Jonathan Day
Friday, 02 July 2010
I live in Shropshire, between a forest and a stream. I like the quiet, the animals and the trees. It took me a long time to get here from where I grew up, in between factories, steel hard and iron grey. Long ago most of my family lived in these borderlands; I guess I've always been slowly heading home. There's something important in the curve of a bird's wing as it cuts the wind and the jumbled stones which break the earth on a round hill's top. It's not only the things, temporary and fleeting as we all are, frantic half seen ghosts to the oldest of trees. It's the intuitions which shimmer and call in the buzzard's mewl or the fox's flash. I try to hold this sparkling stuff long enough to sing it and remember, before it trickles through my fingers back into the earth. Some friends helped me make a recording of some of these songs. I hope you like them.
http://www.myspace.com/jonathanpeterday
Jake Flowers
Sunday, 27 June 2010
Roguish lyricism and ramshackle folk-rock from the rural midlands. Jake Flowers has performed alone in front of 28,000 football fans. He has performed a song of his with The English Symphony Orchestra and has supported acts including Mumford & Sons, LAU, The Strawbs, Slow Club, Julie Felix and The Handsome Family.
Jake Flowers and his band have been invited to perform at T in the Park 2010 and past festivals have included Glastonbury, Green Man, Summer Sundae, Secret Garden Party, Wychwood and Birmingham Artsfest. Past independent releases have been played on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music as well as on regional stations across the UK.
Links:
http://www.myspace.com/jakeflowers
http://twitter.com/JakeFlowersUK
The Groundhogs
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
We're thrilled to bits that the Groundhogs have agreed to headline our main High Street event on August 29th.
Here's a short biography from Joanna
Tony McPhee may be the godfather of grunge, ask Nirvana producer Jack Endino, he may have been playing with blues legends (Hooker, Dupree, Wolf) in the British Blues boom check out BBC4's 'Blues Britania' and 'Blues in Britain' footage. He's still featuring in Classic Rock, Mojo & Music Maker magazines, you will have to buy those… and yet he remains one of the businesses more enigmatic guitar legends, choosing to just get on and play rather than jump on the biz bandwagon.
Who, what, where, when etc…. "In the very early 1970s, the Groundhogs were an ultra-hip, Utopian musical force playing their Top 10 album songs on Top of the Pops and recording alongside Can, Hawkwind and Amon Düül 2 for Andrew Lauder’s groundbreaking Liberty/United Artists record label. And, like the above mentioned groups, the Groundhogs’ albums were housed in supercool gatefolds or triple-gatefolds or even 12” x 15” unfolding comic books which portrayed the individual group members as superheroes. The Groundhogs referred to themselves as ‘Men of Destiny with secret thoughts of saving the world’, and gave their albums titles such as Thank Christ for the Bomb, Split and (best of all) Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs!
And the Groundhogs music was something else entirely. It was a frantic and unresolved post-blues played at breakneck speed with a hard non-hippy idealism and drumming that sounded as though the god Thor was using the gasworks as tom-toms… Their frantic songs of alienation would piledrive along only to disintegrate into whoops of feedback and sonic wah-distortion. As a 15-year-old, I’d sit in the living-room of local axe-hero and watch him mime ecstatically to the guitar freakout in which T.S. makes his Stratocaster sound like the flushing of an electric toilet!" - Julian Cope
Fresh and feisty from touring Germany, The Groundhogs are appearing at THE BRIDGNORTH MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL on 29th August…. Complete with Electric Flushing Toilet!
Contact The Groundhogs
http://www.thegroundhogs.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/tonymcpheethegroundhogs
The Cracked Actors
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Can't wait to see the Cracked Actors heading over to Bridgnorth to play at our main High Street event on August 29th. Ska Punk in Bridgnorth High Street, who'd have thought that would happen!
Cracked Actors were formed in 1999, initially to just play music to our friends; this grew into a nine piece band that went on to rock at Glastonbury in 2004 and 2005.
In between those dates got themselves into all kinds on mischief i.e. sneaking in to a free festival while helicopters buzzed around our heads and police searched the undergrowth to find us, to being barricaded in a squat in Bristol while pissed off coppers bought in on their bank holiday tried to get us and the organisers out.
In these years our first and second albums were recorded and released "Skunkrocker" and "Bard for Life".
After the Glastonbury shows 2 members left, and the band moved on to do their 3rd album. With a new guitarist and now only one drummer, the band now an eight piece went on to play more and more festivals, i.e. Farmer Phil’s Endorset in Dorset, Nozstock, Electric Picnic in Ireland, and Kippertronix.
The Barrell O'Baddies
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
We love the Barrell O'Baddies and had them over to play at the White Lion for the end of Festival party last year. This year we wanted to let even more people see how good they are and we're chuffed to bits that they've agreed to head over and play at our main High Street event on August 29th.
Take a traditional song from one of the old countries, add a jig on fiddle and banjo to get it moving. Lay down some crazy skankin' guitar lines and a heavy bass riff and you're somewhere close to the Baddies' sound.
Bang it through a P.A. at full volume after drinkin' several pints of your favourite brew whilst whooping and hollering yourself stupid and you'll know what it's like to be part of a Baddies gig. Fan-bloody-tastic. The Barrel O'Baddies play traditional Celtic Punk. 'Ave some!
Claire Hamill
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
We're really pleased to announce that well known folk singer songwriter Claire Hamill will be playing at the Festival for 2010. She'll be playing at the Quayside over looking the River Severn on Bank Holiday Monday 30th August and at another gig to be confirmed. We'll announce that on the site too as soon as we have confirmation.
In 2003 Eva Cassidy's version of Claire's song 'You Take My Breath Away' appeared on Eva's platinum-selling album American Tune and established Claire as a world class songwriter. Her late 80's album "Voices" was also No 1 on the New age chart, although these days Claire's performances are singer songwriter folk with new age influences.
Born in Middlesbrough, 15-year-old Claire was discovered singing in a local club in 1971. Her pure and beautiful voice shone out and weeks later she was whipped down south and signed by Island Records supremo Chris Blackwell. Within months she'd recorded her first album, One House Left Standing, and started appearing on TV – notably alongside The Who on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
By the mid-seventies Claire had developed a reputation as a folk-rock wild child, producing albums packed with timeless songs, touring America with Procul Harum and partying with the likes of Ginger Baker and Tim Buckley. Kinks legend Ray Davies then swiped Claire from Island and made two albums with her on his own Konk label, which have become highly-prized collector's items.
Emma and the Professor
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
The line up keeps on getting better and we're really pleased to announce that Emma and the Professor have agreed to come and play at the Quayside on Bank holiday Monday August 30th.
From the Shropshire Marches, Emma Heath and Mark Davies are bringing the local folklore, myths and legends to life through their contemporary approach to acoustic folk roots music. Played on Guitar and Bodhran, the songs are inspired by tales on their very doorstep that hearken back to times of Marcher Warlords, local heroes, strange folk and even magical characters from the underworld.
They will take you on a musical journey through the borderlands in a refreshing way and they don’t hold back!
Emma and Mark have performed at many festivals all over the country and are also working with international Storyteller, Cat Weatherill.
Mark has worked with Miles Hunt, (The Wonder Stuff) and featured on his last album 'Catching More Than We Miss'.
The Antisocial Misfits
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Walsall Punk band the Antisocial Misfits will be storming the main High Street stage on Sunday August 29th. We can't wait!
The Antisocial Misfits formed in 2008 with Joe Baker, Si Major and Ian (scrivo) Scrivens.
After an unsuccessful period trying to find the right guitarist for the job of lead guitar the lads met Dave Addis who was an old friend of Joe's. Dave was well travelled on the music scene after playing in tribute bands up and down the country. Dave spent time in the Chris Whiting band which also had the very well known Charlatans drummer Jon Brookes. Dave's also known as (davey 10 amps).
The Antisocial Misfits have been lucky enough to gig at some great venues through out the midlands with the Robin 2 being top of the list at present. The bands also played at the O2 in Birmingham in August supporting the worlds best tribute band to Guns n' Roses (Guns 2 Roses). The Antisocial Misfits are very much looking forward to playing the Bridgnorth festival saying this is our first festival and heres hoping for many more.
http://www.myspace.com/antisocialmisfits
