ABINGDON: The Unicorn Theatre

Thursday 25th January, 2024

7:00pm

Event information

We are thrilled to bring Alex Hart (Seth Lakeman Trio, Martin Barre Band) and her guitarist Adam Sweet to The Unicorn Theatre to kick off our 2024 programme.

Described by BBC Radio 2 presenter Mark Radcliffe as “the Stevie Nicks of Folk”. The south-west based singer/songwriter Alex Hart is set for her most exciting and anticipated album release to date.

At 18 she collaborated with electronic duo Electronic Youth on a cover of Angie Stones’ “I Wish I Didn’t Miss You” which had huge global radio success reaching No.2 in the Music Week Dance Charts and was supported by Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1.

This recognition spearheaded a run of high-profile festivals performances and a slot opening for UK folk sensation Turin Brakes at the Lyme Regis Folk festival. Alex’s opening performances landed her two record deals, as she was
quickly snapped up by US label OK!Good Records and Right Track Records UK. Alex started working with Grammy Award winning songwriter and producer Terry Britten (famous for “What’s Love Got To Do With It for Tina Turner) and went on to release her critically acclaimed debut Album “On this Day”

Following the success of Alex’s debut album, her voice and musicianship caught the eye of legendary Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre, who asked Alex to be a part of his band as a musician and vocalist for their European and international tour dates. Alex has performed and toured all over the UK/Europe with the band and has embarked on many international US tours.

Alex also collaborates and performs alongside, the critically acclaimed Devon born folk singer Seth Lakeman, Alex’s voice as well her multi-instrumental playing features heavily on his brand-new album. The single “Higher We Aspire” received huge BBC Radio 2 support, and Alex performed the song live on BBC Breakfast TV.

As well as a busy touring schedule, Alex is constantly working on new music ready for new releases in 2023, including her new album ‘VISIONS’ which has just been released this September alongside a successful UK tour.

“This album has been a real labor of love for me. Each song tells a story about a certain time in my life, some reflecting on relationships with friends, family and my career. I wanted this album to resonate with others, hopefully helping them through the difficult hurdles we face. This album is about feeling powerful and overcoming hard situations. One song, however, ‘Blackbird’ which features well-known folk artist Benji Kirkpatrick on Bouzouki, is all about lockdown. Everytime I
walked around the park near my home I felt like the blackbird was following me. It was a constant reminder of my family and how much I missed seeing them. I’ve been very lucky to have some amazing guest appearances on my new record, including Seth Lakeman and Martin Barre from Jethro Tull. They are great friends of mine, I have toured the UK, Europe and the USA with them and they have contributed highly to my journey in the music industry. The album artwork was created by Phil James, an artist from Plymouth who is a dear friend of mine. He has captured the sentiment completely. Myself and Andy, my husband got engaged near Yosemite in 2022, so using the wanderlust photo was fitting for this project, marking this poignant time in my life.

Writing and recording with Josiah at Momentum Studios was also such a highlight, it took a few months to gather the material together, time spent alone first in my home studio and then bringing the ideas to Josiah, where we would rework the songs together. We both played many of the tracks live and then overdubbed different instruments. I wanted to get the most organic sound as possible and I think we made a great team. Visions is definitely my best work so far. I am so proud of this album, it is completely self-funded and it was so special to have complete control over every aspect. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.”

Alex Hart is not only a talented vocalist, but an accomplished musician too, 2023 is set to be her most successful and exciting year yet.

"Alex Hart is set to make a global impact" - THE GUARDIAN

"Alex Hart is not only a talented vocalist, but an accomplished musician too. Alex has grown as a musician over the years and is continually adding new instruments to her armoury." - REVIEW MNPR MAGAZINE

Support will be from Elsi, recently moved to Oxfordshire from Norfolk. Elsi has played at Ely Folk Festival (winning on the Club Tent stage), Cambridge Folk Festival and Folk East amongst others.

Doors and bar at 7pm, music at 7:15pm.

Checker Walk
Abingdon
OX14 3JB

www.musicattheunicorn.org.uk