CQAF2021 Earlybird Archives

Grace Petrie

Posted on 24th October 20193rd January 2022 by site_admin

Rescheduled until Sunday May 1, 8.00pm, buy tickets here.

Grace Petrie’s unique takes on life, love and politics, and the warmth and wit with which they are delivered, have won over an army of loyal fans across the alternative, folk, political and comedy scenes.

She’s toured to arenas with Frank Turner, supported comedians Robin Ince, Josie Long and Hannah Gadsby, and has collaborated with Leon Rosselson and Peggy Seeger as well as touring with the hugely successful Guilty Feminist shows.

She has done a prestigious live session on the BBC Radio 2 Jo Whiley Show and her frequent festival appearances have included Vancouver Folk Festival, Latitude and Cambridge Folk Festival. In 2019 she played The Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury Festival.

Her current album, Queer As Folk, was released in Sept ’18 and was a Mojo magazine top 10 Folk Album of the Year.

‘She’s the urgent, pulsing, compassionate talent this world desperately needs.’ THE OBSERVER

‘She writes the sort of songs you want to pin the lyrics of on your bedroom wall, or on the office door, to remind you and everyone else who might read them what is important and true’ BUZZ MAGAZINE

Doors 7:30pm | Unreserved Seating

BC Camplight

Posted on 31st July 202019th January 2022 by site_admin

Rescheduled until Friday 29 April, 8.00pm, buy tickets here.

“This is an examination of madness and loss,” says Brian Christinzio, the inimitable force behind BC Camplight. “I hope it starts a long overdue conversation.”

Fired by his ongoing battle with mental illness, Shortly After Takeoff is the final, and finest, chapter of what Christinzio calls his “Manchester Trilogy”, following 2015’s How To Die In The North and 2018’s Deportation Blues.

All three albums were created after the native Philadelphian had moved to Manchester. Like Deportation Blues, Shortly After Takeoff spans singer-songwriter classicism, gnarly synth-pop and ‘50s rock’n’roll, with Christinzio’s similarly distinctive, flexible vocal carrying a fearless approach to lyrical introspection, but the new album is a major leap forward in songwriting sophistication and lyrical communication.

The album has alreadfy been revered by critics, become a stalwart on the BBC Radio 6 Music playlist, and put BC Camplight back on the stage where he belongs. With a slew of tours and festivals on the horizon Christinzio, a remarkably relentless entertainer, will bring his immense new live show to the UK and Europe.

“It’s no fun giving an audience a standard show that they can get elsewhere” explains Christinzio. “Sometimes it’s intense, sometimes it’s emotional, sometimes it’s basically a fucking stand-up routine. I always like to involve the audience and make it memorable for everyone involved. I think we are one of the best live bands in the world and it’s an odd feeling finally getting an opportunity to get in front of loads of ears and eyes. In a perfect world I’d be able to organise a concert on the roof of the Home Office one day”.

Doors 7:30pm | Standing/Seated

Hollie McNish: Slug Tour – SOLD OUT

Posted on 29th October 20206th January 2022 by site_admin

Rescheduled until Sunday 8 May, buy tickets here.

Ted Hughes Award winner Hollie McNish is a poet whose live readings are not to be missed. Expect strong language and adult content ribbon wrapped in poetry and chat as Hollie reads from her new collection: Slug…and other things I’ve been told to hate.

Hollie is a writer based between Cambridge and Glasgow. She has published four poetry collections Papers, Cherry Pie, Plum, Slug, one play Offside and one poetic memoir Nobody Told Me, of which the Scotsman suggested “The world needs this book”. She was the first poet to record at Abbey Road Studios.

Her poems have been translated into French, German, Spanish, Hungarian, Polish and Japanese and she has performed them worldwide alongside the likes of Irvine Welsh, Kae Tempest, Jackie Kay, Helen Pankhurst and Young Fathers. Her new title – Slug: and other things I’ve been told to hate – is published in May 2021 with Fleet, Hachette, available now to pre-order.

As well as live readings, Hollie is a big fan of online accessibility – her poetry videos have attracted millions of viewings worldwide.

About Slug…

From Finnish mermaids and soppy otters to Kellogg’s anti-masturbation pants, Slug is a book that holds a mirror up to the world, past and present, through Hollie’s driving, funny and beautiful words. A blend of poetry, memoir and short story, Slug is an absolutely joyful read about the human condition: from birth to death and her attempt to manage the tangle in-between.

‘She writes with honesty, conviction, humour and love. She points out the absurdities we’ve grown too used to and lets us see the world with fresh eyes’
Kae Tempest

Doors 1.45pm | Unreserved Seating

Erland Cooper – Rescheduled

Posted on 22nd November 20196th September 2021 by site_admin

This show has been rescheduled to Thursday 27 January, 8.00pm. More info.

Hailing from the archipelago of Orkney, composer and multi-instrumentalist Erland Cooper explores the natural world of landscape, memory, people and place. Cooper believes music often reflects the landscape a musician is surrounded with, be it rural, urban, real or imagined.

His second solo album, Sule Skerry, was released last year as the second in a triptych shaped by Orkney’s air, sea and land, as it was celebrated by Orcadian poet George Mackay Brown.

While his acclaimed first solo record Solan Goose paid homage to Orkney’s birdlife, Cooper turns his attention to the North Sea in Sule Skerry.

Originally part of acclaimed bands The Magnetic North and Erland & The Carnival, Cooper has a diverse musical history. Last year’s debut solo album Solan Goose was an Album of the Year at BBC Radio 6 Music, the Quietus, and more; and Sule Skerry has already been crowned a BBC Radio 6 Music Album of the Day.

This promises to be a highlight of our 2020 festival.

Doors 7:30pm | Unreserved Seating

Covid protocol – CQAF small venues*

CQAF is committed to facilitating the return of live entertainment and the gradual reopening of events. We are making every effort to provide a safe environment for our audiences, artists, volunteers and staff.

Current conditions of entry are:

·Temperature check on arrival at the venue.

·Please wear a mask while queuing for indoor events and if you have to leave your seat to move around the venue. No masks necessary when seated.

·Visitors to the venues will be allocated seats as per their booking. (Please email us if there’s someone you’d like to sit with.

·1m physical distancing in line with government guideline.

·Please do not come to the event if you’re displaying any of the symptoms of Covid 19. Email us at info@cqaf.com and we’ll happily refund your tickets.

We hope you enjoy the festival. We will review these conditions of entry if COVID-19 guidelines are updated prior to the event.

* This applies to The Black Box, Oh Yeah Music Centre, The Sunflower, Deer’s Head Music Hall, The American Bar, Ulster Sports Club, 1st Presbyterian Church, The Dark Horse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfoQgiapJ04

The Handsome Family – Rescheduled

Posted on 1st November 201911th September 2021 by site_admin

This show has been rescheduled to Thursday 15 September 2022, 8.00pm. More info.

The Handsome Family have written some of the most haunting and beautiful songs in American music. During a 30-year career, Brett and Rennie Sparks have created songs that transform the mundane landscape of modern life into a place of mysterious portent.

Handsome Family songs take place in parking lots and big box stores, under overpasses and in airports. They sing about Custer’s last stand and automatic lawn sprinklers in the same song. Rennie’s lyrics often focus on the myriad creatures that live at the edges of the man-made world: the sparrows, rats, cockroaches and crows that share our cities.

Handsome Family shows are famously relaxed. Their songs can be dark, but there’s always laughter on stage. Rennie sings as well as plays Autoharp, banjo, and uke bass. She often introduces songs with seemingly unrelated stories. Brett, with his stentorian voice, is a powerful presence at center of the stage.

There are a lot of new faces at shows these days, lured by Far From Any Road, which became a global hit after it was used as the theme to season one of True Detective.

In 2020 Loose Music released their first two records, Odessa (1995) Milk & Scissors (1996), on vinyl LP. This will be the first time these records have been released in Europe.

For Handsome Family fans these records are a must. Odessa reveals the early style of the band and Milk & Scissors illustrates how their songwriting transformed after Rennie began writing lyrics. On their spring 2021 tour they plan to play selected gems from these new/old records.

Doors 7:30pm | Unreserved Seating

Covid protocol – CQAF small venues*

Current conditions of entry are:

·Temperature check on arrival at the venue.

·Please wear a mask while queuing for indoor events and if you have to leave your seat to move around the venue. No masks necessary when seated.

·Visitors to the venues will be allocated seats as per their booking. (Please email us if there’s someone you’d like to sit with.

·1m physical distancing in line with government guideline.

·Please do not come to the event if you’re displaying any of the symptoms of Covid 19. Email us at info@cqaf.com and we’ll happily refund your tickets.

We hope you enjoy the festival. We will review these conditions of entry if COVID-19 guidelines are updated prior to the event.

* This applies to The Black Box, Oh Yeah Music Centre, The Sunflower, Deer’s Head Music Hall, The American Bar, Ulster Sports Club, 1st Presbyterian Church, The Dark Horse

Bell X1 – Acoustic with Dowry Strings – Rescheduled

Posted on 29th November 201911th September 2021 by site_admin

This show has been rescheduled to Monday 2 May, 8.00pm. More info.

A rescheduled show but it will be worth the wait – Bell X1 live is always a magical experience. The band are constantly evolving and changing things up for themselves and their fans. Collaborating with Dowry Strings has resulted in an incredible and quite moving live experience.

This long awaited show for CQAF will debut new material along with a lot of the favourites spanning over the last 20 years.

“It’s been a joy to work with Éna and the strings on some more songs from the catalogue, and also some brand new tunes that we’re itching to play live” says Paul.

Bell X1 are Paul Noonan, Dave Geraghty & Dominic Philips.

Dowry Strings specialise in cross-timbral & cross-genre collaborations. The ensemble is run by Éna Brennan (Dowry) and includes musicians Gareth Quinn Redmond, Nozomi Cohen and Yseult Cooper Stockdale.

✮✮✮✮ ‘Another marvelous piece of work from a band that continues to gently, respectfully startle.’ – IRISH TIMES

Doors 7.45pm | Unreserved Seating

Covid protocol – CQAF small venues*

Current conditions of entry are:

·Temperature check on arrival at the venue.

·Please wear a mask while queuing for indoor events and if you have to leave your seat to move around the venue. No masks necessary when seated.

·Visitors to the venues will be allocated seats as per their booking. (Please email us if there’s someone you’d like to sit with.

·1m physical distancing in line with government guideline.

·Please do not come to the event if you’re displaying any of the symptoms of Covid 19. Email us at info@cqaf.com and we’ll happily refund your tickets.

We hope you enjoy the festival. We will review these conditions of entry if COVID-19 guidelines are updated prior to the event.

* This applies to The Black Box, Oh Yeah Music Centre, The Sunflower, Deer’s Head Music Hall, The American Bar, Ulster Sports Club, 1st Presbyterian Church, The Dark Horse

Amy Montgomery

Posted on 9th January 202013th November 2020 by site_admin

Amy has had a fantastic year. If you haven’t come across her yet, she is outstanding. The first thing that grabs your attention about Amy Montgomery is her raw and beautiful voice honed from relentless busking throughout Ireland. Her vocals seem to channel the spirit of Janis Joplin and Grace Slick whilst also acknowledging her all-time favourite Alanis Morissette.

In late 2019 Amy performed three headline shows in Belfast, London and Dublin. The shows were highly charged. Emotions swung from happiness and smiles to audience members literally weeping – these three shows proved incontrovertibly that Amy, at just 20, is ready to take on the world.

Festivals have included Electric Picnic, Stendhal, a main
stage Glastonbury slot, Cambridge Folk Festival Main Stage, Black Deer, A Summer’s Tale in Germany, A tour of Australia is booked and now Rolling Stone Beach and Park Weekenders in Germany. It really has been an incredible response – but when you hear her voice, you’ll get an idea of why.

Doors 7.00pm | Standing/Limited Unreserved Seating

Category: CQAF2021 Earlybird

Grace Petrie

BC Camplight

Hollie McNish: Slug Tour – SOLD OUT

Erland Cooper – Rescheduled

The Handsome Family – Rescheduled

Bell X1 – Acoustic with Dowry Strings – Rescheduled

Amy Montgomery

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