Astrid Williamson

   Saturday, 26 April, 2025

  The Commercial Inn, Glossop, SK13 7SH

Shetland born singer-songwriter Astrid Williamson returns with her tenth studio album, Shetland Suite, a collection of traditional songs and instrumentals reimagined for the 21st century. A tribute to her late mother, Shetland Suite comprises of an evocative fusion of folk, electronics and field recordings and is due for release on Incarnation Records in September 2024.

Amongst the musicians joining Astrid on stage to present Shetland Suite will be Terry de Castro, ex. Wedding Present and Goya Dress, performing rare acoustic versions of Goya Dress’s beautiful back catalogue.

Special guest Sylvie Lewis's wry and witty, cabaret infused songs provide elegant support.

Testimonials

“Her vocal delivery approaches John Martyn levels of emotional impact.” – The Sunday Times

“Williamson’s voice is a thing of lustrous power.” – UNCUT

“Astrid’s songs are elegant, erudite and sexy.” – MOJO

Tom Blackwell

   Saturday, 10 May, 2025

  The Commercial Inn, Glossop, SK13 7SH

Now based on Teesside, Tom Blackwell emerged from the Manchester folk club circuit, where he discovered the country, blues and gospel music that would become the foundations of his work.

Between 2010-2011 a succession of homemade recorded demo collections garnered somewhat of a cult following. In 2012 The Viper label of Liverpool released a compilation of these tracks. The record received support from BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music.

After a tumultuous start to 2014, Blackwell found himself embarking on a 3 month pilgrimage of America. Armed only with a guitar and the clothes on his back, he travelled thousands of miles over rail and bus, before a chance meeting in Nashville with sound engineer Matt Wyman led to the recording of Tyrone The Gun. The album found critical acclaim and named as one of Country Music People magazine’s albums of the year in 2015.

In 2018 he decided to undertake an archive project to document his early material in the barest of forms. The ‘Memphis Volumes’ were just that, hushed vocal and guitar takes captured in various Merseyside dwellings onto an old Tascam cassette recorder.

A prolific writer with a visceral and dynamic performance style, Blackwell has been performing across the UK and beyond for the last 15 years, honing his craft both on and off stage.

Testimonials

“Wonderful, heartfelt music” – Bob Harris

“A talent as big as the sky” – R2 Magazine