NEXT AT DOWNEND FOLK & ROOTS:
The Black Feathers & Barney Kenny
FRIDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2023, CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND + LIVE ONLINE VIA LIVE TO YOUR LIVING ROOM.
Downend Folk & Roots’ Autumn/Winter season kicks off with a welcome return for a duo who have firmly established themselves as favourites with South Gloucestershire’s music-lovers.
If you were of the belief that The Black Feathers are named because of their love of dark humour and the smooth blending of harmony, you’d be wrong. If you were told that the name is more concerned with recognition of their gentle souls, a predilection for dark clothing and the sonic tumult of the plethora of (mainly US) progressive-metal bands doing mega-business around the world in the 1990s and beyond, you might doubt those who said so, but they would be accurate.
You’d be wrong as to the name, but you would be utterly correct that the sonic architecture of their lyrics and musical composition takes its imperious scope from a love of blended vocal harmony and idiosyncratic guitar shapes.
Americana to some, folk to others, The Black Feathers have those qualities in expansive quantity. Sian Chandler’s soaring, dramatic, melodious but powerful voice is a perfect counterpoint to Ray Hughes’ piquant vocals and his sparkling and occasionally spicy guitar motifs. This is a duo who love what they play and play what they love with panache, humour, delight and rather a lot of commentary on the downside of being a human.
Seeing and hearing them will leave you with a smile on your face and a glowing heart of delight. You might not think that is possible when you’ve just spent some time hearing the themes of the songs they lay before an audience but it is testament to their sunny dispositions, infectious laughter and amused self-deprecation that you can only come away from a gig feeling a whole heap better about yourself and life.
Opening the evening’s entertainment will be singer-songwriter Barney Kenny, who is quickly carving out a name for himself as a solo artist across the folk circuit. Armed with a six-string and a lap-steel slide guitar, Barney blends storytelling and acoustic music with his foot-stomping somewhat delta style. His writing crosses many boundaries throughout a live set, from Anglo-Celtic tunes to southern-blues rock to retellings of traditional songs from the transatlantic scene.
Tickets for the concert, which takes place at Christ Church Downend on Friday 15 September 2023, are available online at downendfolkandroots.com and from Melanie’s Kitchen in Downend (cash only). They are priced at £14 each in advance or £16 on the door. Doors open at 7.30pm and the entertainment starts around 7.45pm.
There will be a bar, stocking cider, soft drinks, wine, hot drinks and real ale from locally-based Hop Union Brewery. Audience members are encouraged to bring their own glass/mug/tankard, as well as reusable bottles for water, as part of the drive to be more environmentally aware; there is a 50p discount for those that do. There will also be sweet treats available at the bar courtesy of the Radstock-based Great Cake Company, as well as a prize draw, which helps to fund the support artists for each concert. For further information, please email info@downendfolkandroots.com or visit downendfolkandroots.com.
For those unable to make it to Downend, the concert will be available to stream from the comfort of your own home, via Live To Your Living Room. Please see livetoyourlivingroom.com for tickets and information.