A number of the island’s best acoustic guitarists and songwriters will be performing on the same bill later this month.
Matt Creer, John Gregory, Mark Burrows, Jeff Jepson, Steph Joyce and Darryl Williams will star at the Acoustica Live concert at Peel Centenary Centre on Sunday, November 22 at 7.30pm.
The concert has been organised by Peter Norris Music in Douglas and tickets are available from the shop, priced ?10.*
Since July the music retailer has been showcasing the best acoustic performers the island has to offer at free concerts in the Finch Road shop every Saturday afternoon.
Now the public has the chance to see six of them on one night.
Matt Creer is a Manx singer songwriter whose music merges folk traditions with warm, rich layered arrangements inspired by his classical background that has created a sound all of his own.
His album The Leeward Tide, released earlier this year, reached number 17 in the iTunes singer songwriter chart on the first day of release and his music has featured on a number of BBC radio stations and commercial stations across the UK and Ireland.
John Gregory, also known as Blue John, is a country blues guitarist who predominantly performs fingerpicked guitar music from the 1920s onwards.
Earlier this year John, who is a guitar tutor, sold out his own show at the Erin Arts Centre in Port Erin. Along with his good friend Tim ‘Papa’ Cass (harmonica and vocals) he performs in the blues duo Blue John and Papa Cass.
Mark Burrows is an excellent guitarist and bassist who has performed many different styles of music. His work has taken him around Europe on cruise ships and on tours in the UK with signed artists. A regular on theatre stages and pits both in the island and the UK, he has played the best of West End shows like Les Miserables, Hairspray, Cats and many more.
Jeff Jepson is a critically acclaimed prolific singer-songwriter who was born in Liverpool and records and performs in the Isle of Man and beyond to a loyal, attentive following. He has been a mainstay of the thriving Liverpool acoustic scene, having supported the likes of Martin Carthy. He has made numerous radio and magazine appearances. Jeff performs solo and with his band and has a new album, Coastlines, for sale.
Steph Joyce has been on the music scene for 19 years in various guises, from covers bands Beehive Chunky and the Finks, to originals projects Yoyo Hearts and Truman Falls.
With influences such as James Taylor, Elbow and Radiohead, Steph plays a mixture of finger picking and percussive rhythms, armed with a cajon at his feet. With the help of fiddle player Eamonn Sinclair he performs alternative covers and some original tracks with an intimate and sensitive feel and is as likely to cover a new Ed Sheeran track as play a finger picked version of Wonderwall.
Darryl Williams experienced his 'Eureka' moment in 1975.
He said: 'I heard two guitarists playing in the next room but when I walked in there was only one.' He has been a fingerstyle devotee ever since and continues to perfect the art.
Darryl has been a stalwart of the Isle of Man Blues club since 1975 and has performed at major blues festivals in Spain. His repertoire encompasses Blues, Ragtime, Folk, Jazz, Gospel, Hokum and even the Jungle Book on occasion.
*Tickets for Acoustica Live are also available from Celtic Gold in Peel, Thompson Travel in Port Erin and Shakti Man in Ramsey.
For further information ring Peter Norris Music on 661794.
Photo - John Gregory. Courtesy of Gary Weightman - Vannin Photos.
