Sunbirds set to play gig at Hull’s Adelphi
THE Beautiful South’s Dave Hemingway is playing at Hull’s Adelphi this weekend with his new band, Sunbirds.
The band is playing a number of summer shows in the coming weeks, including two other gigs in Yorkshire.
Sunbirds play in Doncaster on Friday, June 17, and in York on Friday, June 24.
Fans of Dave Hemingway and The Beautiful South are advised to book tickets early to avoid disappointment as Dave’s latest band takes centre stage in Hull.
Sunbirds will play at Adelphi on Saturday, June 18.
Having retired from the live scene at the back end of 2016, Dave Hemingway has been keeping busy together with erstwhile South colleague, guitarist/songwriter Phil Barton, new discovery singer/violinist Laura Wilcockson and drummer Marc Parnell.
“Cool To Be Kind” was released in November 2020, on the independent label Nectar Records signalling the arrival of Sunbirds with new songs and a new sound.
Although born and bred in England, the band’s sound predominantly features the instrumentation of traditional American roots music combined with the occasional outburst of guitar-heavy melody more associated with Seattle in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s.
“Although a lot of the songs have an Americana feel,” says Dave, “they’re still about life in England.
“You’re going to feel a bit daft singing about pick-up trucks and low down honky-tonks when you live in Yorkshire.”
Their debut album produced by cult producer Teo Miller, captures truthful, open-hearted, funny, and sometimes painfully honest songs, turning the page to a new chapter for Dave Hemingway and The Beautiful South story.
“Cool To Be Kind” is the result of a few transitional years in Dave and Phil’s individual personal worlds.
It tells tales that cover contemporary themes as well as age-old matters of the heart and soul – all viewed through the bottom of a recently drained pint glass.
“Now we’re Sunbirds we’re free to dig a little deeper into ourselves”, says Phil “having said that, there’s no exact science here, we’re just enjoying ourselves and expressing whatever we want whether it’s about love, longing, depression or Gary Lineker’s crisp adverts”.