the 19th October

Their fan base has built up not just over several sublime EP releases, but also through their live shows, which combine a natural facility for connecting with their audiences and unforgettable performances predicated on energy, warmth, humour and, above all, real conviction. This is true whether Sound of the Sirens are playing the intimate environs of Exeter Cathedral, before tens of thousands at the Isle of Wight Festival or supporting Rick Astley on his UK arena tour.

"We work well together,” says Abbe, a graduate of Dartington College of Arts, who’s now a vocal coach and drama practitioner for Vocal Arts.“ We have fun and a shared vision of what we want our music to do and how we want it to influence people. Music moves people and can help people overcome adversity. As performers we have a responsibility to write music that will impact and not offend. If people are listening to your voice, use it wisely.”

Abbe and Hannah, who studied performance art at Barnstaple College, met when they worked together at the Timepiece in Exeter, the venue which gave them their debut as Sound of the Sirens. Drawing on diverse influences, including Bob Dylan, Ed Sheeran, Joni Mitchell, KT Tunstall, The Carpenters, they write from a personal experience they feel others can relate to. “We can also be quite inventive in our writing, using different text games to create a stimulus from which to write,” says Hannah.“ 

We definitely put our emotion into our music and publicly vent. We often put a positive spin on the sadness that life can bring, finding strength in doing so and hopefully helping others to deal with the same issues.”

One of those issues – mental health – is the subject of The Voices.“We’ve been moved by a mental health campaign, #itaffectsme, that’s bringing people together to be open about mental health issues. It’s also campaigning to get mental health awareness to be spoken about in primary school education to prepare the next generation. As teachers and musicians we feel this is brilliant.”

Sound of the Sirens want to both enlighten and entertain, and they want to do it with euphony. For All Our Sins accomplishes all of the above.