The Jellyman's Daughter Start European Tour at The Shop Sessions

What an exciting month for the Shop Sessions! We would be holding our first Acoustic Event at UCan Studios which is a great live recording studio as well as a music school. Couple that with the international flavour of the evening and we were very very excited.Ok that might be over embellishing a bit, The Jellyman's Daughter were travelling down from Scotland on the first date of their European tour and while Ashley Fayth is Canadian she is based in Chester but what the heck it felt very cosmopolitan to us.

We settled in to our new surroundings in the spacious(compared to the shop) and atmospherically lit UCan studios in readiness for the first artist of the evening Ashley Fayth. Ashley opened with the 'Don't Weigh The Anchor' taken from the album 'Take Back The Fire' which has just been released. Oh what a start! This song is definitely one of my favourites from the album and even though I have seen it a few times live already it was wonderful to hear it stripped back with Just Ashley on guitar/vocals & Daniel J Logan on percussion. Ashley has a voice that can float & draw you in as it does on 'Don't Weigh The Anchor' or 'Seaside' or it can be driving and uplifting as you can hear on songs like 'Lover Take Me' and in the later part of 'I am the bird'. Ashley and Dan finished on the title track of the album 'Take Back The Fire' which is a great crowd pleaser as you're encouraged to join in on the chorus. Ashley definitely left a lasting impression on our audience and I think she won over many new fans on the night as the feedback was great and we can only confirm that you should go out and see Ashley live and buy the album 'Take Back The Fire' it's brilliant.

Ashley Fayth & Daniel J Logan - Lover Take Me

https://youtu.be/uNptrpFvte8

As with so many artists we have at the Shop Sessions the first place I heard The Jellyman's Daughter was on Rick Stuarts Roots & Fusion radio show. I was totally blown away by a song called 'Blue Lullaby' which had an absolutely amazing Cello riff underpinning the song. So when Emily & Graham contacted us about coming to play we naturally jumped at the chance. There are not many artists that play the Shop Sessions we have not seen live somewhere else before to ensure the quality stays sky high so my heart was in my mouth as they started the first song. Would they be as good as the recordings we'd heard? They answered with an emphatic yes as their harmonies intertwined to beckon us in with the track 'Darling Corey' which is actually the final track from the self titled debut album. So they started on a high, where to go from there then? Upwards of course with one my favourite independent songs of the year 'Blue Lullaby' it's got everything a driving Cello riff, soulful solo vocals from Emily and soaring harmonies as Graham joins the vocal to create an all encapsulating sound. Superb!

The Jellyman's Daughter - Money Can't Buy Me Love (Cover)

https://youtu.be/ML0HcWBZVsY

As the night progressed I have to say I was mesmerised by the Cello it was wonderful to hear & just as importantly see it played to produce contemporary sounds. The duo have an obvious connection while performing & really do look like they enjoy sharing their music and so they should, it is a very interesting and distinct sound. I do like good vocals and individually Emily & Graham have great voices but when they harmonise it takes the sound to another level just sublime. As you can probably tell we fell in love with the music of The Jellyman's Daughter and we're sure you will too so make sure you catch them soon.... 

The Jellyman's Daughter - Come Back To Me

https://youtu.be/pijKVnK7F18

Definitely go and find out what's happening with The Jellyman's Daughter here

http://thejellymansdaughter.com/

We are hoping to see Ashley Fayth back at the Shop Sessions in the not too distant future but in the meantime ..

http://ashleyfayth.com/

Thanyou so much to the artists Emily, Graham, Ashley & Dan and also to Jonathan at Ucan Studios for giving us a new home.

To find out more about UCan Studios

http://ucanstudios.co.uk/

And finally keep upto date with the Shop Sessions by heading over to and sign up to our newsletter

http://www.thecyclejunction.com/shopsessions/

A Celebration of Songwriting

Wow! September already and another magical Shop Session was in store. This was always going to be one of the most important Shop Sessions of the year for us as it would underline the reasons for us starting the Shop Sessions. With the Shop Sessions we wanted to support in our own small way live musicians & great original songwriting but on a more personal note we wanted to expose our daughter to great female artists in a venue that was accessible and friendly for under 18s. So with these things in mind September was an evening of superbly talented female singer/songwriters from around the UK and each with their own individual style...


To kick things off we would see first hand the effect these gigs were having on Charlotte and her friends as Charlotte & friend Leah would be opening up the evening with a couple of covers & then Charlotte would perform a self penned song in this intimate setting. Rather than uber gushing I'll just say very proud dad moment and leave it there....

Well we were very excited to see Rebecca Cullen back in the building with a whole host of new material since her last visit in 2014. It really was a given that this set would be awesome. The stripped back vulnerability of Rebecca's songs never fail to hit the mark and delivered with so much soul & feeling. It was great to hear songs off the new EP 'Some Build Castles' and we totally recommend you head out and get a copy..

 

Rebecca Cullen - Carry On

https://youtu.be/QsCN1vmXkfo

Next up we were treated to an artist we had enjoyed from afar. Marina Florance travelled from 'The Land of The Rising Sun' ok I may be over embellishing here, I mean Norfolk, so definitely from the East. I have personally been captivated by Marina's songwriting for a couple of years and already had a few EP's in the collection so it was an absolute joy to have Marina play them unplugged in a cosy setting for us. It's always a good feeling when you see someone live and they are every bit as good, if not better than the recorded versions you're already in love with. The highlight of the whole evening for me was the end of the performance of 'Big Legged woman Pt2' as the song was finished by Marina's mum who was in the audience just priceless and you can check it out in the vid below.

 

Marina Florance - Big Legged Woman Pt 2

https://youtu.be/WVTCPDjJUE0

This evening had already been one of our favourites so how do you finish off? Well I'll tell you how, with an artist who we've seen several times over the past couple of years and she never fails to captivate, Katie Ware aka Little Sparrow. Little Sparrow was accompanied this evening by the world class globe trotting Sarah Dale. I almost think the best way to enjoy Little Sparrow is to close your eyes and just allow the music to transport you to what sometimes can seem quite a surreal world. This floating acoustic pop really is beautiful. Katie's amazing voice, stunning harmonies & Cello from Sarah combined to finish he night on a magical musical high.

 

Little Sparrow - Wishing Tree

https://youtu.be/CFrLmPIlTxY

Massive thanks to Rebecca, Marina, Katie & Sarah for being unbelievably great. Big thanks also to Charlotte and Leah for opening the evening. You should go see these wonderful artists live and in the meantime follow the links below and buy their music so they can go make more wonderful music.

The world of Rebecca Cullen
http://rebeccacullen.co.uk/music/

For everything Marina Florance
http://www.marinaflorance.com/
and you can purchase music here
https://marinaflorance.bandcamp.com/music

Find out what's going on with Little Sparrow..
http://www.littlesparrow.org/

Finally we'd love you to come and help us keep supporting live music so come along to a Shop Session
http://www.thecyclejunction.com/shopsessions/