Hattie Briggs

Event information

Three brilliant acts head to the bookshop for the Big Comfy Folk Club

Hattie Briggs
Hattie Briggs is a Gloucestershire based singer-songwriter and BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award Nominee 2014. The 22 year-old quit Oxford University in the 2nd year of her Russian degree to concentrate on her musical career in January 2014. Since then, her music has been played on TV, on BBC Radio 1, 2 and 6Music as well as many regional BBC radio stations. She released her debut album ‘Red & Gold’ on 6th April 2015 with a single ‘A Beautiful Mind’ on the same day. The album includes a cover of Eva Cassidy’s version of ‘Fields Of Gold’, produced by Eva's brother, Dan Cassidy, who also plays a violin solo on the record. (Click here to go to the dedicated 'Red & Gold' page where you can read the latest reviews including Q magazine, the Maverick & R2, and order the album.)

​Hattie released her debut EP ‘My Shepherd’s Hut’ in November 2013, and has subsequently had 5 singles in the iTunes singer-songwriter chart, including ‘Pull Me Down’ that reached number 19, and ’Old Eyes’, that features jazz musician Alec Dankworth. Key live performances include the recent Cambridge Folk Festival, Cheltenham Jazz Festival and supports including Stornoway, Grant Nicholas (Feeder), Seth Lakeman and Sam Brookes. She was also a featured artist in an emerging talent documentary by BBC Introducing In The West and on Sky Arts in their Cambridge Folk Festival highlights programme aired in August 2015. She has been widely featured on many of the the popular UK e-zines and blogs including Back Street Mafia, Penny Black Music, For Folk's Sake, Folk Radio and Timber and Steel, the USA's Val's List and three in the Netherlands, Folk Lantern, MusicMeter and Dekrentennuitdepop. The local and national press are taking a keen interest with an appearance in the Independent, a 4 page spread in Cotswold Life, a lifestyle feature in Psychologies magazine and now a review in Holland's top music magazine, Lust for Life.

Inspired by the likes of Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, Hattie recorded her debut album at Monnow Valley Studios, and it was produced by Peter Waterman (Joss Stone/Uriah Heep/Emma Ballantine). Seven of Hattie’s songs from the album reached the semi-finals of the UK Songwriting Contest and she was the only artist who had two competing in the final ten. She completed her first 25 gig national tour supporting Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman all round the UK in April and May 2015 which was followed by her own 21 date national Living Room/Small Venue/Festival Tour during August and September. Hattie returned from her first European tour in November having played 19 gigs in Holland and gaining a new legion of fans along the way.

At the end of November Hattie passed her goal of playing 100 gigs during 2015. Her Christmas single "Turn on the Lights" was released on 7th December and received airplay from Mark Radcliffe, and many other BBC presenters including Sam Bonham, Dan Chisholm, Claire Carter, and Phil Hammond. It received a brilliant review from Malcolm Carter of Penny Black Music. Hattie appeared for the second time in the November/December edition of R2 magazine in their Insight feature.

2016 promises an exciting start with the recording of her second album "Young Runaway" and a showcase tour including the Stables, Wavendon, the Maltings, Farnham, the Green Note and 30 others. She will follow that with another tour to Europe. In January Hattie won the Laurel Canyon Music awards for Best Debut Album and Best new Artist of 2015

Gareth Lee & Annie Baylis
Gareth Lee & Annie Baylis have been described as a slick contemporary folk duo, who have a modern approach to creating a classic sound.

“It’s a real pleasure to champion such fine talent, these are a duo you really want to keep an eye on” Alex Gallacher, Folk Radio UK

With an honest songwriting ethos at its core, the duos carefully crafted, intimate music is built upon the folk story culture, reflecting the path of life.

Their first EP gained them support from Folk Radio UK, as featured Album of the Month and even captured the ears of legendary Whispering Bob Harris, where the pair were invited to do an ‘Under the Apple Tree Session’ at his home-studio in Oxfordshire.

“Lyrically its a pure delight” Neil McFaydyen, Folk Radio UK

They have supported the likes of Patsy Reid, The Webb Sisters, Bellowhead, Krista Detor, George Ezra and appeared at a variety of festivals across the UK, including Purbeck Valley Folk Festival, Wimborne Minster Folk Festival and Bromyard Folk Festval. Along with a selection of Folk Clubs; Uxbridge, The Ram and Grayshott.

The winter of 2015, sees the release of their second EP ‘Future Writer’, a ‘Songs from the Shed’ Session and a UK/Ireland Tour

Paris Georgia
In April 2015 after Paris turned 20 years old, she released her debut EP 'Stranger To You' and headlined her launch night in her hometown Coventry. She reached number 2 in the iTunes UK Country Album Charts behind 'The Shires' knocking out Taylor Swift and Dolly Parton after just 24 hours of being on sale.
After the success of her album, she spent three weeks in Nashville by herself in hope to perform a handful of shows. Instead,
she had a song-writing session with Nashville born singer/songwriter Chris Rogers and BMI songwriter Steve O'Brien, performed shows every night around Nashville including the famous Bluebird Café and received an experience of a lifetime.

Stage times
Paris Georgia 8.00-8.35
Gareth Lee & Annie Baylis 8.50-9.30
Hattie Briggs 9.45-10.30

Doors open at 7pm. Bookshop bar will be serving hot and cold drinks including alcohol plus cake and crisps. No other food or drink to be brought onto the premises.

For more info please see
www.thebigcomfybookshop.co.uk
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