Birdvox – with support from Emily Barden! (note 7pm start)

 
🎶 Birdvox – with support from Emily Barden! 🎵
🗓️ Thursday 5th November 🔥🔥
📍 Westbourne Community Hall (AKA Westbourne Club), River Street, Westbourne, PO10 8TG
🕖 Doors open 7pm for a 7.30 show (Emily Barden at 7.30, Birdvox at 8.30), unreserved seating
🍷 Licensed bar serving Langham Brewery 🍻
🎫 Tickets on sale now at Bookends and Harbour Records in Emsworth village, at The Westbourne Cafe in Westbourne Village, & online at www.WeGotTickets.com/WemsFest
 
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Birdvox is an exciting new electro-folk band born from a mutual love of birds, harmonies and kitchen discos. Together they embrace energetic, shapeshifting synthesis and the joy of vocal interplay.  Expect velvet harmonies, considered lyrical stylings and lively bespoke beats.
 
Birdvox comprises four established, multi-tasking artist-producers:
– Sarah Hayes (vocals, flute, synths, programming)
– Charlotte Printer (vocals, bass)
– Jenny Sturgeon (vocals, guitar, synths, sampling)
– Inge Thomson (vocals, accordion, electronica, beats)
 
We saw them perform at Showcase Scotland at Celtic Connections this January and were very impressed, can’t wait to hear their debut album dropping in September!
 

Emily Barden needs no introduction to our audience!  She is a composer, songwriter, choral director and workshop leader – and is known to (and beloved by) many as the Director of our WemsFest Surtierra Touring Project Choir.  Emily works with many Arts Organisations, Music Hubs and schools.  She specialises in co-creating songs and original work with young people in group settings as well as leading massed singing events across all age groups.  Recent commissions include the Philharmonia Orchestra, Benedetti Foundation, Sing Up, Britten Pears Arts, & Portsmouth Music Hub

 
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WemsFest is an entirely volunteer-led community interest company.  

All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested into our local community, delivering musical workshops in local schools each October in celebration of Black History Month.

This year our charity bucket on the bar is supporting relationships & sex education in local schools, delivered by Options Chichester – please do help us support this important work

If you require special assistance or have mobility difficulties, please contact us in advance at adwemsfest@gmail.com or 07802 500 050 and we will do our very best to accommodate you so that you are comfortable.

Salt House

A delightful blend of heartfelt vocals and instrumental interplay influenced by the landscapes of the Scottish Highlands, Northumberland, and Shetland has given this trio a deserved reputation.

Jenny Sturgeon (vocals, keys, guitar), Ewan MacPherson (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars), and Anna Hughes (vocals, fiddle, viola, and tenor guitar) make their first visit to WemsFest and with a new album to boot !

Salt House have been a mainstay on the folk scene for over a decade. The band’s reputation as thoughtful and innovative interpreters of both ancient ballads and contemporary songs has been solidified with acclaimed album releases and extensive touring. Described as a “gentle, lulling delight” by The Guardian, Salt House blend heartfelt vocal and instrumental interplay, offering listeners a moment of reflection and connection.  New songs that sound like they’ve always been here, ancient ballads woken up. Poems given melodies they’ve long deserved.

Jenny Sturgeon, who has a PhD in seabird ecology, is known for her introspective solo work and collaborations with Birdvox and Outliers. Through her creative output as a sound artist and songwriter she explores themes of landscape and human connections. Her solo project ‘The Living Mountain’ based on the writing of Nan Shepherd was released to wide critical acclaim.

Anna Hughes, a versatile multi-instrumentalist and composer, draws on her transitory life experiences to create music that reflects forgotten landscapes and the wonders of the natural world. Working across multi-disciplinary projects Anna is a sought after collaborator as well as working with duo project Watersmeet.

Ewan MacPherson, is a multi-instrumentalist and singer with over two decades of experience working at the forefront of the folk / trad music scene. He toured extensively with Shooglenifty for thirteen years, was a member of Malinky and Nu-Nordic Quartet Fribo. His session work includes a variety of artists from the British Isles and beyond. His most recent solo project album ‘Hushman’ was described by KLOF Magazine as “…a little masterpiece of confidence and understatement. Wonderful.”

“effortless” – BBC 6

“elegant”  – Mojo Magazine

Salt House will play Westbourne Community Hall (AKA Westbourne Club, River Street, Westbourne, West Sussex, PO10 8TG) on Wednesday 4th March

Doors open 7.30pm for an 8pm show.
Unreserved seating

As always, we’ll have our licensed bar serving delicious beers from Langham Brewery 🍻 as well as wines, local cider, nonalcoholic beers, and soft drinks

🎫 Tickets on sale now at Bookends and Harbour Records in Emsworth village, at The Westbourne Cafe in Westbourne Village, and online at www.WeGotTickets.com/WemsFest

All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested into our local community

If you require special assistance or have mobility difficulties, please contact us in advance at adwemsfest@gmail.com or 07802 500 050 and we will do our very best to accommodate you so that you are comfortable.