SoundBox presents: Thom Ashworth and Ben Walker

0	CHESTER: St Mary's Handbridge Centre
P	Saturday 18th June, 2022
N	7:15pm

CHESTER: St Mary's Handbridge Centre

Saturday 18th June, 2022

7:15pm

Event information

A fantastic opportunity to experience the respective talents of two distinctive musicians in this double headline event.
Thom Ashworth - http://thomashworth.com
'Adventurous, exciting, and highly effective.' - FRoots
An acoustic bass guitar may not seem like an obvious choice as an accompaniment instrument, but Thom shows that this distinctive instrumental voice can find a home in folk music, and that four strings are enough to delve into the canon of British folk music.
The press has repeatedly compared him to Martin Carthy, Chris Wood, and Billy Bragg. This selection of luminaries doesn't tell the whole story though - from the sparse lament of The City and The Tower to his muscular arrangement of High Germany, Thom's inventive musicality and powerful tenor voice shine through.
Thom's EFDSS-funded debut album, Head Canon, was released in the autumn of 2019, and was awarded 'Album of the Year' from Folkscene, BBC Radio Merseyside's longest-running programme, across four decades of folk coverage.
Ben Walker - https://www.benwalkermusic.com/
'One of the best acoustic guitarists in the world right now' - Total Guitar magazine
After critically acclaimed albums and a BBC Folk Award as a duo with Josienne Clarke, and more than 50 records as a producer of other artists, Ben Walker had already built a reputation among his peers for fusing tradition, for innovation and for playing like absolutely no-one else when he released his first solo record in 2018.
An EP, The Fox on the Downs showcased his mastery of his instrument and his love for traditional English music.
His first full album, Echo, was released in July 2019 - a reminder that with Ben, 'guitarist' has never quite covered it. A collection of original pieces, traditional songs and poems set to music, critics have given it a rapturous reception, with folk and world music bible fRoots magazine the first to welcome it as 'a profound statement connecting past and present - it sounds very special'.
In 2020, Ben released the Rakes of Adair EP, and in 2021, the 'Life and the Land' EP featured another duo collaboration, this time with Kirsty Merryn.