Since forming in late 2009, The Heathen Kings have performed across the UK at some of the most auspicious festivals including opening for Show of Hands at Moonbeams Wold Top Festival, headlining slots at Otley Black Sheep Folk Festival, EFDSS Folk Rising, Hardraw Gathering, Potbelly Folk Festival, Oundle International Festival and Ingleton Folk Weekend.
Andrew DR Abbott is a guitar player currently living in Bradford, touring his debut solo album ‘Dead in Chellow Dean’. He’s been at the cafe before, not just drinking coffee, but performing alongside David Thomas Broughton. We’re pleased to have him back to hear him play his new record.
Here’s a bit about it:
Through a series of instrumental 8-string baritone acoustic guitar compositions, Abbott conveys a dark and disorientating journey through the beautifully derelict hinterlands of Bradford: the postindustrial city in the North of England where he lives. The core tracks of the album are joined together by collages of field recordings and improvisations on handmade instruments.
Best known for his deafening guitar work in the bands That Fucking Tank and NOPE, Dead in Chellow Dean is Abbott’s most personal and introspective work to date. The rough, heavy and at times dissonant and fragile qualities of Abbott’s fingerstyle guitar and woozy interludes create a psychedelic soundtrack to the shadowy sides of present-day Bradford. Dead in Chellow Dean is a folk horror interpretation of life in the liminal space between the urban and rural, deprivation and affluence, the everyday and the magically surreal.
Using the fingerpicking techniques of Fahey, Basho, Kottke and Knopfler as a base to create his own twisting, non-linear compositions, Abbott weaves in influences from UK guitar contemporaries like Richard Dawson, Steven Malley (The Horse Loom), Dean McPhee and Gwenifer Raymond. More post-hardcore than trad-folk, Joe Osborne’s roomy recording truly captures the dynamics of Abbott’s playing from sparse heavy minimalism through to moments of derailed intensity.
Support is from another fantastic Bradford-based guitarist, Henry Parker.
Doors at 7pm. £10 in. Tickets from the cafe.
An Albion Christmas is widely regarded as the premier seasonal show, which has been touring for nearly 20 years, and attracts sell-out audiences across the UK. Indeed, many people say that their Christmas doesn’t start until they have seen The Albion Christmas Show.
Featuring the combined talents of Simon Nicol (Fairport Convention), Kellie While (Albion Band) Simon Care (Edward II) and the Guvnor himself, Ashley Hutchings, this show is a wonderful celebration of Christmas both traditional and contemporary.
The Albion Christmas Show is a seasonal mixture of carols, spoken word, humorous readings and dance. It really is the perfect way to start your festivities. This year’s tour will feature material from their brand new album alongside plenty of their old favourites from their back catalogue.
Otley Folk Club has been run and organised by Steve Fairholme and Malcolm Devereux for many years. Steve is also the main organiser behind Otley Folk Festival.
For more info on artists or the club in general, call Steve on (01943) 464858
One show, three acts: Suggested donation £5.
Gaelforce
Gaelforce originally formed in 1989 and were very successful Celtic Rock band in the 1990s. 3 albums followed: Gaelforce Live, Stoirm & Pay the Reckoning.
After approx 20yrs the band has reformed with orginal members plus Geoff Taylor on guitar. Geoff is probably the best folk rock guitarist in the Yorkshire area & has been a member of the Duncan McFarland Band for many years. They are joined on drums by Matt Kirton, recently relocated to the Yorkshire area from London, where he was the drummer with Shane McGowans band.
They are a Celtic Folk Rock band. 4 piece with fiddle, electric guitars, bass, electronic drum kit & vocals. Rocked up jigs n reels, original songs & rocked up trad folk songs Chris Dyson – fiddle, voc. Eddy Green – 4&5 string bass. Geoff Taylor – electric guitars.
https://www.facebook.com/GaelforceCelticRock/
Gloria Jeffries
A vastly experienced musician, singer, songwriter & guitarist, will be performing a solo acoustic set.
Gloria will probably include Flute, Looper pedal & maybe even cello
Vince Cayo
Vince Cayo is a solo musician out of Bradford, England, and self-proclaimed master of the Cayote Rock’N’Roll genre.
He learned the trade on the roads of Europe and America in his youth, drawing inspiration from the likes of Flogging Molly, Billy Bragg and Bob Dylan.
Soon after, gigs started lining up and connections were being made, which eventually led to an introduction to top West Yorkshire producer Grant Henderson with whom Vince would make two albums, Bound For Glory (2017) and Lucky Red Hat (2018).
Vince Cayo carries on down the music path, juggling between this ever-growing solo project and his bass duties with established Leeds punk rockers The Yalla Yallas, and is always seeking new ways to broaden his spectrum and stay relevant, hoping that “his pony knows the way back home”
https://www.facebook.com/animalchinmusic/
Martyn Joseph is a completely unique and mind blowing artist. Take everything you think you know about singer songwriters….and rip it up. For one man and a guitar he creates a performance with a huge far-reaching sound that is energetic, compelling and passionate. Be it to two hundred people or twenty thousand, he blows the crowd away night after night.
April 2019 saw him win a “Wales Folk Award” for “Here Come The Young”, the title track of his most recent album, of which Uncut magazine said “He’s never sounded more potent than he does here”
In 2018 he was honoured with a ”Spirit of Folk” Award by Folk Alliance International in Kansas USA and he also received Fatea magazine’s “Lifetime Achievement Award” here in the UK.
He is gifted with the rare ability to speak to the soul with his expressive and poignant lyrics and has a career spanning 30 years, 32 albums, over a half a million record sales and thousands of live performances.
Compared to Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Matthews, he has created his own style and reputation as a mesmerizing live performer and stands in his own right, built on a reputation for giving what thousands have described as the best live music experience of their lives.
A unique talent driven by passion, social awareness and love for his trade, he’s a jaw dropping guitar player who has developed a unique percussive style, teamed up with a powerful show stopping voice, and has been called “The Welsh Springsteen”
Concerned with making music that is relevant and vital to his audience, he engages with challenging narratives tackling the complexity of the human condition, underpinned with a promise of hope. In his own words “Really what I do is to try and write songs that might step up and make some sense of a moment in time. A good song makes you feel like you’re not alone in the world.”
He is hailed as a raconteur weaving tales on topical concerns, as well as stories on the fragility of love, with a magical ability to reach out to his listeners through his passion and humour. Stunning reviews single him out as an unmissable solo performer whose music stays with you long after the show has ended.