Ben Ottewell

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Having spent most of 2018 playing sold out shows with Gomez in celebration of 'Bring It On' being twenty years old, Ben Ottewell now has a little bit of space in his diary to make a welcome return toi Pilton Village Hall.

With an avid following from Gomez, 'A Man Apart' is singer/songwriter Ben Ottewell’s third solo offering and follows his albums 'Shapes and Shadows' and 'Rattlebag'. The album is a record that crosses musical genres such as Americana, blues and folk backed by Ben’s unmistakable gutsy and gravelly voice. Co-written with childhood friend and former Tunng member, Sam Genders, the album was recorded in Los Angeles and Sheffield and engineered and produced in the latter by Martin Smith (Richard Hawley).

'A Man Apart' delves into such relevant subjects as love and relationships, fame and politics. The album’s title track focuses on populist politicians exploiting people’s hopes and fears, with 'Bones' touching on the realisation of not being worthy of someone, and opener 'Own It', sees Ben reflect on his time growing up in public in Gomez. New single 'Watcher' is the perfect introduction to the album and despite its pensive meaning, is a melodic Americana led track that builds into a memorable bluesy and soulful chorus.

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Support - Douglas E Powell & The Rising Spirit

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There’s a tale told in whispers of a traitor’s doomed to make rope from the sand of an Atlantic beach. Every night his work is destroyed by a fire breathing black dog and the traitor must begin again. A morning’s hike from the traitor’s torment there is an old drover’s road lost in shadows of sentinel oaks. Then a bridge takes you over a fast running stream that catches the weak winter sun. Stop a while and watch the trout swimming against the flow. The path turns out into a small community where roots run deep, but visitors are welcome. It is here that Douglas E Powell and the Rising Spirit have honed their craft.

'Overnight Low' is the Rising Spirit’s second album with Powell and the follow up to 2015's 'Good Men Get Lost At Sea'. The album was recorded over months of evening sessions at Saunton Road Studios. A new venture in an unlikely location, the studio is thriving, even if the local pub is only just hanging on. Here the music, low conversation, tall stories and cherished folklore are as much a currency as the dull coins minted by a distant government. The interplay between Powell’s crafted words and Jason Pratt’s introspective melody creates the feeling of a session with old friends and absent friends remembered. This band of three have stepped back a little and made room for others to join them and warm themselves beside the fire.

Powell takes on folk themes and more personal preoccupations to inform his song writing. Stories are woven from the found threads of our fragmented culture and lyrics sparkle like lost jewels and discarded sweet wrappers high in a magpie’s nest. Are these fragmented images of home life and wanderings your own, or have you just borrowed them from the soul of this fine English lyricist?

Peter Bruntnell Band

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'Nos Da Comrade' - NO.7 in MOJO 2016 Americana albums of the year.

If you ask the likes of Peter Buck, Scott Mccaughey, Willy Vlautin, Jay Farrar, John Murry or Kathleen Edwards they’ll all agree that Peter Bruntnell is a writer with rare and mysterious qualities.There are many influences at work on this new record from The Beatles to Big Star to Nick Drake (although they're not necessarily apparent, like the best influences aren't), and when NME claimed that “Peter Bruntnell’s records should be taught in schools”, they were referring to the particular appeal of the quiet Devonian’s songwriting craft. Nos Da Comrade returns emphatically to the earliest days of Bruntnell’s career, a full-on electric psych-rock experience.

"Bruntnell has a remarkable knack for turning out big, dreamy, melodic, memorable songs" - MOJO

"His songs are warm and beautifully radiant" - Uncut

"One of the finest songwriters in Britain" - The Independent

"One of England's best kept musical secrets" - Rolling Stone

"Melodically rich, lyrically ingenious and emotionally, intellectually affecting songs that bears comparison with the all-time greats" - The Guardian

Click here to read an article featuring Peter Bruntnell in The Guardian newspaper.

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Support - Small Town Jones

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