This is the Kit is joined by Gwyneth Glyn and Alice Jones at HOME as part of Manchester Folk Festival 2018.
This is the Kit is Kate Stables, with the magnificent assistance of Rozi Plain (bass / vocals) Neil Smith (guitar) Jamie Whitby-Coles (drums). Ten years and four albums deep, the story of This Is The Kit — the musical project that holds Stables at its heart, is itself one of time and change and careful listening. Stables has always been an exceptional songwriter, a gifted storyteller, a thoroughly unique voice. But with her latest album Moonshine Freeze (released in the Summer of 2017) there comes the rare and thrilling sensation of an artist truly taking flight, as if these are the stories she has long been waiting to tell: songs of great beauty, of wonder and illumination, that hold, still, something dark and teeming and shadowed; music you swim out into, songs that lead you through.
Support from: Gwyneth Glyn and Alice Jones
Although her feet are rooted deep in the earth of Eifionydd, Gwyneth’s gaze is always drawn to distant horizons. A poet, singer and playwright, she sees herself as an artist-adventurer who thrives on experimenting with different forms. In her latest collection of songs, Tro, Gwyneth encompasses all her recent influences and experiences. It is a collec-tion that traces the journey back to her roots – from Cardiff, where she lived for five years, back to her native environment in Eifionydd, north Wales; the heart’s journey back from darkness to light, and the soul’s journey from a distant, foreign desert to the fruitful green-ness of the very place where it belongs.
Alice Jones is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and dancer from Ripponden in West Yorkshire. Her background is deeply rooted in the English folk tradition and the music that she makes instantly reflects this strong influence. Alice sings mostly traditional songs accompanying herself on the piano or harmonium and sometimes only with foot percussion. The sensitive and intuitive arrangements of each song allow the stories to take centre stage and, inspired by her beginnings as a percussive dancer, they are loaded with a rhythm and energy that portrays her dancer’s heartbeat. Her distinctive voice and innovative style lends a fresh, modern perspective to traditional material and brings new life to old songs.
This event is part of Manchester Folk Festival – an urban folk festival. It takes place over 18-21 October 2018, in an around HOME and the city centre. Over the autumn weekend, they present an exhilarating range of events, with the spotlight on English folk.
