Thanks to Ceri for this update from Quay Arts. Ed
We’ve had an amazing summer taking original music on the road at The Isle of Wight Festival in June, Ryde Arts Festival in July and Ventnor Fringe in August – and now we’re back in the comfy Quay Arts Café Bar bringing you our distinctive mix of original music from the Island and beyond!
Join us on Monday 30 September from 7pm for an eclectic line-up of original music in the Café Bar, dancing in the Anthony Minghella Theatre and cardboard rockets in the West Gallery!…
Emma Johnson
You may know Emma as the lead vocalist and creative inspiration behind Island folk-band Charming and we’re delighted she’s chosen Acoustic Originals to debut some of her solo material! Drawing inspiration from Mumford & Sons, Radiohead and Seth Lakeman, amongst others, Emma’s a rich, textured vocal beautifully conveys her well-crafted songs. One to watch out for!
James Tin
James delivered a breath-taking set for us at Ryde Arts Festival in July. A talented singer-songwriter and accomplished guitarist, he has been busily recording some of his self-penned works at the Island’s very own Studio Humbug. He cites inspiration from 70s folk artists such as Nick Drake and John Martyn and we have a feeling you’ll be seeing much more of James in the coming months.
Wild Oats
Fresh from their slot at The Black Sheep Bar on 27 September supporting The Magic Numbers, two of the hardest gigging musicians on the Island will be performing with their full band and showing us why such momentum is building behind their original music. Nigel George, of Eccleston George, describes his initial experience of hearing the band: “When I first saw The Wild Oats play live it hit me quite unexpectedly that I was witnessing something extraordinary, something very different and something very exciting. No sign of pretentiousness, no strutting and posturing, just an amazing sound that was as hard to define as it was foot-tappingly good. What’s more they looked like they were having the time of their lives…”
Grant Sharkey
When we saw Grant supporting Nizlopi at Joiners in Southampton, a hush descended on the crowd as he took his to the stage. One thing was clear: this crowd knew what was in store! With an impressive catalogue of songs including titles such as, ‘I’m Sorry to Hear You’re a Racist’, and ‘The Clown (AKA The Onesie Song)’, Grant does that brilliant thing that artists do… he makes you laugh and then he makes you start thinking.
Emmy J Mac featuring Buddy Carson
The Voice UK says, ‘[Emmy J Mac] has all the song-writing skills, instrument know-how and the fierce determination to become the next big thing…’. With an impressive vocal range and passionate delivery, she’ll be performing for us with her trio featuring the words of Buddy Carson: trawl through the reams of paper and endless filled journals adorned with the ink from Buddy’s pen and you can chart the progress from child limerick writer, budding horror novelist, and children’s short story writer, to songwriter, poet, MC, spoken-word artist, and more. In songwriting and spoken word Buddy finds his vessel of choice, and his honest, informal, and thoughtful poems explore the more natural considerations, all with a tint of wit and joviality.
Fancy dancin’?
Paul Windridge is making a crowd-sourced Island-based dance video and he’d like you to take part! All that’s required is 20 seconds of dance in whatever style you want as long as it’s to the particular music. The dancing can be as daft as you want as long as it’s, more or less, to the beat! You can wear whatever you like – normal clothes, be in costume, wear a mask, a bag on your head – up to you.
Paul will set up in the Anthony Minghella Theatre during Acoustic Originals so if you feel like dancing during one of the band changeovers, you can!
If you do decide to take part you will be giving permission for Paul to edit you into the final video which will eventually be available for the whole world to watch!
Cardboard Rockets…
And if you haven’t seen Tom Hall’s cardboard rockets in the West Gallery yet, you’ll be delighted to hear that the West Gallery will be open from 7pm.
It’s completely free to get in and everyone is welcome – we’ll open the doors at 7pm and live performances start at 8pm.
