Gitta de Ridder (NL)

• Discography: Come Find Me EP (2014), Feathers (2016) For Everything A Season (2018)

• Contact:

• Website: http://www.gittaderidder.com/

Anglo-Dutch singer and songwriter Gitta de Ridder sings things as they are. The simplicity of her songwriting leaving the space for her heart-filled vocals to purvey the words in their purest form. Inspired by modern folk artists such as Anais Mitchell and Iron & Wine she has been playing and releasing her songs since early 2015 which led to appearances on Dutch national TV and Radio and support from BBC introducing and several local stations in the UK.

An engaging lady who has the ability to mesmerise and draw an audience into the magical world of her songs. A world full of feeling, warmth, kindness, honesty, joy and sadness. Her folk-­pop songs with beautifully poetic but also conversational lyrics go straight to the heart and are performed on a bed of warm finger­-picked guitar topped by a voice full of character and emotion.

As well as a talented singer-songwriter Gitta also organises and promotes her great gig night 'Sound Of Songs', which is held on a quarterly basis both in London and Amsterdam

Feathers (2016)

For Everything A Season (2018)

Laura Oakes (UK)

• Discography: Laura Oakes EP (2015), Nashville Stole Your Girl EP (2017)

• Contact

• Website: http://lauraoakesmusic.com

Liverpool may not be the usual breeding ground for burgeoning Country Pop superstars, but Laura Oakes is – as always – an exception to the rule. A two-time winner of Best Female Vocalist at the British Country Music Awards and a Top 5 artist on the iTunes UK Country Music Chart, Laura has the room-silencing voice and songwriting chops to rival her heroes Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood and Martina McBride. Support slots have include performances for The Shires, Ward Thomas, The Sisterhood, Catherine McGrath, Devin Dawson, The Wandering Hearts, Andrew Combs, James Dupre, Jenn Bostic and Hudson Taylor.

Live is where her music really take a hold of people. She’s played across the UK’s vibrant festival scene including main stage slots at the likes of Cornbury Music Festival, Camp Bestival, The Long Road, Black Deer, The Great Escape, Liverpool Sound City, Buckle and Boots, C2C, Cottingham Folk Festival, Secret Garden Party and various gigs for Bob Harris’ Under The Apple Tree.

Music was in Laura’s blood since a young age and coming from a musical family where it was normal for mealtime conversations to be conducted in three-part harmony, it was inevitable that a visit to Grand Ole Opry in Nashville at the age of 18 would prove to be an overwhelming and life-defining experience, driving her to realise her dream of writing and singing country music.

She recorded and self-released her first single ‘Don’t Let It Hit Ya’ in September 2013 which featured in the top 20 iTunes Country Chart. Her second single ‘Snakes and Ladders’ followed in 2014 with similar success.

Laura released her debut Self-Titled EP to iTunes in the summer of 2015 receiving great support from BBC radio across the UK, and similarly from Digital Radio (Chris Country and Amazing Radio). Bob Harris included it in his Best of 2015 retrospective on BBC Radio 2. As the year came to an end, Laura was also awarded the prize of The British Country Music Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year and followed up again in 2016 winning the prize for a second year running.

2017 saw Laura release her acoustic EP “Nashville Stole Your Girl” which reached no.3 in the iTunes UK Country Chart and was toured across the UK. Following in the success of the tour and the EP, Bob Harris invited Laura in to his BBC Radio 2 Country show for an interview and session.

Within the same year, Laura began to run her own night ‘Laura Oakes Hosts…’, at The Green Note, Camden to much success. The night showcases talent in the song writing world across the genres of americana, country, singer/songwriter and pop which to date has hosted talent including Holloway Road, Robbie Cavanagh, Lisa Wright, Twinnie, Tim De Graaw and Kerri Watt.

Itching to get back to Nashville, Laura flew back in 2018, to co-write with some of the world’s greatest songwriters including Jeff Cohen, Beth Nielson Chapman, Leslie Satcher, Ray Kennedy, Jenn Bostic, James Slater, Philip White, Mike Fiorentino, Chris Lindsey, Ketelyn Clampett, Jason Lehning and Palmer Green. She returned to the UK armed with a bundle of fabulous songs ready to perform. Stay tuned across Laura’s socials to hear when the tracks will be ready for release.

Nashville Stole Your Girl EP (2017)

Bryde (UK)

• Band Members: Sarah Howells

• Discography: Chocolate Factory Sessions EP (2015), EP1 (2016), EP2 (2016), Like An Island (2018)

• Contact:

• Website: http://www.brydemusic.com/

It would be far to say that without meeting Sarah almost five years ago, LCM probably would never have existed in it's current form. So we owe a great deal to Sarah and her music. It's also always a pleasure whenever Sarah joins us for one of our LCM gigs. It is a very exciting time for Sarah as she is about to release her highly anticipated solo debut album 'Like An Island' as Bryde.

Sarah was born in Pembrokeshire but is now London based. She was originally part of the excellent band Paper Aeroplanes but is now forging a solo career as a girl and an electric guitar playing fierce and fragile songs. Her music swaying from vulnerable to uncompromising within one verse and chorus. Bryde's music is honest and furiously authentic. Often compared to the likes of Daughter, Sharon Van Etten, Ben Howard & PJ Harvey, Sarah has such a distinctive vocal and the electric guitar sounds gives Bryde a different feel to her Paper Aeroplanes and EDM music.

Championed by blogs, her music so far has been described as “tender, wiry piece of tear-jerk alt-pop” (The Line of Best Fit ) and played by Huw Stephens on Radio 1, Tom Robinson on 6music, BBC Introducing in London and cited by various blogs as ‘One to Watch’.

Sarah will be releasing her debut solo album 'Like An Island' on the 13th April followed by a full UK tour including a London date at Omeara (London Bridge) on the 1st May. 

REVIEWS

“The song is a showcase of Bryde’s impressive vocal range, although her most exceptional vocal quality lies in her ashy timbre and seemingly uncalculated vibratos. It’s these perfect blemishes that imbue her music with a certain convincing vulnerability not normally present in singles from the usual pop titans.” (Earmilk)

“A female soloist gathering a lot of interest …. helping her stand-out among a great tide of very good female artists such a Lapsley.” (Never Enough Notes)

“It bends but does not break, with the insolent sorcery of Sharron Van Etten or PJ Harvey” (Les Inrocks)

Single of the week - “[Help Yourself] glides, soaring skyward through its powerful and emotive choruses, headstrong. It’s clearly cathartic, but not just aimless and explosive, it is instead guided and direct with a complete conviction in itself. A strong but raw vocal performance only enhances the earnest lyrical sentiment.” (Cultured Vultures)

“There is so much beauty in Sarah’s voice: the huskiness of Gemma Hayes, lightness of Laura Marling and sensitivity of Jeff Buckley — beauty that is hard to define, which is a big compliment.” (Fresh on the Net)

Like An Island (2018)