Line up Saturday 17th September
RICHMOND FONTAINE
Alt-country band Richmond Fontaine were formed in 1994 at Portland Meadows racetrack in Portland, Oregon as songwriter/vocalist Willy Vlautin and bassist Dave Harding pored over the racing form and talked music between races. The two took their mutual love of Husker Du, Willie Nelson, X, The Blasters, and The Replacements and started playing music together. Before long, Fontaine was a solid four-piece outfit with an avid fan-base in the US and abroad. Known for Vlautin's incredibly rich and evocative lyrics, several of Richmond Fontaine's songs relate to horse racing specifically and gambling generally. They release their 8th album in September. Their previous, We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River (2009) gained a five star review from Uncut, saying, 'Raw, autobiographical brilliance' and the Sunday Express calling it, 'A dreamy, reverb-laden masterpiece' - 5/5.
HANNAH PEEL
A previous collaborator with The Unthanks and Tunng, Hannah Peel's debut album, The Broken Wave, released earlier this year, established her straight away as a powerful new creative force in folk music - performing as a trio.
"Vibrant folk-pop with a stunning voice to savour" * * * * Uncut
"Inventively arranged, sweet without being cloying, there's just the right hint of weirdness and mystery lurking beneath the fragile folk pop surface... in a word, charming." * * * * Q
For more info go to youtube.com/watch?v=hEAwOgsCVZk&feature=related
LAURA GIBSON
Laura Gibson lives in Portland, Oregon, sings songs and plays a nylon-stringed guitar. She grew up in a small isolated logging town called Coquille, the daughter of the town's kindergarten teacher and a forest ranger.
"A new soundtrack for your next long hike through the enchanted forest." Rolling Stone
"A soft glowing treasure as the nights grow colder" Time Out
For more info go to youtube.com/watch?v=A-Fa0Eg1qf4&feature=related
THE MISERABLE RICH
The band's music has been described as 'pop music that could soundtrack a nursery rhyme created by Tim Burton'. With their layers of delicate, elegant strings and rich vocals the band lead by violin and cello, with acoustic guitar and double-bass holding down the rhythm. These members of Brighton-based Willkommen Collective display classical, jazz and psychedelic influences within their lush chamber folk.
" ...so heartbreakingly beautiful, it reduces anyone who hears it to a weeping mess." NME
For more info go to myspace.com/themiserablerich
LAURA J MARTIN AND THE SIMONDSOUND
Analogue synthesizers, tone generators, and reel to reel tape machines buzz and whirr amongst the roots of Laura J Martin's homegrown supernatural siren song as folk traditions merge with The Simonsound's science fiction fantasies for this hauntingly progressive/regressive experiment. Laura also performs solo.
SONGDOG
Coming from Blackwood in South Wales (Lyndon Morgans and Karl Woodward) and Dundee (Dave Paterson), Songdog combine acoustic and electronic instruments to create soundscapes for singer/songwriter (and award-winning playwright) Lyndon's vignettes on life, love and loss. Songdog's most recent albums, 2010's A Life Eroding, 2008's A Wretched Sinner's Song and 2005's The Time Of Summer Lightning received great reviews and plays on radio shows. Fans include Bruce Springsteen, who used their track 'Days of Armageddon' for "walk in music" on his last European tour and they've supported Joan As Police Woman and the Go-Betweens.
"Lyndon Morgans's Welsh wanderers explore the soul's secrets and heart's longings." Gavin Martin, The Mirror
"Lyndon Morgans's lyrics are as evocative as ever... magical songs... You'll be with him all the way" James McNair, Mojo
"Terrific stuff!" Robert Wyatt
For more info go to myspace.com/songdog1
COUNT TO FIRE
Count To Fire have an alt-country sound that evokes the wide open spaces of the American Mid-west but has its roots firmly planted in Devon. The band builds subtle layers of violin, chiming guitars and swooping harmonies behind frontman Will Odgers impassioned vocals. Taking inspiration from the intimacy and expansive sound of Americana, Count To Fire have forged their own identity to create a mature and original sound that has been described as 'English country'. They are releasing a single to coincide with their appearance.
"With folk-rockers like Mumford And Sons in fashion, hopefully there's a place for these Exeter lads. They do anthemic rabble-rousing tunes with more fire than anyone in Britain. A feast of moving songs that deserves to blaze a trail to next summer's festivals." News of the World
ELLEN AND THE ESCAPADES
Delicate, bitter-sweet and soul searching are some of the words usually associated with the music of Leeds-based alt folk/rock quintet Ellen and the Escapades. After winning the Glastonbury's Emerging Talent competition this summer, and securing themselves a main stage slot, the band played a vast number of UK festivals and are now focusing on their first album.
For more info go to youtube.com/watch?v=Nrd2SJk1ZTU
JAZZ MORLEY
Dorset singer songwriter Jazz Morley possesses a voice with a rich, warm, emotive voice capable of the tiniest whisper of love to the full vent of a woman scorned. This year has seen her career blossom having supported amongst others Amy Studt, Gabrielle Aplin, and Kate Walsh.
"With references to Dusty via Duffy, this budding singer is well worth keeping an ear on" Phil Jackson, BBC Introducing: The South
ALEX THE GREAT
London four-piece band Alex the Great's influences include Conor Oberst, Bright Eyes, Beirut, Simon and Garfunkel and Bob Dylan.
For more info go to facebook.com/alexthegreatmusic
MAT GIBSON
Sparse and contemplative, South London's own Mat Gibson ushers in comparisons to Springsteen's 'Nebraska', Jim James of My Morning Jacket and 'Being There' era Wilco. Built around a lead vocal and acoustic guitar, instrumentation is minimal. Percussion is often just a floor tom and a tambourine whilst flashes of piano, harmonica, glockenspiel and slide guitar accent Mat's doubled or harmonised vocals and flat-picked guitar.
"a luminous follow-up" **** UNCUT
"there's no doubt that that this album marks the return of a major talent to our shores" Blabber 'n Smoke
"an album that, in its finest moments, easily matches (Neil Young and Leonard Cohen) in beauty as well as insight into the nature of man" Americana UK
"long may he continue" (4.5/5) MAVERICK
"Autumn appears to arrived early in the UK and Mat's album is perfect fit for the seasons shifting patterns and receding days. Essential listening." Beat Surrender
BUSWELL
Shaun Buswell is a singer/songwriter with a band larger than a football squad. He scores all the written musical parts himself but cannot read a note of music. He performs with a line-up that is in double figures and includes classical string, brass and woodwind sections but makes them play indie folk in the spirit of Captain Beefheart. It's something akin to taking a movie filmscore and condensing it into a folky pop song.
"imagine if the Arctic Monkeys had never heard Oasis and spent all their time listening to the Reindeer Section and Seafood instead." High Voltage
DANA IMMANUEL
Armed with a guitar, a banjo and an assortment of bluesy and folky musical collaborators, Dana Immanuel's peculiar brand of honey-voiced North London-based Americana and pseudo-folk could be bottled and sold as moonshine.
TROUBLED COUSIN
James Evans plays under the name Troubled Cousin. He is a solo acoustic act, heavily alt country influenced (Grant Lee Buffalo, Steve Earle, etc).
...AND MANY MORE
Ellen and the Escapades, Honey Sol, JB & the Backline, Mat Gibson, Mozura, Mani & the Dub Collective, Sydney Church, Annie Rew-Shaw, Harry Vinnicombe, Jon Chatwin, Lazybyrd, Elliot Dawson, Matt Calder, Cameron Murray, Paper Anchor, Woodford Green, Mae & the Midnight Fairground and many more...