Forthcoming Gigs
World Unlimited: 2008 - from the roots up
March - April 2008:
World Unlimited-Celebrating the worlds finest music since 1989 , Earth Music for the Universal Soul
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March 2nd
Kings Of Spain + Tom Bellamy
Music Room @ mac
An intimate, totally acoustic, microphone free, show. Whether gentle love songs or rousing foot-stompers their songs will remain in your head long after the show has finished. Previous shows have sold out so booking is advised. www.myspace.com/thekingsofspainuk+ Tom Bellamy
Tom Bellamy, twenty one year old singer songwriter from Birmingham is currently recording his debut album under the guidance of producer Bob Lamb.Tom’s music is haunting and melodic; his lyrics are provocative and profound. www.myspace.com/tombellamy
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March 13th
Ska Cubano + DJ Tim (Stump Juice)
Wulfrun Hall 7.30pm
Ska Cubano are gaining more attention than any other home grown ska band since those 80's 2-Tone pioneers and with good reason. Led by the charismatic Natty Bo, it is their revolutionary mix of the two biggest dance sounds of the Caribbean - fusing ska with son and wild Cuban brass to create a sound both nostalgic and new, that has captured everybody's imagination. Their albums have received enormous critical acclaim, earning them a BBC 3 World Music Award nomination, but live they are unbeatable – pounding ska collides with other Caribbean rhythms: calypso, cumbia, merengue, mambo, son, rumba, high-testosterone 1950’s R&B.This twelve piece, with four horns and three percussionists, cook up a huge sound all fronted by flashy characters who stand alone amongst the dowdy chaps of contemporary British music. They have rocked festivals all over the world and are now coming to Wolverhampton to show why they are the hottest property around and to promote their latest CD Ajiaco (The Re-mix album). If you love ska, if you love the cuban rhythm or you just love having a good time, then this is one party you are gonna wanna to be at!!!!!_________________________
March 14th
Heidi Talbot & Kris Drever
mac 8pm
“Heidi Talbot sings in a voice that’s both awestruck and tender” (New York Times) Look out for a new star in the glittering firmament of great Irish singers: with the release of her new album In Love and Light, Heidi Talbot is truly set to shine. Already well known to US audiences as lead singer with the Irish-American supergroup Cherish the Ladies, and following wide critical acclaim for her previous solo outing, 2004’s Distant Future, Talbot now extends her talents over a broader, bolder musical canvas, in company with a stellar cast of guests. “the impossibly lovely voice of Heidi Talbot” (All Music Guide) After bidding a fond farewell to Cherish the Ladies, and launching In Love and Light during Glasgow’s world-renowned Celtic Connections festival in January, Talbot will be touring extensively during 2008, in between several high-profile studio projects. She is to be a featured guest on the forthcoming solo album from Radiohead drummer Philip Selway, and on a new trio recording from John McCusker, Kris Drever and Idlewild’s Roddy Woomble. 'Drever's debut aligns ancient with modern. A poignant picture of modern Britain and makes the standard live anew. ' Album Of The Week (The Sunday Times) Kris Drever is an Orcadian multi-instrumentalist, Kris has done a myriad of different projects, quickly moving from traditional pub sessions to the gigging circuit, playing large tours of the United States and Chile with dance show Celtic Fusion. After leaving the show Kris worked with Fine Friday, and as a session musician for a variety of artists including The Battlefield Band, John McCusker, Kathie Ryan, Harem Scarem, Clare Mclaughlin and with his father, folk singer and guitarist Ivan Drever. He has also toured with folk superstar Kate Rusby. 'A strong natural singer and top notch guitarist. The folk revival has a new standard bearer' (Q )_________________________
March 16th
Shona Kipling + Damien O'Kane
Music Room @ mac 7.30pm
BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominees 2007 after the release of their acclaimed second album ‘Box On’, the duo have been causing waves ever since. An extremely gifted pairing, this instrumental and vocal duo play an array of traditional and self-penned tunes and songs originating and influenced mainly from the Irish tradition. Shona has been hailed one of the best piano accordionists around and Damien, ‘Fret King…’ is a virtuoso on tenor banjo and guitar as well as a tremendous singer. A new album is due in 2008 and the pair will also be performing as a daring new line-up alongside percussionist extraordinaire, Cormac Byrne (Seth Lakeman Band/Uiscedwr) in 2008. Here’s what some of the critics have said: “Imagination, energy, wit and brilliant playing. Shona and Damien are a force to be reckoned with on the folk scene.” - Fiona Talkington (BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction) ‘...the musicianship of this duo positively sparkles with a gleeful combination of genuinely creative interplay and flexibility...’ – Froots ‘Live, this duo rocks…’ – Irish Music Magazine_________________________
March 27th
Waterson:Carthy
mac 8pm
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April 5th
Dreadzone
Wolverhampton Civic Hall Bar.. Doors Open: 6.30pm
One of the country's top reggae and dub acts, founded in 1993 by Greg Roberts and Tim Bran. Their debut album 360° set the stage for the follow up, Second Light, to be cited as a favourite of John Peel's and saw them play at Glastonbury just one year after their formation. Continuing to record and release new music, Dreadzone for many years hosted Dubweiser at Notting Hill Arts Club, and subsequently released Once Upon A Time in 2005. Their continued popularity remains a testament to their presence in British music. A soundclash fusing technology with human rhythms; dub bass , dance beats, live breaks, rocking guitar and electronic soundscapes, held in check with a masterclass of MCing and the best reggae singer in the country. This is truly a heavy live lineup with classic tunes and a unique sound. The future may hold many challenges but Dreadzone once again move forward and continue to shatter preconceptions. http://www.myspace.com/gregdread_________________________
April 6th
Kathryn Williams + Neill MacColl + support Graham Pattinson
Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall.. Doors Open: 7pm
‘It just isn't possible that there will be a sweeter, more sincere album released this year than this plaintively bittersweet collection of duets from adopted Geordie songstress Kathryn Williams and scion of a venerable English folk-music family, Neill MacColl. Written, recorded and mixed in a little over two weeks, Two is a miniature marvel, the sort of album you want to keep jealously to yourself but feel compelled to tell complete strangers who catch your eye in the street about. Just do it. They’ll thank you for it. Nominated for the Mercury Music prize in 2000 for the equally but differently exquisite Little Black Numbers, Williams has carved out a singular niche for herself across a six-album career and courted comparisons to Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Dylan and the Velvet Underground. All very flattering but all failing to quite encompass the delicious individuality of the soft-as-the-finest-Eiderdown pillow voice and a musical sensibility of bewitching sensitivity. Add the rippling summer brook-voiced MacColl – think Clifford T Ward crossed with Sandy Denny (I know,I know!) – to the equation and the combination of the two becomes completely spellbinding. ‘ BBC Folk "the songs they've written are exquisite"- Uncut "incredibly intimate"- Guardian http://www.myspace.com/williamsmaccoll_________________________
April 17th
Bellowhead
Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall.. Doors Open: 7pm
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April 28th
Teddy Thompson
Little Civic Wolverhampton 7.30pm
Teddy Thompson's self-produced Upfront & Down Low offers distinctive readings of beloved country classics: George Jones' "She Thinks I Still Care," Ernest Tubb's "Walking the Floor Over You" and Merle Haggard's "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) StrangersThe album also features a lone Thompson original, "Down Low," whose heart-on-sleeve lyrics take on added resonance in this context.Six tracks feature distinctive string arrangements by legendary English arranger Robert Kirby, renowned for his groundbreaking work with Nick Drake, while "My Blue Tears" features strings arranged by frequent Thompson cohort Rufus Wainwright. Born in 1976 in the London commune where his parents resided, Thompson "didn't listen to any music made after 1959 until I was about 16," and formed his first band in his early teens. After finishing school at 18, he moved to Los Angeles, where he began to pursue a musical career in earnest. His original tunes and live gigs generated sufficient buzz to win him a deal with Virgin Records. By the time he released his self-titled solo debut in 2000, he'd already played in his father's touring band and contributed guitar and backing vocals to his albums You? Me? Us? and Mock Tudor . In 2002, Teddy played a key role in drawing his mother out of a 17-year musical retirement to record her landmark comeback disc Fashionably Late , which he co-produced and played on; he also led her live band when Linda toured to support the album. Teddy also found time to record a self-released six-song EP, Blunderbuss, and to tour as part of Rosanne Cash's band, before signing with Verve and releasing the acclaimed Separate Ways in early 2006. Upfront & Down Low marks a temporary departure from the London-born, New York-based singer/guitarist's prior recorded work. Whereas his first two albums Teddy Thompson and Separate Ways showcased his formidable songwriting skills, Upfront & Down Low focuses on Thompson's abilities as an interpreter of outside material. The collection finds him delivering personalized reworkings of a memorable assortment of songs drawn from America's rich country music tradition, all delivered with a level of commitment and musical imagination that consistently cuts to the emotional heart of the material._________________________
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