Winchester Folk Club

Ewan is a young, up-and-coming folk artist who has been making headlines over the past year performing at festivals, clubs and concert halls across the UK and beyond. His recent nominations for both the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and Scots Trad Awards confirm this ongoing success. His music combines folksong from around Britain and further afield, but with an inevitable concentration on the tradition of Scotland where he grew up. His own self-penned songs are also receiving critical acclaim in their own right, with noted music journalist Colin Irwin reviewing one of his “moving” offerings as “a modern classic”.

“I was completely and utterly bowled over by Ewan’s music. One of the most exciting new voices I’ve heard in years!” Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2

In addition to his voice, his “first class musicianship” (Taplas) is influenced by the rigour and technique from studying and performing classical guitar. It retains a “unique and compelling sound” (Maverick magazine) in which both his immersion in folk music and his on-going work with guitar maestro Martin Simpson is evident.

Ewan’s music covers the broad range folk music has to offer, from powerful and moving ballads to lively dance tunes and melancholic airs strikingly arranged for the guitar. It has been described as “a mix of the Tradition, social history and political awareness, with his own songs that carry a profound punch…The impact he has with it all is quite formidable” (EFDSS).

 ”Only once in a while do you hear a new voice, a new sound that is really worth listening to, Ewan McLennan is one such!” Martin Simpson

 



 

Luke Jackson is a young Roots singer/songwriter from Canterbury, Kent and has been performing live since the age of 13.

2010 was a great year for him, opening for Kim Richey, Megson, Mark Olson, Little Johnny England, Martyn Joseph, and Steve Knightley amongst others.   Also he had a great summer of festivals, including playing on the main stage at the Trowbridge Pump festival and performing at Martyn Joseph’s Pipefest.

2011 has been just as good, playing with Steve Knightley, Paul Brady, Show of Hands, Chris Wood, Lucy Ward, and appearing at festivals including Abbotsbury, Sidmouth and Greenbelt,  with much more lined up for the rest of the year.

His 5 track debut ep ‘Run & Hide’ was released in July and is getting a lot of attention and interest.

R2 ‘ROCK’n’REEL’  MAGAZINE 2011 ‘Run & Hide’,  five tracks of sophisticated folk-pop that belie Luke’s tender years’

FOLK IN THE BARN 2010 ‘His performance is confident, uninhibited and always a privilege to witness’ 

RUGBY ROOTS 2011  ‘As for Luke Jackson, well what can I say ? Our good friends at Folk in the Barn down in Canterbury, and others, have been singing his praises for some time but I was still taken  aback by the sheer power of his voice and the maturity of his lyrics’  

FATEA MAGAZINE 2011 ‘Run & Hide’ sounds like it’s got an old soul at the helm, the songs are as deep as his voice and seem to draw on experiences he surely can’t have had yet’