It is with great pleasure to have Eliza Gilkyson play the Maze once again. She is possibly Austin’s finest and is one of only a few great artists whose songwriting talent gets stronger and stronger with every new record. This is evidenced by her first live album, “Your Town Tonight”, which she recorded in the splendid Cactus Café in her home town of Austin, Texas. She continues to produce music of the highest quality and her latest CD ‘Beautiful World’ is the perfect example of how great she truly is.

“Gilkyson has raised the composing bar to a whole new level.” - FolkWax

"As an album, "Beautiful World" features so many elements that have made Gilkyson's 21st century body of work so compelling: softness, self-inventory, a prayer for mercy, psychological depth...The breadth of the album's tone is impressive." - Austin American-Statesman

Eliza released ‘Through the Looking Glass’ in ’96 and 1997’s ‘Redemption Road’, which she has recently reissued. In 2000, Eliza produced ‘Hard Times in Babylon’, her first album on the Red House Records label. The album was a critical success, followed by her second recording with Red House, ‘Lost and Found’. In 2003 she was inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame, alongside such luminaries as Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, Nancy Griffith, and others. Eliza released ‘Land of Milk and Honey’ in 2004, a decidedly more sociopolitical record that was nominated for a Grammy. Her 2005 CD is ‘Paradise Hotel’ which made DJ Top Ten lists all over the US and Europe.

"Few folksingers, even those from the original folk revival, have been able to combine social consciousness with musicality as well as Eliza Gilkyson. She merges strong songwriting talent with commanding vocals to create music that has immediate appeal as well as lasting intellectual impact." - Vintage Guitar

www.myspace.com/elizagilkyson

The world’s greatest little Texan swing band the Hot Club of Cowtown has grown to be the most globe-trotting, hard-swinging Western Swing trio on the planet.

Hot Club of Cowtown has grown into an international sensation since their appearance on Later with Jools Holland. Elana James’s vivacious fiddle solos and vocals, Whit Smith’s cunningly understated guitar phrasing and the delicious thump of Jake Erwin’s slap-bass make a formidable package, and the journeys back to Tin Pan Alley’s golden era are handled with a rare sense ofjoie de vivre. They even have the courage to dip into the Aerosmith songbook, on a careworn treatment of Chip Away the Stone that is stripped of metal machismo. Recommended for cowpokes and lovers of Django alike.

“Django Reinhardt fans love them; so do Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. Over the past decade Elana James and her colleagues have built up an unlikely constituency of admirers radiating far beyond their home base in Austin, Texas.” THE LONDON TIMES.

www.hotclubofcowtown.com

www.myspace.com/hotcl

This performance will be at: THE NOTTINGHAM ARTS THEATRE, 12 George Street, Nottingham. NG1 3BE

Premiering special guest Beau Jarred Schekeryk, Melanie's son - guitarist/ composer and producer who will also accompany Melanie.

This unique show is to be recorded and video taped featuring “Candles In The Rain” and will capture the warmth and togetherness of a Melanie show first experienced 40 years ago.

With guitar in hand and a talent that combined amazing vocal equipment, disarming humour, and a vibrant engagement with life, she was booked as the first solo pop/rock artist ever to appear at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera House, the Sydney Opera House, and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, where delegates greeted her performances with standing ovations. An appearance at the original Woodstock Festival cemented her reputation; her fans started the cult of holding aloft candles and matches.

Her records have sold over 80 million copies and her song – such as, Ruby Tuesday, Look What They Done To My Song Ma and Brand New Key - which sold over three million copies worldwide and was featured in the 1997 movie Boogie Nights. In 2007, Melanie was invited by Jarvis Cocker to perform at the Meltdown Festival at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Her sold-out performance received critical acclaim with The Independent claiming "it was hard to disagree that Melanie has earned her place alongside Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell and Marianne Faithfull in the pantheon of iconic female singers. Meltdown was all the better for her presence". The concert was filmed for a DVD entitled Melanie: For One Night Only which was released in October 2007. Melanie’s songs have been covered by singers as diverse as Cher, Mott The Hoople, Dolly Parton, Nina Simone, Macy Gray, Will Oldham, Alison Moyet and Ray Charles.

Currently Melanie is working on a new album with her son the concert guitarist and producer Beau Jarred Schekeryk. A one woman show with all original music and Establishing the International Singer Songwriter Hall of Fame.

CLICK ON BUY TICKETS FOR DETAILS. Also available online from www.seetickets.com and www.gigantic.com

www.melaniesmusic.com
www.myspace.com/beaujarred

"pretty world is what great songwriting is all about." Gurf Morlix

It’s a pleasure to welcome Sam back for another Cosmic American show at the Maze. Over the past few years his performances have mesmerised and impressed so much that he is now one of our most requested artist to book. This is a must for anyone who wishes to witness the power of honest storytelling, extraordinary tales and vivid imagery as experienced through the unique structure of his songs.

Austin, Texas songwriter Sam Baker has become one of the biggest underground Americana names of recent years. However, since the 2004 release of his debut CD ‘Mercy’, word of Baker's songs has slowly, but surely spun it’s way around the world. Late in 2007 Baker returned with the second part of the story, the self released album ‘Pretty World”.

“Absolutely fantastic reaction to the Sam Baker track I played last Saturday. He is a major artist. 'Pretty World‘ is magnificent - one of the great albums of the year." Bob Harris

With the promise of a new third record for 2009, just in time for this visit the stage is set for Sam to move out of the underground and be rightfully recognised alongside his fellow great storytellers Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark.

“Baker's songs are pictures sketched in short, spare lines and lay bare the honest truths and simple details of life”

www.myspace.com/sambakermusic

TICKET AVAILABLE FROM - THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS Market Place, Derby DE1 3AH Box Office 01332 255800. and online www.assemblyrooms-derby.co.uk

STEVE EARLE – Singer Songwriter is the maverick, guitar-toting voice of the American underdog. He’s the 21st Century’s most potent and controversial protest singer. He is also a published writer, a political activist and has written and directed a play. His songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, The Pretenders, Joan Baez and countless others.

When he first came to prominence in 1986, he was viewed as a savior of country music with albums like Guitar Town and Copperhead Road, heady mixes of Nashville twang, driving rock and punk attitude. Today having lived through troubles with the law, drug addiction and with his uncompromising viewpoints he is the original “Hardcore Troubadour".

Steve Earle releases his highly anticipated follow up to the Grammy Award-winning album Washington Square Serenade. Simply titled ‘Townes’, is a 15-song set comprised of songs spanning nearly 40 years written by Earle's friend and mentor, the late singer-songwriter, Townes Van Zandt.

“Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that,” - Steve Earle.

When speaking about Townes, Earle stated, “This may be one of the best records I’ve ever made. That hurts a singer-songwriter’s feelings. Then again, it’s some consolation that I cherry picked through the career of one of the best songwriters that ever lived.”

TICKET AVAILABLE FROM - THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS Market Place, Derby DE1 3AH Box Office 01332 255800. and online www.assemblyrooms-derby.co.uk

www.steveearle.com

www.myspace.com/steveearle

“Heartbreakingly great” 7/10 NME

Richmond Fontaine are set to release their newest and most cohesive album to date this August entitled “We Used To Think the Freeway Sounded Like A River” The band has been described by UNCUT Magazine as the “New Kings of Americana” where they have been given two albums of the month and went on to sell over 30,000 albums in Europe. The new album is produced by JD Foster (Calexico, Richard Buckner, Laura Cantrell). The band has reached much further on from their Americana roots to the likes of the National, Wilco etc. The band took a year writing the new material and rehearsing before they went in to the studio with singer/songwriter Willy Vlautin’s strongest material to date.

Formed in 1994 in Portland Oregon, Richmond Fontaine have built themselves up from an SST cowpunk inspired band to a diverse and, at times, amazing live act leading them to be labelled the “Kings of Americana”. They have been compared to the likes of the Replacements, Blasters, Wilco and Ryan Adams. Thirteen Cities sees the band evovling into one of the most interesting and intense leaders of literate rock from which the likes of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits have paved the way.

The new year see’s Willy Vlautin continue his busy schedule with the release of his third novel for Faber & Faber and has joined the lecture/reading circuit across the globe with his last two books “Northline” and “The Motel Life” which have been published in Spain, Holland, Germany France, Australia, the UK and the States.

“Some of the most emotionally sincere music around - aches beautifully with failure” The Observer

“Match the depth of their songwriting with tough-sweet arrangements - Heart of America calling out around the world” **** Mojo

Dolorean are from Portland, Oregon and at times, acted as the backing band for Damien Jurado. A fitting opener for this show and they have just released their 3rd and best record to date.

www.myspace.com/richmondfontaine
www.myspace.com/doloreanmusic

It’s just less than one year since these guys paid tribute to possibly the greatest of them all – JOHNNY CASH - and in the process took the roof off the Maze. Not only do they do complete justice to the songs and the man himself, they embody the true meaning of a Saturday Night out! Playing the greatest Train Songs ever Keep it Cash pull into the station at 100 miles an hours with no intention of stopping.

Keep It Cash are Europe’s First and Leading Johnny cash tribute act, and have been performing in the Uk and Europe on the Theatre circuit for the last six years. They were booked to play in the London HMV and the Dublin HMV for the launch of the Johnny Cash Film “Walk The Line”. They wrote and recorded a theme song for the national chain of BOYES stores that ran on the Television and Radio for over a year.

Keep It Cash success above all the other Cash tributes is down to the exact sound alike quality of the lead vocals and rhythm section, in fact rather than making excuses for the lack of sound alike we pride ourselves on it. After all a tribute is a tribute and should sound exactly like the original artist!! If it don’t it aint worth your hard earned money to get in!!

www.myspace.com/keepitcash

www.keepitcash.com

“I can say without any reservation that Chuck Prophet is by any standard one of the best guitarists you will see as well as an intelligent and original songwriter who has the dedication and attitude to back it all up. This band at the Maze is likely to change your opinion about what has actually been the best show the venue has ever seen” Cosmic American Music.

Chuck Prophet is perhaps the most talented, but least heralded guitar player of his generation, with songwriting skills to match. Born in the mid 60s in Southern California, Prophet first made his mark as the young guitarist in LA's Green on Red, a forerunner of the Paisley Underground movement. After disbanding finally in 1992, Prophet began to focus all attention on the solo career he started with 1990's ‘Brother Aldo’, and continued with ‘Balinese Dancer’ in 1993 and ‘Feast of Hearts’ in 1995. Throughout his solo career, he's worked with legends and inspirations from Bob Neuwirth to Jim Dickinson to Billy Swan and beat poet Hubert Huncke and most recently with Austin guitarist Calvin Russell. He maintained a friendship with legendary Memphis sessionman and songwriter Jim Dickinson, with whom Prophet collaborated on a live recording ‘A Thousand Footprints in the Sand’.

Alejandro Escovedo, Solomon Burke, Heart, Kim Carnes, Peter Wolf, Kim Richey, Carter's Chord and Kelly Willis have covered his compositions.

Prophet has released a total of ten albums and worked as a sideman or session musician with many artists including Bob Neuwirth, Kelly Willis, Aimee Mann, Warren Zevon, Jonathan Richman, Lucinda Wiliams and Cake. He has frequently collaborated with songwriter Dan Penn and Dickinson. In 2008 Prophet co-wrote Alejandro Escovedo’s Real Animal, to which he also contributed guitar and vocals.

In May 2009, Prophet along with a cast of characters including Ernest "Boom" Carter headed to Mexico City to record a collection of "political songs for non political people" slated for release in time for his UK tour.

www.myspace.com/chuckprophet

chuckprophet.com

"Most bands are lucky to have one good songwriter in the group and super lucky to have two. This band has three poets who can deliver at the top of anyone's lyrical game. They all three are songwriting treasures… one of the best Americana records ever made." - Keith Howerton, Texas Music Times

It's a quick turn-round and the Heathens are back at the Maze. Those who made it to their recent performance here will know that they more than lived up to the hype going around about this band. Those who never made it - well here’s a second chance and I would advise you to take it in both hands – we all deserve a second chance.

A misprint in a local paper billed the act as "The Heathens." The moniker stuck and soon The Band of Heathens began to cultivate a loyal and growing legion of fans that immediately took to the expert musicianship, the finely-crafted songs and the band's distinct quality of having three front men, each one of whom sings, writes and plays lead guitar. In March 2007, drummer John Chipman joined the band and helped fortify their country-soul-rock-and-roll sound.

During 2007's South By Southwest Conference, the band members were invited to attend the Austin Music Awards ceremony at the Austin Convention Centre. That night The Band of Heathens accepted the award for "Best New Band" as well as runners-up awards for "Band of the Year," "Album of the Year," "Song of the Year," "Best Record Producer" and others. Individually, members of the band were also recognized by the Austin music community as nominees for "Musician of the Year," "Best Male Vocalist," "Best Bass Guitar" and "Best Acoustic Guitar."

With a new release due to fit in with this UK Tour, the excitement that Austin shared with the band at the very beginning is now being felt across Europe. They will continue to bring their unique brand of Texas twang and country soul to anyone who is curious, willing to listen and hungry for the American rock 'n' roll that The Band of Heathens deliver.

www.bandofheathens.com

I’m always the opening act when I’m around Eric. I love his voice, and he has a great narrative quality and sense of detail. He sort of takes you out of your own reality and into the reality of his songs. It’s good writing no matter how you cut it. Lyle Lovett

Eric Taylor is one of the few artists I’ve ever seen with a greatness that wreathes about him as he takes the stage, no matter what size the venue. An audience instinctively knows to shut up and pay attention. This is a man who takes the art of songwriting – and the art of performance – seriously. And, at the end of the set, the audience will have been transported some place and back again. Eric Taylor doesn’t just make you feel the sun and taste the dust of Texas, he takes you places and puts you inside people’s minds. From prison inmates trying to fathom the jumble of their lives to little kids watching their family implode, Eric Taylor makes it real. Aspiring – and accomplished – songwriters leave Eric Taylor shows shaking their heads in awe. And well they should.

Eric Taylor came on stage at the Maze in Nottingham without any ceremony. He started a little blues riff on his blond acoustic guitar (a beautiful-sounding, handmade 'Ross-Kinscherff'). He played for his audience but never to the crowd. He didn't look for cliched climaxes or manufactured endings. It was always an intimate gig, a reflective affair, an evening for devotees...I went with a couple of players, guys who know the mysteries of dadgad, who understand a little about the merits of a B string dropped down to A and the quiet craft of a good song well written. They stood either side of me and looked mean if they thought I was going to be critical in any way. They kept pointing out things, making sure I understood; they wanted the man looked after. Eric Taylor seems to inspire that sort of devotion, that sort of affection, that sort of regard; like he is an endangered species -- maybe he is. Maverick magazine.

www.bluerubymusic.com

www.myspace.com/blueruby

Rock & Roots or Roots & Roll, whatever you want to call it—we challenge you to find a description that fits other than good music you can count on when you thought maybe you just couldn't count on music anymore!

James McMurtry born Fort Worth, Texas - His father, Lonesome Dove author Larry McMurtry, exposed his son to what he called "hillbilly music" by playing the records of Johnny Cash and Roy Acuff. At the house of his mother, a university English professor, he heard a lot of Kris Kristofferson records. Cash was James' first concert as a child; Kristofferson, his second.

The Texas native long has been known as an astute, clear-eyed observer and concise, no-holds-barred chronicler of the human condition. On ‘Just Us Kids’ (ninth full-length album), James McMurty follows up his critically acclaimed Childish Things with a dozen new, sharply drawn illuminations as he continues to hone and expand his considerable gifts.’ Just Us Kids’ unquestionably represents his most ambitious, accomplished and ass-kicking presentation to date.

These recent years have found James McMurtry’s many skills steadily coalescing into an increasingly substantial, formidable whole: the voice, the tunes, the stories and the musicianship have become elementally interwoven to create the inimitable fabric of a distinct, singular artist who’s determined to get to the heart of the matter, shake things up and do whatever it takes to make a difference.

www.myspace.com/jamesmcmurtry

www.jamesmcmurtry

Boston-based artist Eilen Jewell puts her own beautiful stamp on old country, folk and blues and comes out sounding like the time-travelling, sweet-voiced ...

Eilen Jewell has quickly distinguished herself as one of the rising stars of a new generation of roots musicians. Her first two albums, ‘Boundary County’ (self-released, 2006) and ‘Letters from Sinners and Strangers’ (Signature Sounds, 2007) were astonishingly assured efforts, which matched Jewell’s understated yet insightful songs with a rugged blend of Americana styles. They were met with a great deal of acclaim, with No Depression raving that “Jewell is showing she can wander with the best of them, and write riveting song-stories about her adventures along the way.” Indicative of Jewell’s strong following in Europe, The Word in the UK described her as “A voice of real distinction [that] manages to transcend some powerful influences and pierce the fog long enough for her own point of view to emerge.”

With ‘Sea of Tears’, Jewell’s latest album and her longtime band of Jason Beek (drums, harmony vocals), Jerry Miller (electric, acoustic, and steel guitars), and Johnny Sciascia (upright bass) wed her elegantly unflinching songwriting with a rustic, pre-Beatles swagger that encapsulates vintage R&B, Midwestern garage rock, Chicago blues, and early rock and rockabilly, while maintaining the haunting, folk-inspired purity that first made her an artist to watch.

Sometimes as darkly damaged as Lucinda Williams, at others as defiant and teasing as prime Peggy Lee and always authentically Americana in the Gillian Welch tradition....She's mighty good. LA Daily News.

www.eilenjewell.com and www.myspace.com/eilenjew

This performance will be at: THE NOTTINGHAM ARTS THEATRE, 12 George Street, Nottingham. NG1 3BE

‘Intimate, epic, overflowing with feeling and musical intelligence’ The Independent.

The autumn of 2009 represents an exciting and adventurous time for the Mercury nominated Geordie band formerly known as Rachel Unthank & The Winterset. Having established themselves as the most innovative and critically acclaimed English folk band in modern history, with admirers as disperate as members of Radiohead, Portishead, Robert Wyatt, Ben Folds, Nic Jones, Ewan McGregor and Nick Hornby, The Unthanks are ready to risk it all with another audacious step sideways. While the abbreviated name reflects the long-established reality that the band is co-fronted by Rachel Unthank's sister Becky Unthank, the real development sees an extended line-up that includes string quartet, brass, percussion, tuned percussion, bass, and The Unthank's producer Adrian McNally taking on piano responsibilities from Stef Conner who returns to a PHD. Winterset key member Niopha Keegan continues on violin. Known for their timeless, unsentimental and quietly subversive tales of loss, fear, booze, brawels, abuse and sorrow, new album Here's The Tender Coming, as the name suggests, is a calmer, melancholic, warmer colour of sad than the intense bleakness of its predecessor; The Bairns, nominated for the Uncut Music Prize and Mercury Music Prize as one of the top ten British albums of the year. Forging links between folk worlds old, new and other, The Unthanks are the inheritors, curators and distorters of Tyneside’s traditions. Don't miss the next chapter.

“Music as tough as it is gentle, as ancient as it is modern, and as coldly desolate as it is achingly intimate.. a sensationally graceful sound that can be epic and subdued, dreamy and specific, as well as supernaturally ancient and defiantly modern”. Paul Morley, Observer Music Magazine

Tickets also available online from www.seetickets.com and www.gigantic.com

www.myspace.com/rachelunthank
www.the-unthanks.com

VIRGINIA SONGWRITER DEVON SPROULE RETURNS WITH HER 5th RELEASE - I DON’T HURRY FOR HEAVEN!

This Virginia-based singer-songwriter began to gain good notices in the early 00s with a string of accomplished albums. Sproule was born in Canada but moved to the USA at an early age, and grew up surrounded by music and musicians on a commune in rural Virginia. She was playing guitar and performing in public by her late teens, and released an independent album (billed as Devon) in 2000. Today her music has grow with her and shares elements of folk, country, and jazz, delivered in an affecting, personal style.

“In her trademark vintage dresses and 50-year-old Gibson guitar, Devon Sproule combines Appalachian, folk and jazz influences (with a bit of bossa nova thrown in). The young singer-songwriter produces beautifully sparse arrangements and melodies that surprise the ear when you first hear them, but which then get under your skin much more than anything more obvious would" (BBC)

www.myspace.com/devonsproule

TICKET AVAILABLE FROM - THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS Market Place, Derby DE1 3AH Box Office 01332 255800. and online www.assemblyrooms-derby.co.uk and also from FOPP RECORD SHOP The Frontage, Queen St, Nottingham, NG1 2BL Tel 0115 934 9910

One of the Folk world's most beautiful voices makes a much anticipated appearance at the Darwin Suite at the Assembly Rooms, Derby.

Now something of a folk-legend, Cara’s exquisite, crystalline vocals have been winning her acclaim ever since she won the All Ireland Singing Trophy at the age of 14. The angelic quality of her voice has drawn comparisons to Eva Cassidy and, infused with a modern sensibility, ancient songs are artfully supported by understated arrangements. A shower of accolades followed Cara’s album ‘Sweet Liberty’ (BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Big Buzz, Hot Press Awards) and it swiftly placed Dillon firmly amongst the leading lights of the new generation of young traditional artists emerging onto the mainstream.

With the release of her new record, ‘HILL OF THIEVES’ Cara has a significantly more acoustic sound than previous albums and also sees her returning to her roots with an outstanding collection of traditional songs.

Whether she's singing her native traditional songs of lost love and emigration, or their original compositions, you will be hard pressed to find a more emotive and captivating performer. Cara Dillon is at the very top of her field and one has the feeling she'll be there for a very long time.

"It's an intimate and beautifully recorded set with Cara's vocals breathing into your ear and touching the very heart of these songs." The Independent.

www.caradillon.co.uk

www.myspace.com/caradillo

I’m glad I found Slaid Cleaves, because my life would have been poorer without him. You’ll feel the same, I think, when you listen to this beautifully crafted album. Listen, go to one of Slaid’s shows, take a friend, and pass on the news: not all the good guys wear hats. --Stephen King, 2009

Slaid's musical roots extend back prior to his days playing in a high school "garage band" with his childhood friend Rod Picott. The two shared a love of music, especially for Bruce Springsteen and named their band The Magic Rats, after a character in Springsteen's song "Jungleland." Slaid's solo acoustic side took over and in 1991 he moved with his wife Karen to Austin, Texas. In 1992, he was a winner of the prestigious New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival, an award previously given to such artists as Nanci Griffith, Robert Earl Keen and Steve Earle.

Fast forward to today and Slaid’s latest release is Everything You Love Will be Taken Away . . . it is the follow up to 2006‘s Unsung, a lovingly crafted collection of covers written by some of Cleaves’ favorite — if somewhat lesser known — fellow travellers on the troubadour road. But it’s been a good five years since Cleaves’ last album of self-penned songs, 2004’s acclaimed Wishbones, which fans had waited nearly as long for in the afterglow of the songwriter’s 2000 breakthrough, Broke Down. But though Cleaves may never be confused with the infamously prolific Ryan Adams, his slow-and-steady-wins-the-race pace, not unlike that of Guy Clark, yields albums full of uncommonly fine-tuned songs built to stand the test of time. To the long list of past road- and radio-proven Cleaves classics (“No Angel Knows,” “Horseshoe Lounge,” “Broke Down,” “One Good Year,” “New Year’s Day,” “Wishbones,” “Drinking’ Days,” etc.), one can now add highlights from the new album like “Hard to Believe,” “Beyond Love,” “Temporary” and especially the opening “Cry,” from which Everything You Love’s title was taken.

For Slaid Cleaves fans who have been waiting nearly a decade for the Maine native to match the penetrating and perceptive songwriting found on his seminal 2000 release "Broke Down," the wait is over. His soon-to-be-released "Everything You Love Will be Taken Away" delivers some of his strongest material to date. --Dave Madeloni.

www.slaid.com

www.myspace.com/slaidcleaves

One of the Folk world's most beautiful voices makes a much anticipated appearance at the Stamford Corn Exchange Theatre.

Now something of a folk-legend, Cara’s exquisite, crystalline vocals have been winning her acclaim ever since she won the All Ireland Singing Trophy at the age of 14. The angelic quality of her voice has drawn comparisons to Eva Cassidy and, infused with a modern sensibility, ancient songs are artfully supported by understated arrangements. A shower of accolades followed Cara’s album ‘Sweet Liberty’ (BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Big Buzz, Hot Press Awards) and it swiftly placed Dillon firmly amongst the leading lights of the new generation of young traditional artists emerging onto the mainstream.

With the release of her new record, ‘HILL OF THIEVES’ Cara has a significantly more acoustic sound than previous albums and also sees her returning to her roots with an outstanding collection of traditional songs.

Whether she's singing her native traditional songs of lost love and emigration, or their original compositions, you will be hard pressed to find a more emotive and captivating performer. Cara Dillon is at the very top of her field and one has the feeling she'll be there for a very long time.

"It's an intimate and beautifully recorded set with Cara's vocals breathing into your ear and touching the very heart of these songs." The Independent.

TICKET AVAILABLE FROM - THE STAMFORD CORN EXCHANGE, CLICK ON BUY TICKETS FOR DETAILS. Also available online from www.seetickets.com and www.gigantic.com

www.CaraDillon.co.uk

Singer-songwriter Katy Moffatt is a frequent collaborator with Americana stalwarts Tom Russell and Dave Alvin. She has a clear, bell-like soprano voice and a special knack for putting affecting pop-style hooks into traditional country and folk song forms. In addition to her work as a leader, she has worked often as a harmony singer for everyone from Charlie Louvin to Michael Martin Murphy.

From the earliest days of her career, when she went on the road opening for blues legend Muddy Waters, to her current status as one of the most highly respected originators of country rock, Katy Moffatt has distinguished herself as one of the most literate and eclectic artists to fall under the nebulous heading of singer-songwriter.

She scored an early success with Walkin' On The Moon. It became the title song of a reflective acoustic album in 1990, but lest anyone thought she had hung up her rockin' shoes, she reverted to her LA country-rock mode for Child Bride in 1992. Her lustrous voice lends itself equally well to both styles, and she has continued to make excellent records, including The Greatest Show On Earth and the more recent Hearts Gone Wild, both co-produced with Tom Russell.

Fewer Things, her latest release is a third addition to the luminous canon of unique acoustic collaborations between Katy and Andrew Hardin which include the revered Walkin’ on the Moon (1989) and 1998’s Angel Town (“Anyone unaffected should check their pulse” – Mojo). Produced by Hardin, Fewer Things is a collection of 11 songs. There are five originals, two of which were written by Katy and Tom Russell. Other gems from favored writers include previously undiscovered songs from John Hiatt, Pat McLaughlin, and Jeff Rymes (of The Lonesome Strangers), as well as muscular contributions by Stephen Bruton and Nick Lowe. Now, with Fewer Things, Katy continues her unique path, cutting through to a place where the honesty, power, and purity of her sound reside and flourish like a wild rose.

www.myspace.com/katymoffatt

www.katymoffatt.com

TICKET AVAILABLE FROM - THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS Market Place, Derby DE1 3AH Box Office 01332 255800. and online www.assemblyrooms-derby.co.uk also from FOPP RECORD SHOP The Frontage, Queen St, Nottingham, NG1 2BL Tel 0115 934 9910

‘Intimate, epic, overflowing with feeling and musical intelligence’ The Independent.

The autumn of 2009 represents an exciting and adventurous time for the Mercury nominated Geordie band formerly known as Rachel Unthank & The Winterset. Having established themselves as the most innovative and critically acclaimed English folk band in modern history, with admirers as disperate as members of Radiohead, Portishead, Robert Wyatt, Ben Folds, Nic Jones, Ewan McGregor and Nick Hornby, The Unthanks are ready to risk it all with another audacious step sideways. While the abbreviated name reflects the long-established reality that the band is co-fronted by Rachel Unthank's sister Becky Unthank, the real development sees an extended line-up that includes string quartet, brass, percussion, tuned percussion, bass, and The Unthank's producer Adrian McNally taking on piano responsibilities from Stef Conner who returns to a PHD. Winterset key member Niopha Keegan continues on violin. Known for their timeless, unsentimental and quietly subversive tales of loss, fear, booze, brawels, abuse and sorrow, new album Here's The Tender Coming, as the name suggests, is a calmer, melancholic, warmer colour of sad than the intense bleakness of its predecessor; The Bairns, nominated for the Uncut Music Prize and Mercury Music Prize as one of the top ten British albums of the year. Forging links between folk worlds old, new and other, The Unthanks are the inheritors, curators and distorters of Tyneside’s traditions. Don't miss the next chapter.

“Music as tough as it is gentle, as ancient as it is modern, and as coldly desolate as it is achingly intimate.. a sensationally graceful sound that can be epic and subdued, dreamy and specific, as well as supernaturally ancient and defiantly modern”. Paul Morley, Observer Music Magazine

www.myspace.com/rachelunthank
www.the-unthanks.com