Monthly Archives: March 2017

Green Note, Camden NW7 1AN.

Tickets £8.50 adv BUY NOW, £10 door.

Doors open 7.00 pm. Nearest tube Camden, 3 mins walk.

Originally conceived as a close-harmony vocal trio, a collaboration with South London producer Kams brought The Nightjar to the attention of Boiler Room’s Joe Muggs. The ensuing Boiler Room debut went viral, and brought their 2015 ‘The Nightjar’ EP plaudits from nearly 70,000 underground music fans, as well as the accolade of airplay on Radio 3’s Late Junction.

A successful crowd-funding campaign convinced them of the existence of an audience for their dream-like, ethereal songs of hope, loss and disaster and, in the autumn of 2015, The Nightjar relocated to a farmhouse in rural Portugal to begin their first full-length offering.

2016 tours of France, Germany and the UK saw audiences brought to a stand-still by the raw intensity of their performance, bringing them a reputation as a must-see live band. Drawing influence from the lo-fi wooze of Grouper, the stark and poignant balladry of Diane Cluck and the deft compositions of Colleen, The Nightjar use close-harmonies, tight-interlocking guitars, deep bass and an intense lead vocal to paint fragile, haunting landscapes.

Nina Harries is a solo double-bassist and songwriter, and graduate of the prestigious Royal College of Music. A virtuosic player, possessed of a stunningly powerful singing voice, her intense perfromance style and strikingly unique songs mark her out as a singularly original talent. She recently performed at Glastonbury and the Time Out Rising Stars Showcase 2017.

New Roots is committed to promoting events that shine a light on up and coming talent in the UK alt-folk scene. It’s committed to providing artists with an environment that is sympathetic to what they do, giving musicians the respect they and their music deserves – for this reason we ask for no talking and no use of mobile phones while artists are performing. Our music policy comes from the kitchen table, the roots of public performance- intimate, acoustic based, high quality musicianship with as little interference between performer and listener as possible.
New Roots Radio

The Harrison, 28 Harrison Street, WC1H 8JF

Two sets, 8.30 pm – 9.10 pm / 9.30 pm – 10.10 pm
Doors open 7.30 pm, Tickets £10.00 BUY NOW
Nearest tube Kings Cross, 7 minutes walk.

The dynamic and exhilarating duo of Will Pound and Eddy Jay create a sound and show like no other. The pair read each other instinctively, forging a path to new folk sounds with harmonica and accordion together as one instrument.
Will Pound is one of the finest harmonica players of his generation whose innovative style pushes the boundaries of his instrument and the folk genre- a three-time nominee for BBC Radio 2 Folk Musician Of The Year, he has held the accolades of FATEA Instrumentalist of the Year (2013, 2014) and Spiral Earth Magazine Musician Of The Year (2015) and has performed with musicians as diverse as Martin Simpson, Concerto Caledonia, Michelle Burke and Guy Chambers.

Eddy Jay is a master of the accordion with the ability to turn it into an orchestra at his fingertips. Career highlights include his key role in the arrangement of the hit stage musical version of Noel Coward’s Brief Encounter’ (Kneehigh theatre) which toured US theatres including Studio 56 on Broadway (NY), and performances with Cathal Coughlan and Tina May. He has created his own version of Prokofiev’s classic ‘Peter and the Wolf’, and arranged a show based on the life and work of Edith Piaf- both productions have toured the UK and beyond.

‘A musical exaltation’ – Lopa Kothari, BBC Radio 3/World On 3

‘A dynamic set of ear-expanding tunes’ – The Independent

‘Staggeringly brilliant’ – Folk Radio UK

‘Amazing, wonderful music! Two lads on fire’ – Mike Harding

‘We live in an age where there is so much new music constantly at our fingertips it makes it hard for anything to seem really unique, innovative or surprising. But the exhilarating sound of Will Pound’s harmonica teaming with Eddy Jay’s masterful accordion playing is just that’ – NARC Magazine

‘Feverishly wonderful – absolutely stunning stuff. Will is a genius of global proportions‘ – Phil Brown, BBC Lancashire

‘Wow – that sounds phenomenal doesn’t it? Will is one of the most outstanding instrumentalists in the country today and he’s teamed up with an inspiring accordionist – Bruce Macgregor, BBC Scotland

‘Tremendous stuff – sparks are certainly flying here! – Frank Hennessy, BBC Wales

‘Technically amazing, skilfully astounding, Ignite is the most startlingly original album. You’re going to love it- no discussion, no debate! – Folkwords

The Slaughtered Lamb, 34-35 Great Sutton Street, EC1V 0DX

Doors open 7.30 pm, nearest tube Farringdon, 6 mins walk..

Tickets £8.50 adv BUY NOW / £10 door

To describe Whiskey Moonface as an alternative folk group doesn’t even begin to do justice to the breadth of inspiration and style in their music. Based around double bass, accordian, and clarinet, they’re led by the superb vocals and hallucinatory lyrics of singer Louisa Jones. Capable of being both ear-to-ear-grinningly entertaining and profoundly moving, they combine elements of Eastern European traditional & klezmer music, old-time New Orleans jazz and the baroque/ chamber folk styles of Sufjan Stevens and Beirut with their own unique take on contemporary folk music to make for a superbly realised, truly beautiful, and utterly original sound. There is simply no-one in the UK making music like Whiskey Moonface.

58° North is the latitudinal line that links the home places of the three musicians that make up this exciting new folk act; Ewan MacDonald, Alastair Caplin, and Lewis Murray, with a combination of fiddles and mandolin. Between the three of them they have played on some of the UK’s most prestigious stages, including The Royal Albert Hall, Westminster Abbey, The Barbican and The Roundhouse, and played with some of the UK’s finest folk musicians-Alasdair Roberts, The Incredible String Band, Emily Portman, Abigail Washburn, and The Ceilidh Liberation Front..

After many evenings spent learning each other’s playing and tunes, the band have melded a sound that bonds together the ancient tradition of Scottish Traditional music with folk music from other European and Scandinavian traditions. The music ranges from the most intimate stringed slow airs to fiery table-thumping sets of reels.

Garance Louis; extrovert, eccentric composer, singer, accordionist from Perpignan, and stalwart of the brilliant East London roots scene that includes Whiskey Moonface, Adam Beattie and Brooke Sharkey. Blending Tom Waits, Edith Piaf and Frank Zappa with the melancholy softness of alternative post-musette songwriting, this brilliant artist finds an exhileratingly original way of interpreting the French Chanson tradition with her band The Mitochondries.

New Roots is committed to promoting events that shine a light on up and coming talent in the UK alt-folk scene. It’s committed to providing artists with an environment that is sympathetic to what they do, giving musicians the respect they and their music deserves; for that reason we ask for no talking and no use of mobile phones during performances. Our music policy comes from the kitchen table, the roots of public performance- intimate, acoustic based, high quality musicianship with as little interference between performer and listener as possible.

The Slaughtered Lamb, 34-35 Great Sutton Street, EC1V 0DX

Doors open 7.30 pm, nearest tube Farringdon, 6 mins walk..

Tickets £8.50 adv BUY NOW / £10 door

To describe Whiskey Moonface as an alternative folk group doesn’t even begin to do justice to the breadth of inspiration and style in their music. Based around double bass, accordian, and clarinet, they’re led by the superb vocals and hallucinatory lyrics of singer Louisa Jones. Capable of being both ear-to-ear-grinningly entertaining and profoundly moving, they combine elements of Eastern European traditional & klezmer music, old-time New Orleans jazz and the baroque/ chamber folk styles of Sufjan Stevens and Beirut with their own unique take on contemporary folk music to make for a superbly realised, truly beautiful, and utterly original sound. There is simply no-one in the UK making music like Whiskey Moonface.

58° North is the latitudinal line that links the home places of the three musicians that make up this exciting new folk act; Ewan MacDonald, Alastair Caplin, and Lewis Murray, with a combination of fiddles and mandolin. Between the three of them they have played on some of the UK’s most prestigious stages, including The Royal Albert Hall, Westminster Abbey, The Barbican and The Roundhouse, and played with some of the UK’s finest folk musicians-Alasdair Roberts, The Incredible String Band, Emily Portman, Abigail Washburn, and The Ceilidh Liberation Front..

After many evenings spent learning each other’s playing and tunes, the band have melded a sound that bonds together the ancient tradition of Scottish Traditional music with folk music from other European and Scandinavian traditions. The music ranges from the most intimate stringed slow airs to fiery table-thumping sets of reels.

Garance Louis; extrovert, eccentric composer, singer, accordionist from Perpignan, and stalwart of the brilliant East London roots scene that includes Whiskey Moonface, Adam Beattie and Brooke Sharkey. Blending Tom Waits, Edith Piaf and Frank Zappa with the melancholy softness of alternative post-musette songwriting, this brilliant artist finds an exhileratingly original way of interpreting the French Chanson tradition with her band The Mitochondries.

New Roots is committed to promoting events that shine a light on up and coming talent in the UK alt-folk scene. It’s committed to providing artists with an environment that is sympathetic to what they do, giving musicians the respect they and their music deserves; for that reason we ask for no talking and no use of mobile phones during performances. Our music policy comes from the kitchen table, the roots of public performance- intimate, acoustic based, high quality musicianship with as little interference between performer and listener as possible.

Green Note and New Roots are proud to present Ned Roberts ‘Outside My Mind’ album launch on Aveline Records.

Tickets £10.00 adv BUY NOW/ £12.00 door

Doors open 7.30 pm. Nearest tube Farringdon 5 mins/ Barbican 5 mins

Support from special guests Ferris & Sylvester

Ned Roberts is an acoustic singer-songwriter based in London. Not long after writing his first songs, he was discovered by producer Luther Russell (Sarabeth Tucek, Richmond Fontaine, Noah & The Whale) and brought to Los Angeles to record. The pair have since developed a close creative partnership.

The first single culled from these sessions was “Red Sun”, which featured frequently on BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio Scotland, and Radio 3 in Spain. On the heels of this came the single “Blues #6”, featuring vocals by acclaimed songstress Sarabeth Tucek. The track was championed by Lauren Laverne, Jo Whiley, Gideon Coe, and Huey Morgan on BBC Radio. His debut self-titled album was released to great acclaim in 2014, garnering significant national press, notably from the Guardian and Uncut magazine. Live sessions for BBC Radio London and Bob Harris’ Radio 2 show soon followed.

No stranger to the road, Ned has toured the UK extensively. He attained a much sought after support tour with celebrated US songwriter Anais Mitchell, and has also supported the likes of Joe Pug, Micah P. Hinson, The Delines and Sarabeth Tucek. He has also toured the West Coast of the US, embarked on a 14-date tour of Germany, as well as gigs in France, Spain and Italy.

In 2015, Ned returned to Los Angeles to record, once again with producer Luther Russell at the helm. The resulting album, Outside My Mind – expertly mastered by John Fischbach (Stevie Wonder, Carole King) – is striking, showcasing a greater confidence in both his material and voice, adding an Americana expanse to the folk foundations of his eponymous debut. Delivered with a poetic turn of phrase, excellent musicianship and a perfectly judged vocal sensibility, these songs sit comfortably amongst the classics of the Laurel Canyon era. Outside My Mind will be released on Aveline Records in March 2017.

‘Absolutely gorgeous stuff…one to really get excited about’ – Lauren Laverne, BBC 6Music

‘A warm treat…his melodies reminiscent of Leonard Cohen with lyrical nods to Bob Dylan, and his voice has echoes of Tim Hardin‘ ★★★★ The Guardian

‘A splendid debut…a beautiful record’ – Gideon Coe, BBC 6Music

‘so gifted, possessing a fine ear for a tune and a real knack for storytelling..stunning’. 8/10 – UNCUT

‘An understated gem’ – The Independent on Sunday

‘A beautiful voice that brings faded emotions back to the surface. I’m a sucker for a good storyteller.’ – Jody Stephens, Big Star/Golden Smog

‘A lovely lilting voice that recalls a trans-Atlantic Nick Drake… requires replaying constantly’ – Rough Trade

‘Absolutely fantastic, softly spoken and considered’ – Roddy Hart, BBC Radio Scotland

The Winemakers Club, Farringdon EC4A 4AN

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN ADVANCE TICKET ONLY CONCERT, THERE WILL BE NO TICKETS AVAILABLE ON THE DOOR.

Doors 7.00 pm, music begins at 7.45 pm. Nearest tube Farringdon, 3 minutes walk.

Tickets £10.00 BUY NOW

For this special performance at the Winemakers, The Magic Lantern will be performing his first full band show of 2017 accompanied by a rhythm section with two bass players, saxophone trio and keys.

The Magic Lantern is the musical moniker of Jamie Doe. An artist dedicated to remedying the anxiety and fear present in everyone, his immediately arresting voice both lifts and calms the senses equally. Currently recording his third album ‘To The Islands’, the singer and composer Doe is a rising star of London’s diverse music scene, who never settles without a challenge, and lives to spread love, calm and sincerity. ‘To The Islands’ was written during a tumultuous journey to Australia, where he was born, after nearly 10 years away and features a diverse and driving ensemble to explore memory, hope and our perennial search for acceptance with an intriguing variety of musical textures. ‘To The Islands’ is due for release later in 2017.

“Very, very special” – Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music

“Intriguing, compelling and exceptional. A man to watch” – The Guardian

WEBSITE: http://www.the-magic-lantern.co.uk

Ed Dowie‘s music career began in 1998 when his Bournemouth-based psychedelic-dub-pop band Brothers in Sound – stablemates of the legendary Beta Band on cult Parlophone subsidiary Regal Recordings – released three EPs and the album Family Is For Sharing, all of which were met with considerable critical acclaim. Now signed as a solo artist to renowned Scottish indie label Lost Map, home to Rozi Plain and Pictish Trail, he released his debut album “The Uncle Sold’ in January this year.

WEBSITE: https://www.facebook.com/eddowie

‘A deceptive simplicity affirms the talent and ability of this accomplished, bold and starry-eyed visionary’
– The Quietus

The Slaughtered Lamb, Farringdon EC1V 0DX , Doors open 7.30 pm Nearest tube , Farringdon, 7 mins walk.

Tickets £7.00 adv BUY NOW / £8.00 door

Dublin-born singer songwriter Jenny Lindfors returns with a new moniker and new music. Sailing Stones emerges from a period of self-discovery, self-production, and a new musical approach. Lindfors voice is seraphic, and she possesses extraordinary, poetic songwriting ability. The nostalgia of her chosen sounds, with a spectrum ranging from Laurel Canyon to the analogue ambiences of Bladerunner and Vangelis, enhance the empathetic quality of this inspired, wise music. Her career to date has seen her tour with the million-selling Rumer, and share the stage with Angus & Julia Stone– for this show she will be accompanied by Dan Moore on keys (Rodriguez/ Mark Ford/ Phantom Limb) and Daisy Palmer on drums (Rae Morris/ Goldfrapp/ Vaults).

‘captivating, in a similar vein to Lucy Rose or to early Laura Marling, set apart by the spacious melancholy that’s all its own’. The Line of Best Fit

WEBSITE: www. thisisailingstones.com

Genevieve Dawson is a singer songwriter originally from Edinburgh, now based in South-East London. She currently studys composition at the renowned Goldsmiths, College, putting her in the esteemed company of James Blake, Rosie Lowe and a long line of established alumni. Bringing together a frank lyrical style with a warmth and soulfulness that inhabits the same alt-folk terrain as Ani DiFranco, her songs are minimally and sensitively embellished by her excellent three piece band.

New Roots is committed to promoting events that shine a light on up and coming talent in the UK alt-folk scene. It’s committed to providing artists with an environment that is sympathetic to what they do, giving musicians the respect they and their music deserves – for this reason we ask for no talking and no use of mobile phones while artists are performing. Our music policy comes from the kitchen table, the roots of public performance- intimate, acoustic based, high quality musicianship with as little interference between performer and listener as possible.

WEBSITE: http://www.newrootsevents.com

NEW ROOTS RADIO: https://www.mixcloud.com/RadioNewRoots/

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS ADVANCE TICKET ONLY. The Winemaker’s Club 41A Farringdon Street, EC4A 4AN
Doors open 7.00 pm, music from 7.45 pm. Tickets £10.00 BUY NOW

Nearest tube Farringdon, 4 mins walk.
Because of the nature of the performance space we cannot seat latecomers until the interval.

The Winemakers is a strikingly atmospheric 70 capacity candle-lit stone arch in the vaults of Holborn Viaduct. It’s attached to the Winemakers Club, an independently run wine and craft beer bar. the bar is open to ticket holders only.

Fred Thomas’ Polyphonic Jazz Band explores improvised counterpoint in an uncompromising way through the medium of jazz standards. Eschewing the traditional chordal roles of harmonic instruments such as the piano and guitar, this ensemble instead seeks inspiration and transplants structural ideas from one of the richest resources in all of Western music history: Baroque Polyphony. Borrowing these surprisingly under-explored contrapuntal schemes and applying them to jazz music’s most cherished and often hackneyed songs has enabled Fred Thomas to research a very new way of interpreting this repertoire without written arrangements. This distinctive soundworld – cool, complex and beguiling, yet stylistically very open – results from the cumulative effect of diverse musical personalities weaving together simultaneous independent melodies and celebrating the liquid intricacy of a texture that derives from music two hundred years older than the birth of jazz. Along side band-leader Fred Thomas, Martin Speake (Paul Motian, Bobo Stenson), Mick Foster (Cleo Laine, LPO) and Phil Stevenson (Fofoulah, Iness Mezel) all bring their own voices to a genuinely new way of playing the old songs that still nourish our jazz culture.

“Fred Thomas is brilliant” – BBC Music Magazine

“Splendidly creative” – The Wire Magazine

“A beautiful thing” – Guy Garvey, BBC Radio 6

“Thomas is challenging the status quo” – The Creators Project

“High class” – The Telegraph

“A first-class double-bass/pianist” – Charlie Gillett

“Highly original” – Chris Parker

“Fred Thomas emerges as the leading voice” – OMH Music

“Fred Thomas provided an inexhaustible range of touch and colour” – Birmingham Post

“Not to be missed” – Benoît Delbecq

“A creative artist blessed with an abundance of imagination” – Hexagone

“In a word: sublime” – SilenceAndSound

Collages of field recordings, synth drones, mutated cornet and mysteriously evolving sound worlds collide in a solo set from electronic musician and cornetist Alex Bonney, a regular on the UK’s improv, jazz and experimental music scene. His debut solo vinyl ‘Excavations and Demolitions’ (Two Rivers) was recorded in a concrete factory in Italy in 2015: ”As in all the best playgrounds this is a thrilling carousel of discovery.” BBC 3 Late Junction

New Roots is committed to promoting events that shine a light on up and coming talent in the UK alt-folk scene. It’s committed to providing artists with an environment that is sympathetic to what they do, giving musicians the respect they and their music deserves- for this reason we ask for no talking and no use of mobile phones while artists are performing. Our music policy comes from the kitchen table, the roots of public performance- intimate, acoustic based, high quality musicianship with as little interference between performer and listener as possible.

NEW ROOTS RADIO: https://www.mixcloud.com/RadioNewRoots/

The Harrison WC1H 8JF. Nearest tube Kings Cross, 7 mins walk. £7.00 advance BUY NOW/ £8.00 door

With support from Laura Smyth & Ted Kemp.

Cunning Folk says of the new album: ‘This record is a journey through the land of Britain. I was inspired to find a new way of identifying with the land. Uncomfortable with thinking of myself as of one peculiar nationality I set out on a journey to ritual sites & churches in England & Scotland, walking & running on moors, valleys & woodlands. I had guides to inspire this trail; it’s not as if I’m the first one to do this. Bookshelves full of journeys, from Robert Macfarlane to Julian Cope to Alfred Watkins to Alan Garner to Nan Shepherd to Russell Hoban. Those who have been before on the land itself also guided me: evidence cut into chalk hills, trails & cairns, shacks, field patterns. The land has been worked above & below & this is part of our island story. As an amateur folklorist, I am familiar with practices of Cunning Folk who practiced in the countryside from Cornwall to Thurso & beyond. I identify with them.’

From Canterbury to Knowlton to Pendle to Kingussie the only borders are those we make.

Cunning Folk has previously performed as GentleFolk, whose 2015 album, “Into the Greenwood” was described as

“Charming & mesmeric” Guardian

“Engagingly idiosyncratic” Prog

“One of the most intelligently written & interesting albums of 2015” Liverpool Sound & Vision

“Genuinely & gently joyeous” Fatea Records

“Calls to mind the Incredible String Band” R2

“Perfectly epitomises folk music in principle & execution” Sonic Bandwagon

WEBSITE: https://cunningfolkmusic.com/

Since moving to London and winning Islington Folk Club’s Trad2Mad competition in late 2011, Laura Smyth has quickly established herself as an accomplished singer on the London folk music scene. She and multi-instrumentalist Ted Kemp perform songs and tunes from the English tradition, including many from Laura’s native Manchester and surrounding area, with arrangements featuring English Concertina, 5-string Banjo, Melodeon, Cello, and Guitar.

Laura and Ted interpret and deliver their music with a reverence for the English tradition, taking influence from both collected and revival performers while achieving a style that is very much their own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCZji0ZdwBk&list=RDJCZji0ZdwBk