Lively Irish music, lots of noise and foot stomping, loud singing and whoops, punctuated by furious jigs and reels- and the occasional delicate slow air. Strong harmonies and gentle Christy Moore songs too. And some gospel.

Phil is a mellow, competent folk singer, often seen lurking in local folk clubs and festivals. which he usually helps to organise. He plays guitar ,banjo, melodeon and bodhran, and is half of the lead vocal. Carmen is a classically trained violinist, and is leader of the Trowbridge Symphony Orchestra. She plays fiddle, whistle and mandolin, and has been known to sing backing when she can be persuaded. Jane plays guitar, accordion and percussion, and is the other half of the lead vocal.
She sings blues, soul, jazz and country with various friends in her spare time. Listen to their music here

Also joining us is up and coming singer/songwriter Chris Weston from Trowbridge who has a very unique and delightful style. Have a listen to his stuff here

Mark Abis may be a singer-songwriter who uses the basic tools of guitar and Harmonica but he is so much more than you might be led to believe from such a simplistic definition. The beauty is that different people hear Mark’s music in different ways and hear different influences. He enjoys a very symbiotic relationship with his crowds, mutally feeding and engaging with them so that every time he walks on stage you can be guaranteed something warm and intimate, as well as unique and individual.

Our opening support act this time is Tamsin Rosie Quin, young singer/songwriter and guitarist from Malmesbury, Wiltshire..

Heartwave

This coming Wednesday sees a debut gig in Seend from Devon’s Katie Whitehouse.  Katie is a true poet and storyteller in song. Her songs vary in subject matter wonderfully. From astonishingly intimate glances into what seems like a deeply personal world to witty, jaunty observations about all kinds of people and situations. Each is a window on the world told with a poetic, congruent skill that sounds as easy as falling off a log, it isn’t. Katie is fast becoming a master of her craft.

Katie will be joined by John Clarke from Essex and together they make the duo Heartwave. Katie’s personal lyrics and vulnerable vocals and keyboard playing were beginning to emerge in the South West when she heard one of John’s songs online and felt that he might be a kindred spirit.Also playing is Ken Parsons who resides in Holland.

KEN PARSONS is a Celtic Harper, singer and allround entertainer. What can you expect? Beautiful harp songs, deadly witty short poems and crafted original songs in every posible style, funny, moving, thought provoking”

Ken is multi-instrumental and wth 20 years of singing experience he has a powerful and versatile voice- you can detect his background as a trained choir singer in his more delicate emotional songs but the next minute you hear the raucous harsh, punk, rock and roll and comedy voice he perfected after years as busker and entertainer in pubs and clubs. His own songs are well honed and he does covers as they should be done. Few singers can match his delivery, diction and rapid fire lyricism.

Plus we have a visitor all the way from Birmingham, Alabama who will be doing a floor spot so we have a very international feel this week!

We’re delighted to welcome Polly over from Cork, Ireland.  Saw her play a few times last year and she has the most beautiful voice with a lovely Irish lilt, she plays mostly her own songs all of which have that instant likeability factor!

Polly Barrett is the new jewel of Irish folk-pop’……Music Week Magazine
‘Classic and beautiful folk-pop with an Irish flavour’…..Crazewire
‘Mr. Bookshop is a fine introduction to a real talent’……..Hot Press Magazine
‘Gorgeous songs, a quality debut that hints at a long musical career’…..2UIBestow
‘Polly captures the true beauty of love and nature in her lyrics and that’s what makes this album stand out from the crowd’ 6 out of 6….MusicReviewUnsigned

http://www.reverbnation.com/pollybarrett

Joining us for the half hour support slot this week is another local band The Box Standard fronted by Abi Leeder who has a stunning voice.

This pair of schoolboys have already blown audiences away during 2012, and are set to go on to great things.  They are booked to play in Seend 3 times this year as we’ll see them also at the Beer Festival in May and Acoustic Festival in September.

The Drystones started out when Dean Collier, Chairman of the Priddy Folk Festival, needed to fill a slot at short notice at one of his venues in July 2011 and asked his son Ford if he could step up to the plate. One quick phone call to fiddler friend Alex Garden and the Drystones were formed.

Alex and Ford were friends from school. They both had a background in playing various instruments and in different styles. But they clearly found their stride in arranging lively jigs, played on guitar, fiddle and whistle.

Encouraged by the warm reception at Priddy, and the success of some lucrative busking through the summer, the lads decided to enter the Mid Somerset Battle of the Bands, and they made it into the finals.  The odds were surely stacked against them, as easily the youngest contestants, and the only purely acoustic band they found themselves up against techno, grunge, rap and heavy metal bands. But somehow they seemed to span the wildly different audiences and won over the judges and audience alike to win the contest!

So the band, whilst still less than two years old, have already played several festival gigs. In the meantime you may be able to catch them busking around Wells and Bath. They are also getting practice at local acoustic clubs like The Beacon (Wagon & Horses, Doulting, Shepton) or the Wookey Hole Club.

We’re delighted to welcome a newbie to Seend in the shape of folk starlet Jess Morgan all the way over from Norwich. She has the most beautiful voice and when we heard her online we just had to get her to drop in on her tour of the south west.

Jess writes songs that tell stories – about women and men, life and death, work and play; the adventures of the real and the imaginary sure to make you laugh and cry. Jess is a singer-songwriter who is steadily building a name for herself in roots and folk music at home and away. Accompanied by acoustic guitar Jess’s style has been likened to that of the classic names of the 1970s but with her own easily distinguishable voice. Songs are peppered with influence from British Folk music as well as country, folk and blues from across the Atlantic.

Check out her music here http://www.jessmorgan.co.uk/

Nick is a singer/songwriter originally from London, but now based in Eastleigh, Hampshire in the U.K.

He’s played at Seend Acoustic on a number of previous occasions, charming the audience with both his virtuoso playing and singing, and also with his ready wit and humour.

He started getting interested in music in his early teens playing bass in a school band and gradually progressing up to playing 12 string guitar and singing his own tunes in his own 9 piece band. After parting company with the band, he decided life would be simpler if he focused on his songwriting and made the decision to perform solo and has been since.

Nick has played at venues all over the country, promotes artists and gigs in his local area, and broadcasts a regular weekly musical podcast “Is This Thing On?.” See his website at http://nicktann.co.uk/ for more details.

His main influences are Jeff Buckley, Elvis Costello, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Rufus Wainwright and the great bass player, Jaco Pastorius. Nick has been likened to Dallas Green, John Martyn, Nick Drake and Elvis Costello, but likes to think that he’s developed his own distinctive sound.

Support slot for this night comes from Lucy Kitchen

Lucy Kitchen is a Southampton based singer-songwriter, a self-confessed ‘folky bird’ who cites influences from the likes of Joni Mitchell, Mazzy Star, Laura Veirs, Bon Iver, Neil Young and Nick Drake.

She crafts delicate and haunting songs intimately sung and backed with lullaby guitars, splashed with flute and glockenspiel. She has collaborated with a number of artists including the Part Time Heroes, with her track ‘All this Time’ being released on their Realise EP and which they performed live on Radio 1 for Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide show. Her track with Heathward, ‘Orange’, was released as the debut single from their second album, Amoeba which was released last June.

Last year saw her performing at Bestival and Blissfields Festivals, London Waterloo station, Ronnies Bar (upstairs at Ronnie Scotts), as well as regular gigs across the South Coast.

Lucy is in the final stages of recording her solo album which will be available in the Spring.

‘Her sound is candid and believable.’ (Part Time Heroes)

‘Watch out for her gentle folk-inspired tunes whilst you are relaxing in the green fields this summer, she’ll lie you down and send a shiver up your spine.’ (Green by Name)

‘Kitchen has some of the nu-folk thing in her voice and ‘All This Time’ is a killer of a track.’ (Fly Global Music)

Katie Stone-Lonergan is a talented young musician fluent in both classical violin and the folk tunes of her native Ireland.

Having originally moved to Somerset to study Music and Art at Bath Spa University, she remained in the local area following her graduation, pursuing a range of musical outlets including a memorable two month stint touring Europe with Australian folk-rock band The Wishing Well.

Katie performs in a number of bands including the infamous rock trio Port Erin, the ceilidh band Out of the Brew and her own joint creative project, The Dizzy Hush, along with singer/songwriter Matt Warren. She has also recorded with The Proclaimers and the local band Temple Cloud.

She recently become Musical Director of The Green Roofs Singers, as part of innovative and highly acclaimed theatre group ‘Kilter‘.

Matt Warren is an accomplished guitarist and songwriter and owns the most beautiful high register voice that blends perfectly with Katie’s. This will be the last chance to catch them before Matt heads to Australia for a year.  They played a support slot here last January which was one of the top performances we saw all year, Malc is tickled pink they’re coming back!

Our support artist for this evening is Juey. Juey is a guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica wielding musician. Brought up on a musical diet of 50s and 60s rock and roll combined with country, bluegrass and cajun, then perhaps it was inevitable that a love for singing and playing music has created a live performance described by others as “one of those moments when I get goosebumps” (Paul Moss, BBC Introducing).

In 2012 juey was voted no. 2 best artist in Gloucestershire by the BBC and enjoyed a really successful year with live performances at Didmarton Bluegrass Festival, Wychwood Festival, supporting Manfred Mann’s Paul Jones, Jack Savoretti and releasing her debut album – Ever Decreasing Circles. Maverick Magazine awarded the album 4.5/5 stars as well as receiving much radio play for specialised folk, acoustic and roots shows.

A world of harmony without instruments

The three members of The Croutons: Chris, Wendy and Kirsty, had all worked together in the past, either performing or teaching, but never all at the same time. They finally got together over a bowl of soup (hence the name) to start exploring what three voices (plus a few bells & whistles) could do and started out on the Open Mic circuit. They’ve now put together a full show Alphabet Soup and are taking it to Village Halls and theatres around the West Country.

Chris Samuel

Chris was a member of Edinburgh Fringe award winners Naked Voices and tours with Aussie festival favourites The Spooky Men’s Chorale whenever they’re in Europe.

He’s a full time musician running three community choirs in Wiltshire making up the mighty Wiltshire Wailers as well as Up Front, a Bristol based choir that perform with a live rock band. There’s a men’s group too – The Magificent AK 47s, the singing blokes of Ashton Keynes.

Wendy Sergeant

Wendy runs community choirs in and around North Somerset including the large and lovely Portishead Community Choir.

She’s been a singing teacher since 1998 and has a reputation for running inspiring sessions with lots of laughs, big chords and spine-tingling harmonies. She’s also the musical talent behind most of our amazing arrangements that we use in our sets. Visit her website.for more information

Kirsty Hafford

Kirsty has been a ‘singing child’ since she was old enough to speak, and had very early and extensive experience in musicals and folk groups as she grew up in rural Australia. Years later, an extraordinary encounter with Bristol-based Gasworks Community Choir reminded her of her great love of harmony singing and performance, and from there she joined the amazing Naked Voices.

After nearly 5 years playing in Arts Centres and Theatres around the country including runs at both the Edinburgh and Prague Fringe festivals, she had some brief time out to devote to family before joining forces with Chris and Wendy to form The Croutons.

‘An impressively faultless rhythmic performance’ … ‘Awestruck silence at the skilful and charming harmonies’.  Wiltshire Times

‘The Croutons LIVE on 5-Live held the UK spellbound. I’ve never had so many requests to hear a performance again!’ Tony Livesey BBC Radio 5 Live

‘One of the most entertaining, innovative and wonderfully harmonious accapella acts of the festival, they never fail to surprise and delight the audiences’ Nick Spollin -Gathering Voices Festival of Song

‘A full house was buzzing after a terrific performance – witty, accomplished, professional – not to be missed.’  Paul Hayes, The Garden Café

We’re delighted to welcome back Jess Vincent  for this evening’s support slot. Jess has been touring her new album Timeframe around the country to great acclaim.

Jess Vincent is a young Singer /Songwriter from Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, and the owner of a highly distinctive and mature voice and song writing talent.

Her debut album of original songs Time frame was released in 2012 and Jess has been hard at work promoting it with her spell-binding live performances.

Playing Guitar, Baritone Uke, Mandolin and Shruti Box, she has already notched up an impressive live schedule from Folk Clubs and Village Halls to Arts Centres and major Festivals.  She is often joined by fellow guitarist Marcel Rose in her live shows.

Jess’s current CD “TIME FRAME”, was recorded under the assured production auspices of Reg Meuross who has captured some truly mesmerizing performances from Jess. Enhanced by a seasoned ensemble of musicians that include cellist Bethany Porter, Olivia Dunn, Marcel Rose, and Roy Dodds.