Kentish Express Ashford & District
Grammy winner at St Mary’s
One of the world’s finest guitar players performed in Ashford at the weekend.
Albert Lee demonstrated his unique skills at St Mary’s Church in the town centre in a concert promoted by Folk in the Barn, with the venue provided by Revelation at St Mary’s Arts Trust.
Lee has worked with some of the world’s top artists, including Emmylou Harris, the Everly Brothers, Dolly Parton and Eric Clapton.
In November 2002, at Clapton’s request, Lee appeared at the starstudded Memorial Concert for George Harrison at London’s Albert Hall, and was featured alongside Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill and Clapton’s 2007, 2010 and 2013 Crossroads guitar festivals.
Lee is also a member of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, and fronted the band at the O2 arena on the night of the Led Zeppelin reunion concert.
He is also a double Grammy award winning musician.
Welsh musician Gruff Rhys is preparing to perform at Revelation St Mary’s for the second time.
Rhys, who first played in Ashford in 2011, is best known for his work with the band Super Furry Animals.
His music career, however, kicked off when he was just a teenager, and since then he has achieved success in bands and as a solo artist. His sound is predominantly guitar-based, although he often fuses electro and world music.
He is also known for his unusual style of playing a right-handed guitar upside down after he learned to play on his brother’s left-handed guitar when he was young, despite being right-handed himself.
Rather than re-learning to then play on a right-handed one, he flipped the instrument upside down and carried on.
He played in several bands before he formed rock band Super Furry Animals with drummer Dafydd Ieuan in 1993. The band produced nine studio albums.
Welsh-born Rhys, released his first solo album, Yr Atal Genhedlaeth, in 2005, with all lyrics sung in Welsh. Candylion followed in 2007, and then Hotel Shampoo – for which he won the Welsh Music Prize – in 2011.
In May 2014, Rhys released American Interior, a combined project comprising an album, a film, a hardcover book and an app for mobile devices.
He also formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon in 2007 with Boom Bip, and their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008 Nationwide Mercury Prize.
Anna Moulson, creative director at Revelation, said: “Gruff’s instantly recognisable voice and style, and consistently inventive and interesting releases have built him a dedicated hardcore following of fans. His profile has risen substantially as a solo artist since he last played Ashford. He is very much a renaissance man.”
He will play at the town centre venue, in Churchyard, on Friday, September 19. Doors open at 7pm, and the show starts at 7.45pm.
Tickets start at £16 for adults and £12 for children in advance, or £18/£14 on the door.
To book and for more information visit www.revelationstmarys.co.uk