Shhh! April Bulletin

Hi Everyone,

We’ve got a couple of great shows coming up in April. It would be great to see some of you there!

First up is a double headliner with two of the best guitarists you’re likely to see anywhere:

MONDAY 4th APRIL AT THE HOBGOBLIN, 31 YORK PLACE, BRIGHTON
CO-PRO WITH DRIFTER PROMOTIONS

MICHAEL CHAPMAN

A self-styled old white blues guy from Yorkshire and one of the most under-rated heroes of our time. Chapman’s uniquely English melancholic perspective and emotive guitar style first won him the admiration of John Peel and then more recently kindred spirits Jack Rose and No Neck Blues Band. 2011 will see Tompkins Square release ‘Word Fail Me Vol 1+2’ and a re-issue of his classic ‘Fully Qualified Survivor’.

WILLIAM TYLER

Well-known for his work as part of Lambchop and Silver Jews, William Tyler follows up his release as Paper Hats with ‘Behold The Spirit’, a stunning album under his own name. Experimenting with the boundaries of acoustic guitar playing; incorporating sampled noise with slide and harmonics, all the while anchoring his playing in a countrified tradition.

Then, we have a spectacular lineup of international and local talent with a mixture of poetry, folk and pop:

WEDNESDAY 6th APRIL AT THE PRINCE ALBERT, 48 TRAFALGAR ST, BRIGHTON

TANYA DAVIS

Acknowledged as the premiere poet in her home city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Tanya Davis received enormous acclaim worldwide when the video for her single ‘How To Be Alone’ became a viral hit on Youtube, also winning prestigious awards in Canada.
Tanya’s poetry and music is optimistic and heartwarming, yet focuses on issues many would consider dark.
This is Tanya’s first ever performance in the UK. Be the first to see this upcoming superstar before she’s only playing mega-domes.
http://www.tanyadavis.ca
How To Be Alone – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7X7sZzSXYs

LIANNE HALL

Brighton favourite Lianne Hall plays beautifully crafted pop music. Once a member of the band Pico, Lianne was described by John Peel as having “one of the great English voices”.
Lianne has also collaborated with Paul Hartnoll of Orbital
liannehall.com

HARUKO

“Pure, classic and absolutely stunning” – Slowcoustic
“Beautifully timeless in texture and lushly hushed in a detail that recalls the more genteel Mayday follies of both Mellow Candle and Fairport Convention” – Losing Today

Tickets are available for these events via our website below, and at Resident and Rounder Records.

Shhh! October Shows

Josephine Foster & The Victor Herrero Band, plus Caroline Weeks

October is another busy month here at Shhh! Promotions. We’ve got three great gigs coming up featuring some of our favourite artists.
Things kick off on Sunday 3rd October at The Basement with the incredible Josephine Foster, joined by Spanish composer and guitarist Victor Herrero and his band. They will be playing songs from their new album ‘Anda Jaleo’. The show will feature traditional Spanish folk ballads, flamenco dance and poetry, as well as some Josephine Foster classics.
Support is provided by Caroline Weeks, a talented multi-instrumentalist and singer who has worked extensively with Bat For Lashes and Radiohead’s Phil Selway, as well as releasing some beautiful solo recordings.

Stanley Brinks, Freschard and Frozy

Next up, we have Stanley Brinks (also known as André Herman Dune) at The Prince Albert on 7th October. Stanley Brinks played a sold-out show for us back in March and we couldn’t resist inviting him back. This ‘beatnik Leonard Cohen’ is going to fill the intimate Prince Albert venue again so we’re recommending you get your tickets early.
Stan will be supported by Freschard and new anti-folk band Frozy (who were last seen in Brighton supporting Jeffrey Lewis).

The Great Park, Takeda, Woodpecker Wooliams

Finally we have The Great Park, a Brighton favourite who has been living in Germany for the last year and is making a special return visit for a show at The Prince Albert on 20th October. The Great Park’s intimate modern folk songs tell tales of beauty, regret, sorrow and joy. This show will be a rare chance to hear his new songs live.
Also on the bill we have Takeda, a new upcoming folk-pop band from Norwich; and Woodpecker Wooliams, an always surprising singer and Shhh! favourite.
It’s going to be a great month. We’ll also have some further announcements about new shows in December and into next year. Keep an eye on the website and our Facebook group…

The Hurdle Hop 2010

The Hurdle Hop 2010 - West Hill Hall, Brighton 31/07/10

The dust has finally settled on our busiest month so far at Shhh! Promotions. What a great July!
The Jason Steel and Rachael Dadd shows were beautiful, and we rounded the month off with our first all-day festival at the West Hill Hall in Brighton.
It’s amazing to think that the Hurdle Hop was all put together in roughly one month, and with a lot of very hard work, stress and worry, was a complete success.
There’s a great long list of people to thank:

The bands: Joe Gideon & The Shark (every bit as amazing as we knew they would be); Love.Stop.Repeat (utterly charming); Lianne Hall (this wouldn’t have been possible without all her help, and what a great singer); Jane Bartholomew (good arm-wrestler); The Buzzards (lovely to see George Thomas again); Men Diamler (astonishing, one of my personal highlights); Becky Becky Parentheses (“music doesn’t get better than this” – someone in the audience); Woodpecker Wooliams (great, as always); The Vague Gyratory (short and sweet, just like her set).

Also: Dillon of Simple Folk Radio and Meat Peter, our co-promoters; Matt and Rob the sound guys (in every way); Mike and Hannah on the bar; Leki and Ed the video guys; Kate the amazing cake lady; Ro and Tom who saved our lives with the drum kit; and of course everyone who came along to this wonderful day. Apologies if I’ve missed anyone out.

Watch this space for news of The Hurdle Hop 2011!

Another unforgettable show, and on to the next…

Mute Swimmer, Vio/Miré, Jason Steel

We had a really memorable night at The Prince Albert on Sunday. Such an intimate show with a small but incredibly friendly crowd. I always knew this was a great lineup of musicians, but I was blown away by the performance.
Anyone who gets the chance should try to see Jason Steel, Vio/Miré or Mute Swimmer play live.

I’m still buzzing from the last show, but we’re moving straight on with another amazing show. This next Sunday, 25th July: Ichi & The Hand with Rachael Dadd

Ichi & The Hand with Rachael Dadd at The Prince Albert Brighton 25/07/10

I’m so excited by the next show. I genuinely don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. I’ve been told that Ichi is a surprising and unique performer; Rachael Dadd and The Hand are always different; we might even have a surprise guest performer, but I can’t say for certain. It’s going to be a fun night.

The Hurdle Hop 2010

The Hurdle Hop 2010

Oh man. This is going to be an awesome, crazy, wonderful day.
Just look at the lineup! I can’t believe we were lucky enough to get all these great bands for this little one-day festival.
This is probably going to become an annual festival, and it’s so amazing to be involved in the first one.
Tickets here

I’m a bit overwhelmed right now by all the great bands that are coming to play for us in Brighton soon.
Here’s the latest list:
Sun 18th July – Jason Steel, Vio/Miré, Mute Swimmer – Prince Albert, Brighton
Sun 25th July – Ichi & The Hand (featuring Rachael Dadd) – Prince Albert, Brighton
Sat 31st July – The Hurdle Hop – West Hill Hall, Brighton
Fri 3rd September – Emily Jane White, Adelaide’s Cape, Old Lost John – The Basement, Brighton
Sun 3rd October – Josephine Foster & The Victor Herrero Band + Support – The Basement, Brighton
Wed 20th October – The Great Park, Takeda, Woodpecker Wooliams – Prince Albert, Brighton

Josephine Foster in Brighton

When we started putting on shows in Brighton only a few short months ago I never imagined we would have so many wonderful, unforgettable experiences and meet so many genuinely brilliant people. I hoped that would happen, but I’ve been blown away by quite how well it has all worked out. Mainly due to the amazing respect people have in Brighton for musical talent, I should say. This is a bloody great place.

I’m so happy to say we have booked a show in October which I think will beat anything else you will see this year. Josephine is one of my very favourite musicians in the world. It’s a complete privilege to be putting on this show which I guarantee will be amazing. I still can’t quite believe this is happening, to be honest.

Each time I have seen Josephine Foster play live I have been staggered by her songwriting, her stage presence, her humour, her downright oddness, and of course that unique voice.
Josephine Foster fans tend to be somewhat obsessive and you can probably tell I am one. The last time I saw her play in London the audience was so quiet I could hear a man three rows away breathing, such was the intensity.
I hope you will all come and experience this show in October, but in all honesty I don’t care if no one else shows up. I will have the best night of the year anyway, albeit an expensive one!

A Beautiful Weekend

I think this weekend summed up exactly why we do this concert promotion thing. We made new friends, heard some beautiful music, had some adventures, and most of all, really enjoyed ourselves.
The gig on Friday was Haruko, Birdengine and Woodpecker Wooliams at The Basement in Brighton.
Susanne (Haruko) had never been to Brighton (or even Britain) before, so we tried to show her some of the fun things we have here, and in the process found a few things we didn’t know about this crazy beautiful place.
I can’t remember all of the fun things we did, it was quite hectic.
Some highlights that spring to mind are the promenade on Brighton Pier, the strawberry scones at the church fete, the awesome Booth Museum, the man with the world’s greatest sound system, Woodpecker Wooliams’ bee hives, the Lianne Hall album launch party, and of course our very beautiful concert at The Basement.
Thanks to everyone involved this weekend. You know who you are, and you know how much it meant to us.

This Week’s Surprise Discovery – Allysen Callery

Allysen Callery

I’m showing up fashionably late to the party that is Allysen Callery (unlike a real party, where I normally show up an hour before the other guests and sit in a corner quietly contemplating the dip selection).
Allysen’s first album, ‘Hopey’ is properly amazing. I hear shades of Diane Cluck, Sandy Denny, Cat Power and a bunch of other great stuff that makes me swoon a bit. If you like any of those ladies you should obtain this album immediately.
Allysen Callery is from Rhode Island. So far I think she has only played shows in America, but she has already got airplay on Folk Radio UK and WFMU which is a pretty good measure of quality music.
I don’t know if she will ever play a show for us here in Brighton. I hope so, but mainly I’m just trying to spread the love for some great music.

The Great Park returns to Brighton

Currently based in Germany, Stephen Burch (The Great Park) has been a prominent figure in the Brighton folk scene for several years. Many of our favourite local artists have put records out on his Woodland Recordings label.
He’s been away from Brighton for what seems like ages, but I’m really pleased to announce The Great Park will return for a Shhh! night at The Prince Albert on 20th October.

It’s a fair way off, and we’ll have a few great gigs before then. For the latest info on our shows join the Shhh! Promotions Facebook group.

Don’t forget these four amazing gigs coming up:
11/06/10 Haruko/Birdengine/Woodpecker Wooliams – The Basement
18/07/10 Jason Steel/VioMiré/Mute Swimmer – The Prince Albert
25/07/10 Rachael Dadd/The Hand/Ichi – The Prince Albert
31/07/10 The Hurdle Hop Festival – West Hill Hall

Shhh Photo Competition: This Month’s Winner

King James

Originally uploaded by Sam Collins

For this month’s competition we invited Brighton-based musician and artist Guy Dale (aka Mute Swimmer) to be our celebrity judge.

Guy chose this fantastic image of the King James band playing their support slot at the recent sold-out Stanley Brinks show.

Congratulations to Sam Collins for this winning entry. Guy said “it’s a great shot in low light that captures the communal intimacy and skewed religiousity(?) of the band in question”.

Thanks to all who entered the competition this time, we had a lot of great photos and a record number of entries. Don’t forget to bring your cameras to our next Shhh! show.

Thanks also to Guy for judging the competition. The Mute Swimmer album is available from Woodland Recordings and it’s really very good.