Pizza Express Maidstone, Thursday 17th June 2010

High-wire vocals, explosive guitars, pounding drums, a sweet lullaby piano, a bass that wants to groove and melodies that surround you like a wreath of freshly blown smoke… None of this was meant to happen. A once quietly married man, Barney Jameson’s life fell apart in 2007, and he was left with an old guitar and a clutch of songs. He began to play solo, shouting to be heard above the clamour of more established artists. But then came Steve McCormack, Sam Nesbitt, Matt Wilson and David Robinson – the Hollow Men. Suddenly everything was louder. The songs soon followed – Black & White Films, Cling, Tooth & Claw, Smoking Kills – sometimes fierce, sometimes gentle, at once drenched in melancholy but gloriously full of hope. They have seen the band become a major name in the Kent music scene in less than a year, with a headline slot at the 2011 Local & Live festival and much more to come.

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Virgin Soldiers is an eclectic group of musicians who share a passion to create innovative music. One of the band’s unique selling points is the incredible rhythm and energy of the music – achieved without the use of a drum kit - and unable to find a genre that fits their music they have created their own, Strock.

Formed in the summer of 2009 by singer/guitarist/songwriter James Beeny the band creates a unique sound. James loved the idea of combining contemporary with classical instruments and had a head full of violin, viola and cello parts, but like many self-taught musicians was unable to put the music down on paper. He was lucky enough to meet Mike Parkin, a classically trained violinist, who was able to write down James’ sometimes unorthodox ideas and together they started gigging in London and the South of England with a girl singer, a bass player and a number of cellists and violinists. In 2010 they were joined by bass player James Luke, singer/pianist/songwriter Gina Georghiou and viola player John Hinchliffe. But it wasn’t until 2011 that the line-up was finally complete when James met cellist Hannah Masson on a station platform and asked her if she wanted to join the band. Hannah, who was studying at the Royal College of Music became the final piece of the puzzle. They now all work together to produce the sound that is uniquely Virgin Soldiers.

Virgin Soldiers will be appearing live on the main stage at the Good Weekend Festival in Hampshire on Saturday July 23 and at Local & Live on Monday August 29.

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Singer-songwriter, Paul Dunton leads his own unique cross-over orchestra providing an atmospheric fusion of alternative and pop with a classical twist. Paul & his Orchestra take influences from varying modern day artists such as Pink Floyd, Elbow, ELO, Turin Brakes, Massive Attack, Damien Rice and contemporary composers such as Samuel Barber, Ludovico Einaudi, John Barry and Hans Zimmerman. The Orchestra performs Paul's own compositions and a varied selection of uniquely arranged standards from a wide range of artists. The line-up of 8 violins, 4 cellos, guitar, flute, bass and percussion accompanies Paul on vocals and piano, joined by his lead vocalists, Charlotte Andrew and Poppy Raine. Paul and his Orchestra regularly perform at concerts, festivals and private events throughout the UK and internationally, including headlining the Theatrium Wilhelmstraße Festival in Wiesbaden, Germany and an 8 state tour of the USA which culminated in a spectacular roof-top performance on top of the New York Strand Hotel. Increased attention and success led to the orchestra being featured on BBC Radio 2 by Joan Armatrading with interviews and airplay of one of Paul's songs, 'Don't Forget'. This led to Paul supporting Joan Armatrading on five occasions during her recent UK tours.

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WakeUpTom is the stage name of local singer-songwriter Tom Joseph Walker. Over the last year Tom has been busy writing and recording, and has recently been joined by fellow local musicians Henry Willard, on double-bass, and Tom Heasman, on drums and percussion. Says Walker of the new trio: 'I'd just finished recording some demos in London, and was introduced to Tom and Henry by mutual friends. None of us had met before so I invited the guys round to my place for a jam and we instantly hit it off. It's great to have two wonderfully talented guys as your mates to bounce ideas off and bring your songs to life, whereas before I just had to imagine what the other instruments might sound like! It really opens up a whole new world of possibilities to how you write and how you perform your songs live. Having the opportunity to rework some of your earlier material with a band and try out some new songs is really exciting. We can't wait to start gigging together!'

Tom picked up his first guitar aged ten and hasn't put it down since (or stopped buying them). 'I started off playing acoustic and then bought my first electric when I was fifteen. I'd love to say that I grew up listening to all the old classics but actually my dad mostly played 80's soft rock like Journey and Bon Jovi, which was great, but I've only recently started listening to Clapton, Stevie Wonder, SRV, Nick Drake, etc. I also don't think there's anything wrong in being influenced by contemporary artists like James Morrison, Newton Faulkner, or Mr Blobby…I love modern acoustic players like Andy McKee, and folk singers like Kate Rusby. With the electric guitar I'm more interested in musicians like Clapton, who can actually write good songs and not just shred solos.'

Tom sums up his approach to music: 'Of course, like all singer-songwriters, you want your music to connect with people. But my main aim is that you feel better after listening to one of our songs than you did beforehand, or, simply to put a smile on your face.'

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