Willows power comes to Atkinson
WITH their third album, Through The Wild, winning critical acclaim from all directions, an exhilarating live show and a new line-up featuring some of the foremost musicians on the UK roots scene, The Willows have never been in a better place.
Taking influence from both sides of the Atlantic, the band continue to defy pigeonholing, with their unique songwriting taking precedent above all else.
Formed by Jade Rhiannon,
Ben Savage and Cliff Ward, the band shot to prominence when their debut album, Beneath Our Humble Soil, was championed by legendary BBC DJs Mike Harding and Bob Harris, who subsequently invited them in for a BBC Radio 2 live session.
Considerable national acclaim followed, including a Spiral Earth Award nomination for Best Debut. Their follow-up, Amidst Fiery Skies (produced by Sean Lakeman), received a 5-Star review in the Telegraph and a spot in their albums of the year. With numerous festival appearances from Cambridge to Glastonbury, they grew a reputation as one of the UK’s most exciting live acts and were nominated for Best Band in the 2014 FATEA awards.
Their new line-up is bursting with vocal and instrumental talent from across the UK roots scene. Fronted by the distinctively tender vocals of Jade Rhiannon, the band adds Katriona Gilmore (Gilmore & Roberts, The Albion Band) on fiddle to their line-up, along with Ben Savage (Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage) on guitar/dobro, Evan Carson (Sam Kelly, Seth Lakeman) on drums/bodhran and Cliff Ward on banjo/ guitar.
The Willows play The Atkinson, Southport, on November 8. Tickets from www.theatkinson.co.uk