This weeks featured Artist is....

JEN WAGHORN

Jen Waghorn is a singer-songwriter based in Stratford-upon-Avon, playing folk, blues, soul and swing, as well as the occasional comedy song. She is a multi-instrumentalist; her sets usually feature violin, guitar, loop pedal beatboxing, mandolin and/or accordion. Expect an eclectic, vibrant mix of genres, with a big helping of heartbreak and hilarity thrown in for good measure. Jen is also finishing a PhD in Shakespearean theatre music from the 1600s, and has composed music for over thirty theatre productions. She was voted Stratford-upon-Avon Musician of the Year in 2018.

DARRELL MITCHELL

DARRELL MITCHELL:

Even the most infrequent users of social media cannot have failed to have noticed that music in its many forms is preoccupying our socially isolated souls. From endless lists of top ten albums, to favourite gigs, or strangers on iPhones with a guitar and their story to tell, it seems as though music is the one thing our nation can’t be without. But the life of a musician during lockdown is hard. All The Occasional Orchestra’s tour dates for the year have been cancelled (including our gig of the year at Liverpool’s historic Cavern Club). There are no band rehearsals, meetings or social events to keep us bonded and it’s really my solo work that I’ve been nurturing of necessity. For me it’s been a time to focus on something new – recording a soundtrack for a film at home. And also a great time to look back through my back catalogue of songs, dust them off and play some of the most obscure titles again. I’ve also been performing on line through ‘Song’s from my Kitchen’, which is pretty much that! Being a musician has never been exactly easy. Musicians, promoters, producers, engineers and venues will all need to stick together now, be the best at what we do that we can possibly be and find new ways to delight audiences. The evidence shows that our audiences need us now more than ever before.

Darrell is also a singer/songwriter for The Occasional Orchestra - You can view their website HERE

CHRIS & NICK JOHNSON

CHRIS & NICK JOHNSON:

Chris and Nick Johnson are brothers based in Warwickshire and London, respectively. Having followed separate paths musically for many years they began working together in earnest in 2015. This year they have expanded to a full band line-up for the first time and are looking forward to gigging again when restrictions are lifted. They continue to write and record with new releases imminent. View their website by clicking here

PREVIOUSLY FEATURED ARTISTS

JACK BLACKMAN

JACK BLACKMAN:

As a self-employed musician during these times I have lost a lot of work.

I had a tour of Scotland and North-East England booked in April which unfortunately but understandably has had to be cancelled.

I am keeping busy by live-streaming on Friday evenings at 7pm from my facebook page (CLICK LINK BELOW) which I call the Isolation Sessions. I play a few of my songs and an unusual cover or two. My brother Euan often joins me and sometimes my Dad too, both of whom are musicians in their own rite. I am also doing guitar lessons via FaceTime and WhatsApp.

The song above is my new Self-Isolation Song. I wrote it to try and put a smile on people’s faces at this time. As you can see I had a lot of fun creating the video around the house!

EVERGREEN

Evergreen comprises of brothers Rikki & Tyron Hansel, Noah Dobbie, and Erin O’Rourke, resulting in 4 part harmonies and melodies that draw frequent comparisons to late-60's era groups like Crosby, Stills & Nash, Fleetwood Mac and The Band.

After constant performing and writing individually, they decided to combine their talents and diversity to create a new-fashioned psychedelic sound, constructing every piece of their music collaboratively, sharing musical and lyrical ideas so that each song bears the imprint of four different writing voices.

Click on the facebook icon below to watch THE COVID GIG by Evergreen.