Idle Empire

I’ve been waiting for a while to tell you about these guys. Based in Nottingham and Leicester, Idle Empire are a three-piece indie/acoustic band that have been going since in January 2014. Idle Empire are part of something of a revival in the acoustic/gypsy sound, and they do it well!

 

(©Photographs by Philip J Vernon 2014 all rights reserved)

 

Comprising of Alex Oxley- Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar, Ollie Horton on Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals and Tom Sellars on Violin.

They come together brilliantly, combining Alex’s vocals with Tom’s violin and Ollie’s lead guitar. Alex Oxley’s voice is really quite unique with influences from the likes of John Lennon, Paolo Nutini and George Esra, which lends well to high tones of the violin and is aided and abetted by Ollie’s strong backing vocals… I really like these guys!

I had the opportunity to chat with Alex at the launch of Carmen – Seduction Of The Promise album, where Alex played a solo spot as an opener to the nights proceedings. Alex was telling me that now, through studies, they have to work much harder to get to gigs, however, they relished challenge. My strong impression was, that, they have the talent and determination to to rise to any challenge.

The guys will be playing an unplugged session at The Musician in Leicester on the 2nd Jan, looking at the gig list, it should be a very good night indeed!!!

 

jsb

 

(©TheGuyWithaStick 2014 All rights reserved)

Statutes: In the throes of…

Ok! I know hardcore is not everyone’s favourite, often people don’t get it, it seems, they say, like a load of banging and screeching. All I can say is these people haven’t seen… Statutes!

Statutes are a Nottingham based Melodic Hardcore outfit with great stage presence and a tremendous sound. Formed from old friendships, Statutes consist of: Rich Herrick – Vocals, Adam Kinson – Guitar, Tom Whitmore – Guitar, Mark Abbott – Drums and Ollie Jones – Bass. According to the guys they formed Statutes “With the sole aim of writing music that we enjoy to play”.

Statutes particular form of ‘hardcore’ has an emphasis on ‘melodic’ sounds and well thought out lyrics. Lately, the guys have been busy playing throughout the East Midlands, promoting their new album: IN THE THROES OF…

 

In The Throes of… is a cleverly worked out album of 11 quick tracks that are musically sound and to the point. Recorded at Nottingham’s ‘Stuck On a Name Studio’, the album was released on 7th September and is available to buy at all major online retailers and can be previewed at Statutes SoundCloud Channel (see link below).

TheGuyWithaStick wish Statutes well with the new album, we look forward to seeing them again soon, we also look forward to adding a video from ‘IN THE THROES OF…’ to www.theguywithastick.com soon!

 

Statutes Facebook page: www.facebook.com/statutes

SoundCloud preview of Statutes album: ‘In The Throes Of…  soundcloud.com/statutes

 

RJG

©Copyright TheGuyWithaStick2014 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

1 Challan Carmichael Recording Session w/ 10 Children for New Track

1 Challan Carmichael Recording Session w/ 10 Children for New Track.

Theatre Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham

 

 

Shrek The Musical

Show dates: Wed 10th September – Sun 28th September Running time: 2hours 42mins

Direct from the West End and larger than life!

We are delighted to announce our fabulous new cast for the SHREK THE MUSICAL UK Tour! Joining Dragon and Dean Chisnall as the beloved Shrek are Faye Brookes as Princess Fiona, Idriss Kargbo as Donkey andGerard Carey as villain Lord Farquaad!

Based on the award-winning DreamWorks animation film, SHREK THE MUSICAL is this year’s must-see show for all the family.

Join our unlikely hero and his loyal steed Donkey as they embark on a quest to rescue the beautiful (if slightly temperamental) Princess Fiona from a fire breathing, love-sick dragon. Add the diminutive Lord Farquaad, a gang of fairytale misfits, and a biscuit with attitude, and you’ve got the biggest, brightest musical comedy around!

Featuring all new songs as well as cult Shrek anthem I’m a Believer, SHREK THE MUSICAL brings all the much-loved DreamWorks characters to life, live on stage, in an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza. Join the adventure.

Recommended for ages 5+. Children aged 3 and under will not admitted.

Shrek the Musical © 2014 DreamWorks Animation LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall

Fri 12th September

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The Saturdays

Show dates: Fri 12th September Running time: TBC

The Saturday’s
Plus Special Guests Bribry, SD*Jem and Beth Sherburn

Since The Saturday’s formed in 2007, the multi platinum-selling band have become a household name in the UK. They’ve scored 11 Top 10 singles (including signature hits like ‘All Fired Up’ and ‘Higher’) and three Top 10 albums (‘Chasing Lights’ ,’Wordshaker’ and ‘Headlines’). Renowned for their energetic live performances, The Saturdays have embarked on three nationwide headline tours (including 2011’s All Fired Up arena tour, their biggest to date).

The Saturdays have also become unavoidable on screens across the nation, not least as part of their own fly-on-the-wall TV shows The Saturdays 24/7 and What Goes On Tour. Add to this a loyal following of over 1 million fans on Facebook, over 3 million combined followers on Twitter and over 67 million video views on YouTube, and it’s clear that The Saturdays have become the UK’s foremost girl group.

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Theatre Royal Nottingham

Sat 6th September

Nottingham Rocks

Show dates: Sat 6th September Running time: TBC

A must-see for any music fan, Nottingham Rocks returns to the Theatre Royal featuring the city’s best up-and-coming music artists backed by a 14-piece orchestra.

With a history for showcasing the stars of the future, Nottingham Rocks has previously hosted names including ‘Indiana’ and ‘Saint Raymond’ who now both enjoy huge national success and acclaim.

Singer-songwriter, Joel Baker headlines this year; his mesmerising vocals and moving lyrics have attracted serious national attention, with fans including Radio 1s Huw Stephens and Fearne Cotton.

Shelter Point’s haunting sound, mixing beautiful melodies against heavy bass, has earned the duo rave reviews, national airplay, and comparisons to artists like James Blake and Radiohead.

Noah is a local duo comprising singer Rebeka Whittle, and guitarist/singer, Joe Baxter. Regulars on the city’s music circuit, they describe their sound as ‘rootsy, tribal, folky pop’.

Champions of the ‘Future Sound of Nottingham 2012’, After Dark Movement is one of the city’s most widely respected bands; their unique sound has drawn admirers from the urban scene and live gigging circuit alike.

This is a rare chance to see Nottingham’s music stars of tomorrow up close and personal.

 

© 2014 COPYRIGHT THEATRE ROYAL & ROYAL CONCERT HALL NOTTINGHAM

 

Theatre Royal Nottingham

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TheGuyWithaStick Vid-List1+2

18 videos featuring some of the best bands on the circuit!!!

All artists and bands featured on TheGuyWithaStick  Vid-Lists also have reviews on http://www.theguywithastick.com just use the search box on the right of this page… ENJOY!

 

 

For a fuller list of Matt’s upcoming events follow this link

Hailing from Ilkeston in Derbyshire, Matt Henshaw describes his current location has Derby, Nottingham and Leicester… he gets about this guy! In fact, Matt Henshaw has to be one of the hardest working musicians around. It often seems there is not a day or night goes by that Matt is not adorning a stage somewhere in the UK, it’s quite understandable to suspect there may well be several Matt Henshaws, all cloned from the original, but no! I can assure you there is only one Matt Henshaw… only one, brilliantly talented, trend setting, soul saving, Matt Henshaw!

Matt describes his style of music as ‘rhythmic gospel’, and in doing so Matt invents a whole new genre which, without the blink of an eye or  a scratch of music journalists head, the genre is accepted… and why not! What Matt does, and does expertly, is his own thing! He’s not bothered about ‘pigeon holes’ or classifications, he is bothered about his life and his life is music!

Matt has had something of a rebirth lately, standing-down from his University job to concentrate on relaunching his career in music, following his epiphany on the road to stardom and alcoholism which saw the demise of his former, and very highly rated, band ‘Censored’ in 2008. Since this time Matt has done some amazing things, from recording a cracking album with MC Rudimental st al, to re-launching his career. You can’t keep this guy down, he is determined, he’s confident and he is one of the most decent human beings I have had the pleasure of meeting he’s also destined for success!!!

TheGuyWithaStick have included a couple of Matt Henshaw tracks on the acoustic playlist on the ‘Feature’ tab at www.theguywithastick.com

Matt Henshaw can be seen all over the UK including OSFEST Music Festival in Derbyshire on July 26 and Leicester’s Simon Says on July 27th

JSB

 

©Copyright: theguywithastick.com2014

 

Matt Henshaw

Elisabeth Cornish

 

The beautifully enchanting Elizabeth Cornish and her band, comprising of: on drums – Adam Wykes, bass – Jason Skinner and on additional guitar – Mark Riley Cardwell, are wonderful a tremendous acoustic folk band following in a great tradition, and doing it justice!

Influenced by the likes of David Gray, Alanis Morissette and Laura Marling (which comes across in Elizabeth’s guitar playing) with undertones of Susan Vega, Elizabeth Cornish and the band are becoming quite a force in the region. Elizabeth’s voice is well suited to the genre mature yet amazingly gentle…

 

… her finger-picking guitar play is highly complimented by Mark’s electric guitar and Jason’s bass play with it all brought together by Adam’s drums and Elizabeth’s vocal, and what vocals they are… a master class in folk pop!

I always thought that the best thing to happen on the 15th of March was my birthday, so you can imagine how distressed I was to be ‘gazumped’ by a piece of plastic!!! Ok! it wasn’t ‘just’ a ‘piece of plastic’, it was something much more precious it was the birth of an album… Elizabeth Cornish’s album called ‘Displaced’ which had it’s launch at the Cookie on March 15th this year… and what an album it is!

Below is the title track…

 

…It truly is a must for any music collection!

There’s an old saying about ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’, well, in time, Elizabeth Cornish and the band will be those giants!

 

Elizabeth Cornish can be seen at Leicesters SimonSays Festival on the 27th July and at The Musician on the 19 August… and you just know in between these dates they’ll be playing somewhere. x

 

JSB

 

©Copyright: theguywithastick.com2014. All rights reserved.