Mad Agnes

27th February 2010 at 8pm at Lowdham Village Hall

When Mad Agnes played for us in 2008, we were undeniably disappointed with audience numbers. Yet such was the impact they had on us and all that saw them that within 24 hours we had booked them to return. There really is nobody else like them.

Mad Agnes is not one person, but three, and they're mad in only the most inventive way.  Margo Hennebach, Adrienne Jones and Mark Saunders stir up elements of classical and folk, cross singer/songwriter poignancy with street-theatre smarts and infuse it all with courageous harmonies, complex counterpoint and rich storytelling in a powerful live performance.  Their lyrics are intelligent, their delivery warm, and insightful.  Not surprisingly, each has arrived at the trio from a long list of solo accomplishments.

The music of classically trained Hennebach has been described as “contemporary and timeless”  and “captivating” . A finalist in songwriting competitions, including Kerrville and Napa Valley, Margo has a BM in Piano from Oberlin Conservatory and a masters degree in Music Therapy from the Guildhall School of Music in London.  Jones is a self-taught fingerstyle & rhythm guitarist and bassist and a finalist in four national songwriting competitions. Mad Agnes also features Hartford Conservatory graduate Saunders on vocals, acoustic, electric, National steel and bass guitars. 
They've been called genre-bending -- with classical, rock and old-world backgrounds they play everything from contemporary original to madrigals, to Celtic traditionals, to harmony-driven folk pop. 

 "When I first heard Mad Agnes I knew instantly these were special people with a special act. Musically, emotionally and spiritually they ticked all the right boxes. When I finally got to meet them, my suspicions were confirmed. They are lovely people making lovely music that reaches out and grabs you."                     Simon Nicol - Fairport Convention, Chipping Norton '07

Adults £10, Concessions £8

Find out more

www.madagnes.com

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Rosie Doonan & the Snapdragons

10th March 2010

A ‘Warthogs on Wednesdays’ event at The Old Ship Inn, Lowdham

Rosie Doonan is different. In conversation she readily admits to gaining inspiration from influences as disparate as the Beta Band to Laura Veirs to Free, but musically she reflects such divergences with tunes of such celestial grace you’re left thinking they must be covers. “I grew up listening to The Stones, Joni Mitchell and Free,” she explains. “But my roots are in the folk scene, so that’s in there too.”

But there’s more to Rosie than songs blessed with such warmth they’ll halve your winter heating bills. She sings desolate astral-folk (“Hold On”) pithy social commentary (“Little Boat”) and tales of love-gone-bad to make Amy W sound like a Blue Peter presenter. “It’s fair to say I’ve been through some emotional upheavals in the last couple of years,” she laughs. 

Growing up in Wakefield, Rosie found herself “surrounded by music”. Living in a house overflowing with hung over musicians - her dad played uilean pipes in folk luminaries Hedgehog Pie, an ‘uncle’ was in Lindisfarne - she was a free festival veteran by fourteen. “We would go to every festival going. All the kids would hang around together and then we’d go and see our parents play in bands. It gave me a good grounding in what being a musician is all about.” 

“I want as many people as possible to hear my music, because it’s got a universal theme” she explains. “At the moment, I play gigs in Wakefield and there’s a big crowd because people know me. That’s great, but the time has come to get out there and play to people who only know me through my music. I’ve put my heart and soul into the record, and I’d like to think you can hear it in the songs.” She has announced herself as a major talent by turning her sorrow into music as joyous and uplifting as Moving On. The past is the past. But the future’s Rosie.

“If you thought modern rock was incapable of matching the emotional pull of the past, fast forward to piano lament ‘Hold On’ and tell us you’re not reaching for the Kleenex”
                                                                                   Review of ‘Moving On’

All tickets £7

Tickets on sale now

Find out more

www.rosiedoonan.com

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Beatles, Blues and the Blue Violin

20th March  2010 at 8pm at Lowdham Village Hall

Former members of E.L.O. and Electric Light Orchestra Part II and current members of The Orchestra, Phil Bates & Mik Kaminski with special guest Tina McBain from the Eleanor Rigby Experience, come together for The Beatles, Blues and Blue Violin
tour.

Doing exactly what it says on the tin, the project explores some new arrangements of Beatles songs, especially where the Beatles and the Blues meet. Alongside this, Mik and Phil will revisit some of the ideas they were exploring 10 years ago when they last played and recorded together as a duo, along with some great blues material, from Phil’s solo repertoire and of course ELO and Violinski material.

 “There was also an instrumental medley of Beatles numbers, played exquisitely in finger-picking style, and a terrific, vocal rendition of McCartney's 'She's A Woman'”
                                     Review of a solo Phil Bates concert

Adults £12, Concessions £10

Find out more

www.phil-bates.co.uk

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CadillacKings

10th April 2010 at 8pm at Lowdham Village Hall

Featuring six of the UK's top blues & roots musicians, The Cadillac Kings play music inspired by the sounds & styles of the ‘40s & ‘50s. A mix of mostly original songs with a few well-chosen covers from the likes of T-Bone Walker, Roy Brown & Champion Jack Dupree have made the band firm favourites on both the blues & jump-jive scenes. With their stunning musicianship & exciting stage act, this is a band that knows how to entertain audiences across the board, from arts centres to dance-halls, from intimate clubs to major festivals.

With backgrounds including Otis Grand’s Band, James Hunter’s Jokers, The Poorboys, Big Joe Louis, and Little George Sueref, The Cadillac Kings came together in the year 2000. They became an immediate hit at venues & festivals all over the UK . 2001 saw the release of their debut CD ‘Lou Ann’ which received wide airplay in the UK & abroad, culminating in a nomination for the 2002 USA Swing Awards.Tour dates have included London’s 100 Club, the Great British R&B Festival, the Burnley Blues Festival, London's Hackney Empire, the Black Horse World Music Festival in Sussex, Crawley Folk Festival, Soho Jazz & Heritage Festival, UK Arts Council tour, the Gloucester Blues Festival, (Norway's huge) Notodden Blues Festival, the Ørland Blues Fest, the Drobak Festival, Denmark's annual Blues Cruise, the Duvel Blues Festival in Belgium & the Rotterdam Bluezy Festival in Holland.

“On the basis of this stonking gig at Chester’s Alexander’s Club The Cadillac Kings seem best suited to take over the position as the country's finest purveyors of good-time blues and swing.”
Grahame Rhodes, Chester Chronicle

Adults £10, Concessions £8

Find out more

www.cadillackings.co.uk

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Megson

28th April 2010

A ‘Warthogs on Wednesdays’ event at The Old Ship Inn, Lowdham

We are delighted to welcome back Megson to play their second ‘Warthogs on Wednesdays’ concert. Nominees in the ‘Best Duo’ category in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and winners of the same category in the Spiral Earth website awards, the profile of Stu and Debbie Hanna is most definitely on the rise. Stu is also in demand as a producer where his credits now include the latest offering from Show of Hands, ‘Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed’.

Originally from Teesside, the husband and wife duo met singing in the local Cleveland Youth Choir. At that time, they both had very different music career paths ahead of them. Middlesbrough born and bred Debbie has been singing since she could speak. She trained to be a classical singer, taking a degree in Music at Leeds University followed by a post-graduate success at Trinity College, London, gaining a distinction as a classical soprano. She plays violin, piano, whistles and concertina. Billingham, Teesside, born and bred Stu was playing in a pop-punk band run by an American manager who had big ideas for the band. They soon found that neither of these worlds was ultimately for them and, shortly afterwards, joined creative forces in Megson.

“For my money, Megson are amongst the most exciting trailblazers of British Contemporary Folk”     Seth Lakeman

All tickets £8
Tickets on sale Monday 22nd February
Find out more

www.megsonmusic.co.uk

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ADRIAN EDMONDSON & THE BAD SHEPHERDS

30th April 2010 at 8pm at Lowdham Village Hall

The Bad Shepherds have made a stunning impact on the Summer Festival scene throughout 2009, attracting rave reviews from all quarters. The idea to play classic punk songs on folk instruments may seem strange but was inspirational. As a friend of ours said on seeing them live for the first time “It really works, doesn’t it!”

In keeping with the punk ethos, this will be an all-standing concert with a bar open throughout the evening, run by the Old Ship Inn.

The Bad Shepherds are:

ADRIAN EDMONDSON (Vocals, ‘thrash mandolin’)
Adrian is best known as a comedian in The Young Ones, Bottom, and The Comic Strip Presents. Though he’s no stranger to the music world having played the Monsters of Rock and Reading Festivals with Bad News, the Hootenanny with Jools Holland, Hyde Park with The Who, and he’s toured with The Bonzo Dog Doo-dah Band. He’s also had a No 1 single with Cliff Richard!  And as a director he made lots of music videos in the 80’s for the likes of The Pogues, Squeeze, Elvis Costello and 10,000 Maniacs.

TROY DONOCKLEY  (Uillean pipes, cittern, whistles, vocals)
Troy has built up a formidable reputation as both a Composer/Arranger/ Musician/Performer and as a leading virtuoso of the Uilleann Pipes. He’s released three critically acclaimed solo albums and also finds time to record and tour with the likes of Maddy Prior (he has co-produced four albums), Barbara Dickson (produced two albums) Maire Brennan (Clannad), Midge Ure, Nightwish, Lesley Garrett , Roy Harper, Status Quo, Alan Stivell, Del Amitri and many more…

ANDY DINAN (Fiddle)      
Andy won the All-Ireland Fiddle Championship… twice.  He’s best known for playing with Toss the Feathers and Mike McGoldrick, but he’s also supported Dervish, Lunasa, Capercaillie and solo artists Martin Hayes and Liz Carroll. He recently performed at the Armagh Pipers club Festival with Mike and Ian Fletcher with a new project involving Portugese, Brazilian and Irish music.

Supported by Ella Edmondson

Adults £15, Concessions £12.50
Tickets on sale from Monday 7th September

Please note this is an all-standing concert with a licensed bar in operation throughout the evening.

(Wegottickets logo)

Find out more:

www.thebadshepherds.com