SATURDAY 13TH OCT - Fringe Theatre Malvern Youth Centre WR14 2YH

ABBIE LATHE
"Abbie is a multi-instrumental singer/songwriter...likened to Suzanne Vega, Judy Tzuke and such-like. She has worked alongside Steeleye Span's Maddy Prior for several years as one third of 'Maddy And The Girls' and shared the stage with many other wonderful performers, such as Karine Polwart, Chris While and Julie Matthews, Jaquie Dankworth, to name a few.
Her emotive and atmopspheric voice is often heard on BBC T.V wildlife programmes.
Abbie is an inspiring singing teacher and her nationwide workshops are very popular with singers and non-singers alike. She has a unique gentle and encouraging way of helping you get the best from your voice and people are always amazed at what they can achieve in a short space of time.

http://www.abbielathe.co.uk/

CUSTOMER REVIEW OF 'AVEBURY' - Rating..5
Where has she been hiding? - This is Abbie Lathe's first commercially released solo album, and what a debut! the content is superb and the song-writing first class. her unique voice is a joy to listen to, she also plays acoustic guitar, piano and whistles, and with the addition of some excellent double bass playing from Martin Brunsden she manages to convey an authentic air of mystery and magic one would get from visiting any of england's stone age monuments, ( goosebumps or what ). On this evidence she is definitely a folk superstar for the future. Although her vocal and song-writing talents are unique, i would have no hesitation in including her name with the 'greats', Sandy Denny, maddy Prior and Suzanne Vega.

CUSTOMER REVIEW OF 'AVEBURY' - 5 star rating
having waited in anticipation on the release of abbie's new CD Avebury by Park Records I am glad to relate that I wasn't disappointed. i first heard abbie on the CD Maddy and the Girls along with Maddy Prior and her daughter rose Kemp and so enjoyed her tracks that I found her e-mail address and found she had two CDs on sale at the time, Spring and Polly's Kitchen which I bought and thoroughly enjoyed, so I was over the moon to find park were equally impressed, enough to produce the new CD Avebury. The CD itself is a collection of songs, some self-penned by Abbie, others arrangements of traditional songs of old England and a couple of covers of well-known songs, the best of which is Gilbert O'sullivan's Nothing Rhymed which, to me, is better than the original and well worth releasing as a single. listing all the tracks would be a waste of time as they are not well known but emphasis must be put on the opening track avebury song, and the arrangement of the traditional Searching for Lambs. All in all there is nothing bad to say about this CD ( in fact the only bad part is having to wait for the next one ). If you like artists like Suzanne Vega, Eddi reader, Eliza carthy or any singer like them, then this is a must for your CD collection. we should expect great things in the future from this talented multi-instrumentalist and song-writer.

AVEBURY ALBUM REVIEW - NETRYTHMS - MIKE DAVIES
One third of Maddy Prior & The Girls, this is Chard born Lathe's third album and her first solo recording for her new label, a traditional folk flavoured collection that brings together the inevitable trad arr with self-penned material and some interesting covers. Taking its cue from the title track which uses the rows between residents and celebrants over the pagan festivals staged there as a springboard to lament the spiritual decline of the nation many, her own songs are very much thoughtfully concerned with the atmospheres of old England and the contemporary resonance of its passing. Listen to 100 Years inspired by the ruin of a manor in an Oxfordshire hamlet, Runaway which details ambiguous feelings about leaving and staying, the Beauty and the Beast like folk legend of Man On The Hill and even Beside My Love where the sanctuary of which she sings could as easily be a land as a lover. And, accompanying herself on piano as thoughts of June Tabor meeting Kate Bush come to mind, on Curlew she finds hope in the simple sound of a bird cry over the wild moor. The traditional choices follow a familiar route of meeting true loves on a May morning (the largely multi-tracked a capella Searching For Lambs) and lovers lost at sea (Lady Franklin's Lament), but there's nothing predictable about her choice of covers. Paul Weller's English Rose is transformed into an almost classical folk song with bowed double bass and low whistle, Jane Griffiths brings violin to Lathe's piano for the spare elegiac and rich Two island Swans written by Gail Collins and Felix Pappalardi while no less than Raymond (that's Gilbert to you and me) O'Sullivan's Nothing Rhymed sees her accentuating the accent while texturing the liltingly melancholic arrangement with Indian harmonium and John Spier's melodeon. Producer and 12 string guitarist Tony Poole (yes, he of long lost and lamented legends Starry Eyed and Laughing) also contributes a track in the glorious open sky bracing mountain air of Come Away, a nigh folkily anthemic song custom built to be sung around bonfires, maypoles and the sort of festivals to which Avebury's born ancient witness. Looks like English folk just found itself another rising star.

Agents Of Jane

BABAR LUCK

RAY MYTTON & FRIENDS
Ray Mytton and friends will be performing a eclectic mix of songs, airs, incantations, reels and ragas, old and new, as well as pieces from his new album, 'Enchanted Heart'. A musician from an early age, Ray has played guitar in more
bands than he cares to remember, from eclectic to electric and all points in between. Ray is a singer, song-writer and composer, with expertise in many styles of guitar playing and musical formats. He is also a Community Music Leader, running many projects throughout the Midlands.