Archived Topic
Topic ID 2429
16/01/2007 by Della Cook
The StrumCity Sessions - Castle Hall
(Already been posted on another post but here is its own Thread).
East Herts Council has teamed up with Hertford Marquee manager Kev Saunders to launch The StrumCity Sessions – a series of acoustic nights at Castle Hall. There’ll be three shows in the foyer on January 16, February 13 and March 13, 2007 from 7 till 10pm.
The Strum City Sessions will run like the popular ‘open mic’ sessions at Hertford Marquee – local solo or duo songwriters will be able to showcase their skills alongside some of the area’s best known local talent.
Already on the bill are Nuala, the Hertford chanteuse whose album ‘Shine’ is currently attracting rave reviews and whose last single ‘El Sol’ reached number 4 in the Music Week Dance Chart, and Matt Scales, former lead vocalist and guitarist with The Gaff.
Performers will have to play mainly their own material, and there could be some great prizes in store for the best performance of the series – including free recording time and music shop vouchers!
Kev Saunders said: “With the likes of James Blunt, David Gray and Daniel Bedingfield dominating the charts and festival stages, there’s clearly a resurgence of interest in well-crafted songs that proves you don’t need a big loud band to get good material across. With Strum City, we’re giving new singers and writers a chance to show what they can do and get their music recognised!”
Bob Parker, Executive member for community development said: “There are a lot of talented people out there in East Herts and this is a wonderful opportunity to get on stage and perform in front of a friendly audience. Castle Hall is a great venue for music or theatre – I hope some of these rising stars will come back to perform at Castle Hall after they’ve made their first gold record!” "
Start time 8pm. Confirmed artists are:
NUALA, ROSIE MAYER, TOM BRAGGINS, STEVE COZENS, TERRY SWAIN, SAM SMITH, DAVID ‘MOLLY’ MAUTTERER
0 replies
Archived Replies
Reply ID 34149
17/01/2007 by lemonjelly
How does one get on the bill for these events?
Reply ID 34163
17/01/2007 by ridley
Anyone know how the event went?
Reply ID 34430
20/01/2007 by kevsaunders
Hello everyone. A couple of people mentioned that someona had asked how the Strum City thing went - so here I am. It went very well, I think. It wasn't packed out by any means but there was a respectably sized (and appreciative) crowd, which bodes well for the next two nights. They're on TUESDAY 13TH FEB and TUESDAY 13TH MARCH by the way - and since we've had so much interest from musicians, I'm going to consult the people I'm working with to see whether we might extend the time a bit to fit more in.
Since I'm here, I think you all should know that this was instigated by Stephen Wilson at EHDC, who asked me what we could do to make some use of the Castle Hall foyer. This was what we came up with - and the emphasis on songwriting arose because I wanted it to complement rather than compete with Ellis's open mic night and Rosie's Lime Jam at the Marquee.
By adding a small stage and some proper lighting, we managed to get rid of that clinical vibe that the place usually has - and I think if the next two sessions are as good or better we could make it a regular thing and raise the stakes a bit.
Glad to find there's some interest! See you down there next time! All the best Kev Saunders
Reply ID 34510
22/01/2007 by lemonjelly
quote:
Originally posted by kevsaunders
...to see whether we might extend the time a bit to fit more in.
Are the remaining two events fully booked, or is there still room for other artists?
Reply ID 34544
23/01/2007 by kevsaunders
Still working on it Lemonjelly. I'll post something here when i get a chance to go through my lists!
cheers
Kev
Reply ID 34742
26/01/2007 by lemonjelly
Thanks Kev.
Reply ID 34987
01/02/2007 by kevsaunders
Hi again Lemonjelly
Looks like I've already got more than enough people for the Strum City session on Tuesday 13th Feb - but hope to have slots for March 13th. Anyone interested, send me an email: kev(at)kevsaunders.co.uk. By the way, we're going to add another three monthly gigs!!
Reply ID 35750
15/02/2007 by Titus Groan
[:I]
This is a shameless plug really, but if you want to see more of local lad Tom Braggins of Strum City fame, then watch his video on YouTube [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwQlaY_l_do"] here[/url]
Tom has also featured on the Euan Tees show on Hertbeat FM all this week. Catch up with him on 106.9 FM or on the Hertbeat website [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwQlaY_l_do"] (you will have to register to listen)
Support your local talent!
[8D]
Reply ID 35765
16/02/2007 by Dude
So who won the Tuesday night open mike?
Reply ID 35773
16/02/2007 by Rachel
quote:
Originally posted by Dude
So who won the Tuesday night open mike?
It's not exactly open mic - it's a showcase for local singer-songwriters.
The winner was Gazzy, a young man who couldn't play and couldn't sing but had more charisma and star quality than all the other, more technically competant, acts put together. [8D] He was very, very sweary and I was considering writing a spoof letter to the Mercury raging disgustedly at East Herts Council for promoting this four-letter filth etc (no such thing as bad publicity) but never got round to it![:)]
Reply ID 37396
14/03/2007 by kevsaunders
Hi everyone
Just thought I'd say thanks to everyone who's turned up for the Strum City sessions! Especially last night's, which was great - featuring Los Chicos Muertos, Paul Hilder, Paol Booth, Roger Akers, Jay Hollis and a last-minute appearance by Nuala, who stepped in when a band called Chance let me down!
We're now going to make this a permanent event - with three more lined up for TUESDAY 17TH APRIL, MONDAY 14TH MAY and WEDNESDAY 20TH JUNE. Affter that there'll be a summer break and we'll kick off again in autumn.
If anyone wants a ten-minute slot, email me at kev (at) kevsaunders.co.uk
Cheers
kev
Reply ID 37491
16/03/2007 by lemonjelly
A lot of thanks must go to Kev for organising this event and I'm glad to see it has become a regular one. I had a great time at last Tuesday's StrumCity, all the players were good but I particularty enjoyed Paul Hilder's rendition of Smoke On The Water... on the ukelele and Los Chicos Muertos were the perfect climax to the evening.
Reply ID 37495
16/03/2007 by ridley
Titus, just heard Tom B's stuff on the Heartbeat website - great stuff and will be on my mp3 thingy for a while.
Reply ID 37734
20/03/2007 by kevsaunders
Cheers lemonjelly!! Very glad you had a good time! Please tell everyine to get in touch if they want to have a go!
16 replies