The Grey Lady Music Lounge, Wednesday 17th August 2011

Tom Williams And The Boat formed in Tunbridge Wells in 2008, the six members having been thrown together via the grey lady and electing to leave their various bands to create something new. With a diverse musicianship that encompasses the traditional rock ‘n’ roll of guitar, bass and drums supplemented by piano, violin, harmonica and whatever else works, the band formed their own Wire Boat Recordings to issue early EPs at gigs and it was these self contained releases that caught the eye of Huw Stephens and Steve Lamacq amongst others who weighed in with airplay, sessions and invites to play the BBC Introducing Stage at various UK festivals.

Usually a 6 piece folk rock outfit, Tom & The Boat strip their sound down for their Grey Lady appearances playing just with Tom and Ant Vicary on acoustic guitars, Geri Holton on violin, and Chris Stewart on Piano.

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Ollie gave his first public performance as a Cub Scout aged 8. The only way was up. Equally at home with piano or guitar he has been performing covers in his distinctive vocal style for a number of years. Having spent the last year or so writing his own material he is keen to get out there and try it out on the unsuspecting public. His music is influenced by artists such as John Mayer, Bruce Hornsby and Jason Mraz.

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Music has always been an integral part of Leandri’s life. She got hooked on songwriting listening to artists and some songwriters like Gretchen Peters, Joni Mitchell, Mark Knopfler, Alison Krauss, Sheryl Crow, Alison Moorer - just to name but a few. Her musical influences are extremely varied and her songwriting draws inspiration from many different genres. She writes songs about life which share feelings and experiences whether they are her own or that of others close to her. These songs cover themes of love lost, nostalgia and moments of weakness – ranging from mid tempo ballads to contemporary and up tempo arrangements.

Leandri started performing whilst at uni in South Africa and became a regular - performing at popular local venues and events. She now calls Tunbrigde Wells a home away from home and performs at every available opportunity. On various occasions she has received air play on Voice of America radio for earlier works. Her performance style is warm, contemporary and soulful. Every minute on stage delivers a distinctive vocal which reflects her love and passion for every song she performs.

Leandri makes regular trips to Nashville and take every opportunity to collaborate with friends to perform at well-known venues like the Bluebird Café, Layla’s Bluegrass Inn and the 5 Spot. She is currently working with the likes of Jason Corsaro (Grammy Award winning engineer and producer) to further her music career as a singer songwriter.

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Based in Tunbridge Wells Monica and the Explosion is a two-piece band consisting of Monica Welander, a Swedish punk rock singer songwriter, and bassist Paul Slack (original member of the UK Subs and the Flying Padovanis). Monica and Paul started touring together in July 2010 after they released her second album ”Shut Up!” (joined by drummer Rob Baylis). Since the album release they have been touring constantly around Europe, Ireland, Sweden and Australia as well as gigging extensively around the UK. Having toured around the world as a solo artist for a couple of years, Monica finds the two-piece line-up retains the original concept of the songs whilst adding a new layer of complexity to the over all sound best discribed as ”jukebox punk”. The latest album "Shut Up!" received a great review in SO Tunbridge Wells September issue last year, and the duo has just completed the recordings of a new album that will be out this year (2012).

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