Once again an Acoustic Amnesty gig approaches with a top notch line up of singer/songwriters and poets that promises to bring a transatlantic feel to the beautiful Sacred Trinity church in Salford. The performance on 9 June, the day after the general election, provides an excellent opportunity to soothe away your sorrows or celebrate your victory, and breathe a sigh of relief that electioneering is over for hopefully another five years.
Funds raised from the evening’s entertainment will be split between the excellent Help Musicians UK charity as well as Manchester Amnesty. Help Musicians UK aids musicians young and old at all stages of their career. They provide help at times of crisis, but also at times of opportunity, giving people the extra support they need at a crucial stage that could make or break their career.
The excellent performers are singer/songwriters Quiet Loner, Kirsty McGee, Karen Turley plus the brilliant performance poet Dave Viney. A distinctly Americana musical flavour, although all our artists are very much rooted in the British Isles.
The gig will be seated and totally silent for performances with the (well stocked!) bar in a separate room. We are remaining with our approach of no sound system whatsoever – totally acoustic using the natural acoustics of the venue.
Doors will open at 7pm and the show starts at 7.30pm prompt. Free on-street car parking is available and the venue is a stone’s throw from Deansgate/Market Street in Manchester city centre. Tickets are available from wegottickets.com. Short biographies, with examples of their work, of this not to be missed line up of performers are included below:
Karen Turley
Karen Turley is a Singer-Songwriter from Omagh in Northern Ireland. Now based in Liverpool she has a passion for American Folk and Country.
Back in Omagh in 2012 she formed ‘The Jesse Janes’ an all female Bluegrass and Folk trio. Moving to Liverpool for University she struck out on her own and in 2015 travelled to Nashville after winning a Songwriting Competition. She performed in the round with Beth Nielsen Chapman and Don Henry in the famous ‘Bluebird Cafe’ in Nashville. Her debut EP ‘Like We Used To’ came out in 2017.
Kirsty McGee
Somewhere between Jazz, Folk, Gospel and Americana there’s Kirsty McGee – a wandering maverick and spellbinding live performer who has spent the past fifteen years and seven albums tracking the common origins of song.
With well over a decade of touring, McGee’s songs have taken across the world, gained her national airplay plus multiple awards and nominations. Emma Watson is a fan, as is Director Danny Boyle, who used Kirsty’s song Sandman as a cornerstone for his 2014 thriller Trance.
Her albums have included guests & regular players such as Marc Ribot (Tom Waits), Rob Turner and Nick Blacka (GoGo Penguin), and Clive Mellor (Richard Hawley Band).
Her latest songs take on the classic American songbook and evoke 30s jazz and desert winds.
“The words drip with meaning. This breathlessly fragile and aching collection almost drowns in McGee’s absolute need to sing.” – Q ★★★★
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Quiet Loner
Singer-songwriter Matt Hill is inspired by the storytelling
traditions of American folk and country music but with a distinctly
British lyrical bite.
In 2016 he was appointed songwriter in residence at the People’s
History Museum in Manchester. The resulting album ‘Battle for the
Ballot’ tells the story of the fight for the right to vote.
Over 15 years his career highs have included an Americana UK Album of
the Year, 4-star reviews from Uncut and The Daily Mirror, radio play
on BBC6 Music and an invite by Billy Bragg to perform at Glastonbury
Festival.
“A wonderful collection of songs” 10/10 Americana UK
“I was knocked sideways. Possibly the most important record of the
year” 5/5 Maverick Magazine
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Dave Viney
Dave Viney is a Mancunian performance poet, playwright and facilitator. Co-host of Bang Said the Gun: Manchester, he has performed at venues across the Country including Greater Manchester’s own Lowry Theatre. Plays include ‘Amateur Thematics’ (2012) ,
‘Writer’s Retweet’ (2013) – both with Working Verse Collective – and ‘Rusholme Roulette’ (2013) – a solo project, chosen by the BBC for their Turn Up the Talent Showcase. He has been funded by Arts Council England and is no doubt beavering away on a new project even as you read this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2ngeBNMvoc
Acoustic Amnesty
Tickets are available from wegottickets.com
Feature Image: Acoustic Amnesty
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