110-112 London road, East Grinstead, RH19 1EP
www.grubonline.co.uk | info@grubonline.co.uk
01342 313139
Artist: Cherry Lee Mewis plus Delta Maid Date: Friday 7th May, 7.30pm
Admission: £7.50 in advance from
www.wegottickets.com/event/77998
www.myspace.com/cherryleemewis
A double helping of blues
Chery Lee Mewis
It’s 2 years on from Cherry’s first blues effort, Little Girl Blue, which was received with open arms and introduced a whole new audience to the smouldering sound of Cherry Lee Mewis, firmly securing Cherry’s place as one of the rising stars on the UK Blues scene today, taking her music from the tiny clubs of Bedford, to festivals in the UK and Europe, such as Italy’s Tropea Blues Festival, Shetland Blues Festival, The Barbican International Jazz & Blues Festival and Cambridge Rock Festival, naming just a few.
The winter of 2008 saw Cherry finally pack her bags for good and leave her tiny village hometown in north Wales, to her adopted home of Bedford. “I’ve been making music here since I was 17, so it’s not totally alien to me, but moving permanently away from family and loved ones’ was and it left me facing totally new life experiences...”
Cherry served her apprenticeship endlessly gigging in clubs and bars developing not only her powerful soulful voice, but her performance and style too.
"The concept of expressing myself creatively from the age of 9 was something I was always intrigued and inspired to do...
"Where as my mum would love motown and retro soul records, my dad would be more into the rock 'n' roll and the psychedelic, really obscure 60's stuff. He introduced me to Jeff Buckley, Edith Piaf and Janis Joplin."
It wasn't until later on, that Cherry became immersed in blues and jazz.
On her debut, Little Girl Blue, she showcased her range of different influences, singing with raw power and emotion, hurt and pain.
"Many of the oldest blues records contain gritty, realistic lyrics, no censored versions! I put my whole self into every single one of these tracks, I feel like i'm inside of them...." Her 2nd blues album, Southbound Train, released January 2010, is a heady mix of foot-stomping barnburners to bluesy slow-cooked rockers with a spoonful of jazzy shuffle, supported by a band of slick smokin’ musicians.
Accompanying Max Milligan on acoustic guitar are,Nicky Slater (acoustic guitar & dobro), Robbie Mathews (bass & backing vox) and Flow (drums), her Blues Gems as she calls them; Cherry feels more drive behind her at the live shows. “They sure as hell fuel my fire!” she laughs. Like most great blues performers, Cherry is best experienced live! As well as performing all over the UK, she and her band have just returned back from supporting Walter Trout on tour.
The great hobo bluesman himself, Seasick Steve says, "The only people who are going to keep the blues alive and kicking are the kids picking it up, these young bands out there - they got all the future."
"This is music I fall in love with on a daily basis!” concludes Cherry, “My music is all about a vibe and capturing that raw, stripped back sound that I love."
Delta Maid
Delta Maid’s love affair with roots music began as far back as she can remember. Her biggest influence emanated from her parents appreciation for all things “Country Blues” which played a major role in her early fascination for the genre she so ardently holds in admiration. From young, Delta listened and adopted a high regard for Country Greats such as Hank Williams and Patsy Cline together with Blues legends like Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Stevie Ray Vaughan to name but a few.
It was at thirteen years of age when her parents by chance bought a copy of Rory Block’s Best Blues and Originals from a tourist trip to New York that Delta’s life as she sees it, changed completely.
“I was in awe; words cannot describe the feeling I had when I heard this music. I became fascinated by the style of play, the whole feeling of it; nothing struck me more to the core than this. It was at this point that I began actively searching for the history and legends that were behind Delta Blues. After hearing the likes of Son House, Skip James, Bessie Smith and Robert Johnson for the first time I dived head first into a world that has since become a part of my own makeup.”
Delta had always sung and played guitar and piano on and off from an early age, never really pursuing the idea of making it as a performer until she began writing her own material. In the summer of 2007, Delta graduated from university and landed herself a job as a trainee vascular scientist, a career in music was far from on the cards…
Earlier, around March 2007 after playing a charity gig in Liverpool doing old blues covers with her brother Dominic as her accompanying guitarist, Delta got the bug for performing live. Unfortunately early on into their gigging, Dominic suffered a hand injury that put him out of playing for quite a while. “I really left the guitar work up to him, he was as much a fan of the blues as I was and could play like those I’d heard off the records.” Disappointed, but adamant she would keep up the performing, Delta had to really learn to accompany herself with her guitar as opposed to playing the odd chord or two. It was then Delta’s own relationship with the guitar began. Delta has created her own style of playing which she continues to develop.
Delta’s own songs are mainly influenced by the Blues, but they also have Country and Folk labels attached to them. As a white girl from Liverpool, a far cry from early rural Mississippi, it’s hard to draw any parallels but as she sees it, being from Liverpool, roots music is genetically bred. What the music means, where it’s from and the believability in the way it’s performed is paramount to her, this she feels must be encapsulated in her own music and performance.
Artist: Karyn Oliver plus Jessica Kilroy
Date: Saturday 8th May, 7.30pm
Admission: £7.50 in advance from
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/65690
www.myspace.com/karynoliver
Two amazing female singer songwriters from the USA
Karyn Oliver plus Jessica Kilroy
Oliver‘s musical inspiration comes primarily from the eclectic mix of music she was exposed to while growing up in the musically diverse culture of Washington, D.C. As a child, she learned to play rock ‘n’ roll on her guitar and, being inspired by the likes of the Beatles, Everly Brothers, and Carol King to write some of her first songs. At the same time she was also being trained in both classical voice and musical theatre.
2007 marks the release of Oliver‘s debut CD, Hurricane, and critics have already begun to take notice. While showcasing a wide range of music styles is usually reserved for established artists, the diversity of Oliver’s music has been getting international rave reviews, simply because she pulls it off so easily.
"...from the sensual saxophone intro to the first track, America , i’s clear that this record is something special." Kevin Moog, Maverick Magazine, 4 out of 5 stars
‘her array of musical styles ranges from throbbing rock with a feminine tease to pure, silky love songs that will shatter your heart’ Lindsay Stroh, The Baltimore Examiner
Oliver recently ended a two-year term as President of The Baltimore Songwriters Association in order to commit more time to supporting the new album. In the spring of 2007, she completed a successful 4-week tour of Europe. Oliver will play up and down the east coast this fall, and is currently planning another European tour for early 2008. Oliver also hosts a weekly radio show in Baltimore, highlighting and providing exposure for other regional songwriters.
Jessica Kilroy
Dubbed as a "21st century Emmy Lou Harris" by Grammy nominated songwriter, Skip Ewing, Montana's own award winning songwriter, Jessica Kilroy, lives and breathes the life of a troubadour. Capturing each moment with heartfelt lyrics and a voice that Bluesman Guy Davis once described as "beautiful and pure, it takes me somewhere deep and way back" her songs have the depth of the land she is from.
After watching Jessica perform live, Grammy nominated songwriter Skip Ewing expressed, "Jessica's voice is honest and pure, it's nothing like I've ever heard before. She's a 21st century Emmy Lou Harris." In 2005, Skip invited Jessica to sing at the legendary Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee where she performed "in the round" with Ewing, Viktor Krauss, Pat Flynn, Barry Walsh and Tommy Harden.
Kilroy has traveled the country performing and co-billing with diverse acts such as Tony Trischka, Darrell Scott, Guy Davis, Walt Michaels, The Wilders, Trampled by Turtles, The Drew Emmitt Band, Yonder Mountain String Band, Bill Nershi, Po Girl, Ben Sollee, Califone, The McCoury Brothers and many others. In 2008 Kilroy won the NW String Summit Band Competition with her bluegrass trio (fiddle player Jack Ausick and mandolin player Nate Biehl) and was invited to perform on the main stage in 2009. Also in 2008, Kilroy was selected for the Horse & Writer Invitational Scholarship Award including a week of one-on-one mentorship from five of Nashville's top hit songwriters. In 2009 she was selected as a finalist for the Telluride Troubadour Competition and performed a solo set on the main stage as well as performing with Sam Bush and the Troubadour finalists.
Kilroy's first album "Before Dawn", comprised of all original folk music and recorded in a small Montana cabin in 2003 (each song recorded with just guitar and vocals in one take) was recently re-released in 2009. "Montana native Jessica Kilroy doesn't hide behind a posse of guests and bandmates. Her voice is quietly compelling, and she doesn't distract from the songs with vocal gymnastics that I suspect she is more than capable of pulling off. Her guitar playing is subtle and understated. The focus, then, becomes the songs themselves, and there isn't a dud among the nine tracks of her recently re-released debut, Before Dawn." -The Missoulian Kilroy's sophomore album "Big Dreams" comprised of original Americana and bluegrass, released in 2007, features guest vocalist Anne Sibley, and bluegrass musicians Eric Thorin, Ben Winship, Brian Wicklund and John Lowell. "Kilroy's new album "Big Dreams" showcases her light, angelic voice and highly melodic songwriting. Fans of Allison Krauss may feel like they're witnessing a second coming when Kilroy sings." -The Missoulian
"To invite comparison of Jessica Kilroy's voice and music to another singer/songwriter would sell it short. Comparing it to someone familiar would not be enough, because her voice is her own. Clear, accurate and wonderfully soothing, her voice draws the listener in. Stop, then listen. You'll be a fan too." -John Lowell (Critically Acclaimed Guitarist and Songwriter)
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