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PHILADELPHIA GRAND JURY, CELLARS AT EASTNEY, SOUTHSEA – THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30

Philadelphia Grand Jury has always been two friends: Berkfinger and MC Bad Genius. Previously knowing each other for some 20 years Berkfinger hadn't seen Bad Genius for going on 6 years when one day the curious bearded fellow just strolled into one of his solo shows with a bass and plugged himself right back into the singer's life.

These two childhood buddies have since had a rotating ensemble of drummers - until recently. Joining Berkfinger and MC Bad Genius is 54 year-old African American drummer Calvin, who used to session drum for US disco and funk acts like Earth Wind and Fire and bebop legend Sonny Stitt. Together they are a self-funded, self-produced, self-engineered, self-released, stage-destroying independent punk soul machine.

Recorded by band lead and producer Berkfinger (who has also worked on records for Wolfmother, The Temper Trap, Art vs Science and others) the band's recorded output displays the engrained Do-It-Yourself nature of Philadelphia Grand Jury at its best with comparisons to a punkier version of Elvis Costello and regular references to The Eels and Talking Heads.

The Philly Jays (as their fans affectionately refer to them) are exciting to watch and critics have lauded them as "a band you must see before you die". Literally explosive on stage their only secret is to write great songs and play them like it's their last show ever. Every. Single. Time.

CORRINE WEST & KELLY JOE PHELPS, THE BROOK, SOUTHAMPTON – MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13

Two very talented Americans have joined forces to tour the UK. Both are established performers on the American acoustic roots/blues scene. Here are brief biographies of both artists to whet your appetite for what promises to be a special night at The Brook.

Corinne West
Corinne West, a fourth generation Californian and musician who performs upwards of 200 shows each year, has a voice that simply soars. Using her powerfully eloquent voice, coupled with beautifully crafted songs - memorable both lyrically and melodically - she has fashioned a unique identity within American music’s acoustic/roots scene. Her latest record, 'The Promise', confirms Corrine’s place among the finest young singer-songwriters.
Described as "elegant new sexy acoustic jazz-rock-folk", and "West Coast acoustic soul music", Corinne’s style combines deep feeling and deep inspiration, roads travelled and roads less travelled, songs insightful and resonant about matters of the heart, soul and existence. In concert, Corinne brings a special grace and fire to the stage. Her songwriting strength coupled with magnetic stage presence create a captivating performance, winning rave reviews at home and abroad. Corinne has toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, Europe and the UK.

Kelly Joe Phelps
Kelly Joe Phelps has, over the course of eight CD’s and fifteen years of touring the world, established himself as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter with singular vision and fearless purpose. His mix of folk, blues, and jazz has won him praise from the likes of Bill Frisell, Steve Earl, and Cameron Crowe. Kelly Joe has been featured on NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’ and ‘Prairie Home Companion’ as well as numerous BBC and other national radio shows throughout Europe, Australia and Japan. He’s recorded with Townes Van Zandt, Greg Brown, Martin Simpson, Jay Farrar, and a host of others. A brilliant improviser, Phelps is known for his ability to put a new spin on a song every time he plays, inventive and imaginative enough to be able to take multiple styles of music and merge them with his own artistic voice, creating a unique sound both original and universal.

MAIRE NI CHATHASAIGH & CHRIS NEWMAN, THEATRE ROYAL, WINCHESTER – SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 11

The celebrated virtuoso partnership of Máire Ní Chathasaigh, “the greatest Celtic harper of our age”and Irish Traditional Musician of the Year, and England’s premier flatpicking guitarist, Chris Newman, has toured in twenty-two countries worldwide.

Their performances are an enticing cocktail of dynamic Irish dance music, soulful airs, evocative songs and their own striking compositions, spiked with shots of hot jazz, bluegrass and baroque, served up with exhilarating versatility and inventiveness and “subversive wit”.

Their concert at the Theatre Royal will showcase material from their two new solo albums, “The Crystal Veil,” Máire’s exploration of the spine-tinglingly beautiful Irish ‘slow air’ tradition, and Chris’s “Still Getting Away With It,” a celebration of his 40 successful years as a one of the most revered and influential English acoustic guitarists of his generation. Also featured will be music from their duo CD “FireWire,” voted “Best Celtic Instrumental Album” in the 2009 Just Plain Folks Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee - the largest music awards of any kind anywhere.

“Dazzling virtuosity... The speed and complexity is to be marvelled at... exquisitely delivered... delightful” The Daily Telegraph

Back in it’s inception in 2006, The Old Dance School rehearsed in the garden of the old Betty Fox School of Ballet in Birmingham, from where they take their name. Three years, 30,000 miles, nearly forty festivals, and several trips to A&E later, The Old Dance School’s distinctive concoction of explosive, white-knuckle folk is blowing up a storm.

Their debut album “Based on a True Story,” released on their own label in 2008 was met with terrific reviews in the national press, championed by BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris, and has secured The Old Dance School as one of the most exciting young bands to have emerged in recent years.

Having all studied formally at Birmingham Conservatoire, and met amongst the vibrant young music scene that surrounds it, the six members of The Old Dance School may seem fresh faced, but don’t let them fool you – the diversity and scale of each one’s musical journey is quite remarkable. From international jazz festivals to European opera tours, film score commissions to classical recitals, green festivals to tattoo conventions, members of The Old Dance School have performed, recorded and toured with artists such as Martha Wainwright, Graham Coxon, Zoe Rahman, Neil Yates, Jim Perrin, The Destroyers, Martha Tilston, Kevin Dempsey, Joe Broughton and Chris While.

The Old Dance School’s new album, “Forecast” marks a significant momentum to their development, and features exciting additions to the orchestration. Legendary producer Calum Malcolm (Capercaille, Phil Bancroft, Lau) is at the helm, and the electrifying tunes and songs are an aesthetic reflection on the harnessing of energy from the wild elements. If the ‘folk revival’ is a hark back to a past strength of community we have lost, this album looks forward, and celebrates the closer connections we find with each other as we respond to the challenges, and opportunities, of a more sustainable future.

The icy gales and warm crescendos of Samantha Norman and Helen Lancaster’s dual fiddles, are propelled by Tom Chapman’s driving world percussion, the dynamic fret-work of Robin Beatty, Laura Carter’s evocative woodwind and Aaron Diaz’s liquid brass harmonies. The Old Dance School are a rip-roaring orchestra for the new generation, with their gaze fixed on energised audiences this summer.

“When I listened to the album I realised I’d come across an absolute gem...Absolutely wonderful.”
– Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2

“A youthful, dynamic and vibrant six-piece band who offer an absorbing and imaginative take on traditional music, whilst also borrowing from various European traditions for their own accomplished compositions.”
– Mike Wilson, The Living Tradition

Michael Roach, one of thirteen children born to Ted and Sadie Roach of Washington, DC, USA, sings and plays guitar in an East Coast style of blues that dates back to the 1920s. After spending several years learning directly from such influential figures as John Jackson and John Cephas, Michael has developed his own style and is now an exceptional performer who interacts with his audience and entertains as he plays.

Over the past twenty years Michael has conducted numerous workshops throughout the USA and Europe. As a cultural arts performer he has promoted African-American culture through the use of blues music. He has lectured at the Smithsonian Institute, Oxford University and the University of Metz in France.

In July 2004 he was involved in the organisation of a conference held at the University of Gloucestershre called “Overseas Blues – European Perspectives on African-American Music.” The University Press of Mississippi published the papers from the conference in 2007

Michael is the founder of The European Blues Association and serves as its Director of Development, Secretary and Newsletter Editor. He is the Director, Guitar Instructor and Vocals Tutor for the Annual Blues Week 2000 – 2010 programme at Exeter University (2000/2004) and the University of Northampton (2005/2010). Michael also presented “Deep Blue,” a three part series on blues music on BBC Radio 4 in March 2003.

TV Smith rose to prominence in the first wave of British punk rock as singer and songwriter for The Adverts who, after frequent early appearances at the seminal Roxy Club in London in 1977, gained cult success with the Stiff Records single "One Chord Wonders." This turned to notoriety when their next release, "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" thrust them into the upper reaches of the UK charts. A further single, “Not Time To Be 21” also entered the charts, and the band spent the rest of the year playing live, including major tours with The Damned and Iggy Pop. The album that followed in 1978, "Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts" charted on its first week of release, and is considered to be one of the few genuine classics of the era.

The Adverts released one further album, “Cast of Thousands,” before their split in 1979. Mercilessly slammed by the critics at the time, the album has recently found new favour, and was recently described by Mojo magazine as “the long lost punk album that rivals The Clash’s ‘London Calling,’”

TV went on to tour and record with TV Smith's Explorers, who achieved a hit with the single “Tomahawk Cruise.” When the band split, he spent a period away from the live circuit, writing and recording songs – among them “Lord’s Prayer” for Lords of the New Church. He entered the live arena again in the late 1980’s, playing sporadic gigs with his band Cheap, before re-emerging as a solo artist in 1992 with the release of the acoustically-infused "March of the Giants” on the Cooking Vinyl label.

The 1990s saw TV gigging relentlessly throughout Europe, as well as releasing two further solo albums, 1995's "Immortal Rich" and 1999's "Generation Y." In 2001 German chart-toppers Die Toten Hosen performed as TV's backing band to record "Useless," an album of re-recordings of classic TV Smith songs, which became his biggest selling album since The Adverts.

In 2007, to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of The Adverts, TV put together a band called The Bored Teenagers to play a sold-out performance of “Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts” at London’s historic 100 Club. A CD and DVD was released of the concert, and the band went on to play a number of festivals through Europe, including a triumphant main stage appearance at the annual Rebellion punk festival.

Another studio album “In The Arms Of My Enemy” was released on the Boss Tuneage label in 2008 to critical acclaim. TV’s latest album, released at the request of his fans, is a double live CD of a recent solo concert in Germany featuring the entire one hour fifty minute set, “TV Smith live at the NVA.”

Meanwhile, TV continues to tour the world, bringing his epic solo show to ever-increasing audiences. He plays more than 100 gigs a year, and has recently performed in the USA, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic and of course the UK, where he was recently invited to play support on major tours by artists as diverse as Dead Men Walking and Toy Dolls. His on the road experiences have been documented in two books of tour diaries published by Arima: Volume One, “Getting There,” and Volume Two, “How To Feel Human.”

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PHILADELPHIA
GRAND JURY
CELLARS AT EASTNEY,
SOUTHSEA
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30


CORRINE WEST & KELLY JOE PHELPS THE BROOK, SOUTHAMPTON MONDAY
SEPTEMBER 13

 
MAIRE NI CHATHASAIGH & CHRIS NEWMAN THEATRE ROYAL, WINCHESTER
SATURDAY
SEPTEMBER 11


THE OLD DANCE SCHOOL
CENTRE STAGE, BOURNEMOUTH THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23


MICHAEL ROACH
FOREST ARTS CENTRE, NEW MILTON
FRIDAY
SEPTEMBER 24


TV SMITH
THE RAILWAY INN, WINCHESTER
THURSDAY
SEPTEMBER 30