EDGELARKS MAY/JUNE 2019 - TOUR PRESS RELEASE – ‘FEATHER’ ALBUM LAUNCH TOUR
In April 2018, Edgelarks (Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin) retreated to a remote cottage in Ulpha, western Cumbria. They breathed in the mountain view, banked up the fire, and took their many instruments out of their cases. Then they sat down, and wrote. Tired of the navel gazing tendencies of sad song-writing, and the terrible events frequently depicted in the folk ballad tradition, they decided to turn their attention to an oft overlooked but vital facet of our lives: hope.
Swiftly, a set of songs and tunes emerged and the new album FEATHER was created. Stories of wonder from the natural world; tales of rejoicing and long lost returns; and simple thanksgiving for their own surroundings and place in the landscape. Informed by world rhythms, British folk roots, and the duo's penchant for making as much noise as possible with only two people, the album is an upbeat celebration, an incitement to hope.
Edgelarks began their musical journey together living in a small caravan in the hills near Exmouth, Devon. Phil had returned, Chaturangui in tow, from studying slide guitar in India with the master musician Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya. Hannah had grown up playing fiddle at traditional folk sessions. The pair met when they were both recruited to alt-roots outfit The Roots Union, travelling from festival to festival, tent to tent, wandering the highways, byways, and old forgotten pathways of these islands. When the band folded, Phil and Hannah formed a duo. They followed in the footsteps of the ancient troubadour tradition, picking up tunes, songs and stories along the way. Spotted busking on the seafront at Sidmouth Folk Festival by champion of independent music Steve Knightley, they soon found themselves touring nationally, supporting the likes of Show of Hands and Seth Lakeman, and eventually winning the prestigious Best Duo award at the 2014 BBC Folk Awards.
Extensive international touring followed, from Japan to South Africa, Canada to Australia. Collaborations saw them team up with Peter Knight (ex Steeleye Span) to form the Gigspanner Big Band; and join Show of Hands as part of their Wake the Union band for a very special show at the Royal Albert Hall on Easter Sunday 2017. As part of the all star lineup for folk-disco project The Band Of Love, they performed to a crowd of 50,000 and broadcast around the world alongside Kylie Minogue and the Manic Street Preachers, for BBC Radio 2’s Hyde Park Festival in a Day.
From recording their first album, Singing the Bones, at home in their living room in the dead of night, they have gone on to produce four more records, each time refining the process and honing their production skills – Mynd, Live in Calstock, and Watershed (which garnered them a second nomination for Best Duo at the BBC Folk Awards in 2016.). With the fourth album, Edgelarks, came another Folk Award nomination, and the decision to adopt the band name (they previously performed under their own names). Feather will mark another step in their journey. An exploration of the musical possibilities of just two people, they plan to translate their formidable live show into album format. A set of songs that will celebrate joy, push musical boundaries, and call out for hope.
The new album ‘Feather’ will launch with an accompanying tour in May/June 2019.
16/05/19 Chapel Arts, Bath. https://www.wegottickets.com/event/450311 01225 463362
17/05/19 The Painswick Centre, Stroud. cantonacrepromotions@gmail.com 07596 823881
22/05/19 Otley Courthouse, Yorkshire. https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/otley/otley-courthouse-arts-centre/edgelarks 01943 467466
23/05/19 Peak Concerts @ Matlock Town Football Club, Matlock, Derbyshire. https://www.peak-concerts.co.uk/edgelarks 01246 860022
24/05/19 Artrix, Bromsgrove . boxoffice@artrix.co.uk https://www.artrix.co.uk/whats-on/all-shows/edgelarks 01527 577330
25/05/19 The Ropewalk, Barton Upon Humber. www.wegottickets.com 01652 660380
30/05/19 Cecil Sharp House, London https://uk.patronbase.com/_CecilSharpHouse/Productions 0207 485 2206
31/05/19 Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre, Walton on Thames. https://riverhousebarn.co.uk/ 01932 253354
01/06/19 The Flavel Arts Centre, Dartmouth. www.theflavel.org.uk 01803 839530
04/06/19 Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol. www.thewardrobetheatre.com 0117 203 4040
07/06/19 The Beehive, Honiton. www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050
08/06/19 The Acorn, Penzance. info@theacornpenzance.co.uk https://theacornpenzance.com/ 01736 363545
14/06/19 ACE Space, Newbury. https://www.wegottickets.com/event/454495 07905 590214
15/06/19 Album Launch Party at West Town Farm, Ide https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/exeter/west-town-farm/edgelarks-album-launch-party
16/06/19 Gower Folk Festival. www.gowerfolkfestival.co.uk
20/06/19 Anteros Arts, Norwich. 01603 766129 www.anterosfoundation.com
21/06/19 Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden. https://saffronhall.com/calendar/foyer-folk-3/ 0845 5487650
22/06/19 Shutlanger Village Hall, nr. Towcester. 07941 368958
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