The sub-title of HANNAH SANDERS & BEN SAVAGE's latest album, Ink of the Rosy Morning, is "a sampling of folk songs from Britain and North America" and this, together with songs from their previous two albums, provided the large gathering at Downend Folk & Roots with an evening of sublime, heart-warming music.
Facing each other over a single old-style microphone, and back at Downend for the first time in five years as a duo, their warmth immediately draws us all in towards them. They begin with their version of Tim Hardin’s If I were a Carpenter. The purity of Hannah’s voice, Ben’s intricate guitar playing and harmonies get us off to a wonderful start to the evening. "We’re only three shows into the run," says Ben, "we’re still excited. We played Tim Hardin at the start to make sure we didn’t do anything stupid!”
The more bluesy, Polly O Polly is followed by some more good ol' blues, A Winter’s Night. Hannah tells us this was one was one of their avant-garde videos, set in front of a log fire! The mellow version of Way Over Yonder in a Minor Key (via Woody Guthrie/Billy Bragg), sets the bar high and includes the line "ain’t nobody can sing like me”. It certainly feels like it tonight!
Ben takes the lead on vocals with their working of the Cape Breton ballad, When I First Came to Caledonia... he tells us he has steadily fallen out of favour with the male protagonist, but the song does promote the delights of tea! An American version of the love song, I Gave My Love a Cherry, with Ben playing dobro, and then a version of Ribbons and Bows by US old-time banjo player, Richie Stearns, brings the first half to a close.
The English folk ballad Earl Richard starts the second half, and contains on of Hannah’s favourite lines from a female protagonist: "I have a dead man in my bower. I wish he were a way". Two moving love songs follow; The Fall, featuring Hannah’ plaintive vocals, and Ben leading on What’s it Tonight My Love. After Fairport Convention’s Reynardine (a cautionary tale to women), we are treated to A Life A Lie, a song that Hannah wrote for those left behind after others have left, and we are invited to sing along to Ben's song of hope, A Thousand New Moons, with the words "for love, for love" .
The soulful blues of John Martyn’s Hurt in Your Heart, leads us to the 'last' song, River Don’t Run, a romance played out against a demolished area of London in 1886. But, of course, it’s not the last song! Ben & Hannah return for two more. Leadbelly’s sing-a-long blues I Will Be So Glad When I Get Home, and another bluesy song of hope, Trouble in Mind.
Opening the evening was LAUREN SOUTH, who gave us another stunning vocal performance as she accompanied her songs with a variety of instruments. She opened with The Mermaid and the Swimming Lad whilst playing a shruti box. Lauren tells us that her daughters were disappointed at the fate of the Swimming Lad! The title track of her album Tiny Boat, is a lyrical ballad backed by deft guitar playing. Next were two tunes, Glenfarg Waltz and Time Wasters, including lilting violin via a hands-free kit! In the thoughtful The Blue, Lauren asks “where the sky meets the sea, where does the blue end and begin?”. Jessica finished the set, a song about not looking back.
But the evening rightly belonged to Hannah & Ben, whose latest album came from songs that were not originally meant to be recorded or played in public. Tonight we were treated to the very best in harmonious vocals and intricate guitar playing. We are so glad they did!
Words: Paul Duckett
Photos: Alan Cole
We welcome one of the most innovative duos on the UK folk scene as our Autumn/Winter programme keeps on delivering top-class artists to the area.
Since emerging in 2016, HANNAH SANDERS & BEN SAVAGE have been defying all conventions of style, genre and compartmentalisation. A touch of Americana, yet quintessentially English. Traditional, yet contemporary, with their individual writing style. Playful and instinctive, they constantly do the unexpected; yet they do it with such panache and natural chemistry it makes perfect sense.
Hannah Sanders has an alluring mystique and a voice of disarming purity that massages your senses. Ben Savage is a bubbling ferment of energy and infectious enthusiasm, seemingly able to play any instrument you put in front of him with grace and favour.
They have recorded three studio albums to date, Before the Sun (2016), Awake (2018) and Ink of the Rosy Morning (2022), and have captivated audiences at shows and on festival stages alongside Americana and folk luminaries such as Sarah Jarosz, Martin Simpson, Seth Lakeman and Oh Susanna. They are true originals, that’s all there is to it. Distinctive. Innovative. Ground-breaking. Unique.
Opening the evening, before Ben and Hannah take to the stage, will be LAUREN SOUTH. Residing in Rugby, Lauren is an accomplished singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist renowned within Warwickshire for her original compositions and traditional melodies, establishing herself as a prominent figure in the folk music scene. With the accompaniment of tenor guitar, fiddle, and shruti box, her songs exude heartfelt emotion and vivid imagery, drawing inspiration from her passion for the nocturnal heavens, the natural world, and her journey through motherhood.
Tickets for the concert, which takes place at CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND on Friday 20 October 2023, are available online HERE and from MELANIE'S KITCHEN in Downend (cash only). They are priced at £14 each in advance or £16 on the door. Doors open at 7.30pm and the music starts around 7.45pm.
There will be a bar, stocking cider, soft drinks, wine, hot drinks and real ale from locally-based HOP UNION BREWERY. Audience members are encouraged to bring their own glass/mug/tankard, as well as reusable bottles for water, as part of the drive to be more environmentally aware; there is a 50p discount for those that do. There will also be sweet treats available at the bar courtesy of Radstock-based THE GREAT CAKE COMPANY, as well as a prize draw, which helps to fund the support artists for each concert. For further information, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
BUY TICKETS
+++
We’re thrilled to reveal our programme for Spring/Summer 2024. It’s packed, even more than normal, with a great mix of the traditional and the contemporary, the established and the emerging… the very best that the UK folk scene has to offer.
We’re doing things slightly differently this time, as we have some very special plans for next year as we celebrate our tenth birthday, so there are SIX great concerts on this programme rather than the usual four.
We kick off after Christmas with KITTY MACFARLANE, who has been a big part of our ten year history, on Friday 19 January. Carried by a clear voice "controlled yet wild”, her lyrics touch on intervention and rewilding, climate change and migration, woman’s age-old relationship with textiles and the land, and the changing face of the natural world. Opening the evening will be rising star DETTA KENZIE.
SYKESMARTIN have been on our list for a long time, and we’ve finally got them coming on Friday 16 February. The duo is the new collaboration from two of the UK’s finest folk singers. Miranda Sykes (Show of Hands) and Hannah Martin (Edgelarks, Gigspanner Big Band) draw on the tradition to form a set of songs that celebrate the power of two voices singing in harmony. Joining them on the bill will be HOLLY CLARKE, who is really starting to make a name for herself.
We were due to welcome HANNAH JAMES & TOBY KUHN back in 2020, but youknowwhat got in the way. But we’re delighted to say the stars have finally aligned on the reschedule and they’ll be with us on Friday 15 March. Hannah and Toby met in Summer 2018 at Floating Castle festival in Slovenia and it was clear that these two musicians shared a common approach to music making and a real artistic chemistry. SEB STONE will be in support.
CHRISTINA ALDEN & ALEX PATTERSON are multi-instrumentalists and songwriters from East Anglia, and they’re our headliners on Friday 19 April. Their music is rich with intertwining harmony, sensitive accomplished musicianship and a creative song-writing style that is both delicate and moving. Deeply inspired by the world around them, they have a keen environmental eye to craft stories with the natural world at heart. Local stars THE LOST TRADES will open the evening.
GOOD HABITS made a big impression when they performed a support slot back in 2022… so much so that we immediately invited them back to headline on Friday 17 May. Being ‘happily stranded’ in New Zealand in 2020 launched the duo’s full-time musical adventure. Their award-winning, genre-fusion has received international critical acclaim and has been welcomed into the UK scene. They’re joined on the bill by Devon-based singer-songwriter BILLIE MAREE.
We round off our season with a duo who have been on our wish-list ever since we started… it’s incredible that it’s taken this long for it to happen! NANCY KERR & JAMES FAGAN are one of the best-known and most experienced folk duos on the British circuit today. They have thousands of fans and despite now having two children, they continue to work and tour constantly from their home base in Sheffield. Their duo shows are now special and sought-after events, so we’re delighted to be hosting one on Friday 21 June, when DAVID MITCHELL will get us underway.
All six concerts will take place at CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND. Seating is unreserved. The concerts are all priced at £14 in advance, £16 on the door, but you can also buy a season ticket for all six concerts for £75 (no booking fees), a saving of around £15 (a whole concert for free!). All tickets are non-refundable. They are available online HERE, and they will also be available from MELANIE’S KITCHEN in Downend ahead of each individual gig. Please note that Melanie's Kitchen can only take cash payments and season tickets are not available at the shop. There will be a full bar at all concerts, as well as a prize draw, all proceeds of which go towards booking our support artists. Doors open at 7.30pm for a 7.45pm start.
We're really excited about this season, and we hope you will be too. Keep supporting live music... and watch this space for some more news of exciting events next year. All will be revealed!
BUY TICKETS
+++
Page 7 of 105