19-year-old Billie Marten takes the stage at Exeter Phoenix, displaying none of the nervousness which might betray her age. In fact, she oozes a nonchalant confidence as she asks the audience if they have “any interesting facts about Exeter?”. This is duly met by the awkward silence of the British public being invited into an…
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“Where are the banjos gone?” cried a baffled fanbase upon being presented with Mumford and Son’s last album Wilder Mind. ‘Rock’ replaced the rustic strumming of previous folky ballads and their baffled, dungaree-clad followers were left parading round the great British countryside sipping real ale to the sound of brash electric guitars. While I was…
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Photo credit: Boys by Girls The young Isaac Gracie’s music career began at the tender age of seven as a member of the Ealing Abbey Choir until the inevitable drag of puberty brought an inability to hit those high notes and replaced it with a passion for the guitar. Gracie’s choral origins now provide his…
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Photo credit: Twitter The distinctive tones of Tom Walker were streamed directly into all TV-watching households this Spring when his hit tune Leave a Light On sound-tracked a prolific Sony Bravia advert. The single has seen huge global success since its release, going gold in Australia, Belgium and Germany and platinum in Italy and the…
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This autumn Nick Mulvey embarks on his eighteen-date ‘In Your Hands solo tour’. Formally a music and art student in Cuba and member of the Mercury Award nominated Portico Quartet, Mulvey has seen great success in his solo career. Since releasing his second album Wake Up Now in September of 2017, Mulvey has toured the…
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George Ezra lived the dream this year, deciding to up and move to Barcelona for a wee bit of creative inspiration. The young singer felt he needed some space to write his new album away from home’s distractions, and Tamara’s house (a stranger he met on the internet) was the place where album number two…
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For the past few weeks, Nick Mulvey has been releasing a steady stream of singles to brighten Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist. He released Unconditional, Myela, Mountain to Move and We are Never Apart before finally releasing the full eleven-track album Wake Up Now. This is the first release we’ve had from Mulvey in four…
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In a year when the reign of Ed Sheeran seems endless and Galway Girl is filling the ‘country’ hit position, it may feel like searching for some exciting new Irish folk music is futile. However, while Ed continues to dominate the chart scene, his music label Gingerbread Man Records is providing us with something new….
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I had the pleasure of seeing Bear’s Den perform at Concorde 2 in Brighton a few years ago, and it is still one of my favourite gigs to date. Although I was looking forward to seeing them in Exeter, I had slightly lower expectations. As much as I enjoyed their new album, I was worried that their…
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In the 5 years since Bear’s Den formed they have shown an incredible artistic progression. Their first EPs in 2013 showed great promise for a new sound on the indie music scene. While the folk style has been replicated by many current artists, Bear’s Den have a distinct authenticity in their sound. The banjos and…
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Husband and wife duo JOHNNYSWIM have a love-story that will melt your heart. The two met in Nashville at church but after this initial meeting they didn’t see each other for four years. As fate would have it, they met again and began making music together in 2005. Four years later they were married, and…
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I’ve been following the development of Gabrielle Aplin since her YouTube covers and I’ve always been a big fan of her music. However, her latest album Light Up The Dark disappointed me. Honestly, I can barely remember most of it (bar perhaps Skeleton Love and Sweet Nothing). Her latest EP has somewhat redeemed that. The…
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Leddra Chapman is set to grace Exeter’s Phoenix with her beautiful voice and song-writing skills this November as the final show in The Third Love Tour. The tour will be showcasing her new EP tracks which have been much anticipated. Whilst not a huge name herself, Leddra’s work has received much critical appreciation. She has…
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On the 12th of November, the Thekla stage in Bristol will be welcoming Texan singer-songwriters Wade Bowen and Willy Braun. The water-borne venue is the perfect place for the artists to perform an acoustic, intimate gig, showcasing their incredible country song-writing abilities. While this is Bowen’s first tour in the UK, he is a well…
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