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After working with Sam Coe for the first time at That Music Thing at Epic Studios last week – a gig which was very favourably reviewed – I am delighted that I’ll be back playing keys and organs for her again at the launch of her brand new solo album, entitled ‘Comeback Queen’.
Redefining British Country Music, Sam Coe sheds a new light on the musty, tinged world of traditional country. Raw, gritty and honest. No pretence, just her gutsy truth colliding with the music. Following previous critical acclamation and success as both a solo artist and with her band, The Long Shadows, 2019 sees Sam Coe heading in a fresh musical direction. Ready to start a new UK Country scene that draws upon, rather than tries to replicate, the American scene we know and love, Sam wanted to embrace being an unashamed British artist, and bring some sincerity and soul to the UK industry. Heading back into the studio, she began recording her debut solo album under label GingerDog Records. Influenced by the sound of throwback instrumentation like the Fender Rhodes, the new record is heavily piano driven, while combining tremolo guitars, hammond organ and her beloved Gibson with an emotional and raw vocal.
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I am very excited that I will be playing drums with Jade MayJean and her band for the big Christmas Lights Switch-On event in Ipswich town centre on Thursday 21st November this year.
Jade and the band will be performing a mixture of original songs from Jade’s album 20Sixty and classic Christmas crowd-pleasers from five o’clock on the main stage outside the Town Hall & Corn Exchange.
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In September 2011, I wrote about how proud I was to have joined an El Sistema-inspired music education programme in my home city of Norwich, working with students in inner-city schools teaching orchestral percussion an general musicianship. The project — then called In Harmony Norwich — was one of three trial nucleos setup by the UK government in different cities, and was just entering the third of its three years of funding when I came on board as one of the percussion tutors.
A lot of change has happened in the years since I joined the programme back in 2011 — including a rebrand as Sistema In Norwich. But the one thing which has always remained the same is the steadfast determination of the programme directors and the team of tutors to bring music education to children who might not otherwise have had those kinds of opportunities available to them.
This coming Friday 11th October, a performance by Sistema In Norwich students and tutors at the University Of East Anglia In Norwich will celebrate ten years of Sistema’s presence in the city. I feel extremely honoured to have been involved with Sistema In Norwich — in its various guises — for eight of those ten years, and it will be a privilege to walk onstage on Friday evening with my colleagues and students from the Sistema programme to celebrate this landmark anniversary.
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I will be playing piano with Jade MayJean live on Essex radio station Phoenix FM this coming Sunday 15th September as part of The Sunday Sessions.
Tune in to 98.0 fm in Essex and East London — or listen online here — from eleven o’clock on Sunday morning to hear acoustic versions of Jade’s original songs from her recent album 20Sixty.
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Barely seems like a week ago that we were playing Ultra ’90s at the iconic Boston Gliderdrome… In fact, it was late February – and it’s now the start of April! Where does the time go?
Still, what an absolutely fantastic gig to look back on now! To play at a venue with so much history – and such an incredible atmosphere – is definitely something which stays with you.
As ever, huge thanks to everyone who came out to the show, and to our brilliant photographers who captured the totally electric feeling of the night wonderfully. So here is a selection of some of my favourite images from the Gliderdrome.
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Hopefully this little video mash-up from the Ultra ’90s show at the Boston Gliderdrome last Saturday goes some way to capturing what a fantastic, incredible atmosphere there was all night in that amazing, historic venue!
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A little snippet of Ultra ’90s’ closing Happy Hardcore set at the historic Boston Gliderdrome on Saturday night.
Plenty more pictures and video from this truly epic sold-out gig to come, so keep an eye out!
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Back in summer 2018, I had the pleasure of playing drums with Jade MayJean and her fantastic band at ButeFest on the Isle Of Bute, performing songs from the album 20SIXTY which debuted last year.
Despite the weather – just an hour or two after Jade’s set on the main stage, the festival site was formally closed due to high winds making it unsafe! – it was lovely to see people come out to watch the show, and to get so much brilliant feedback afterwards about Jade’s original music.
Here’s a brief video clip from Jade’s Facebook.
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