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The Melon Ground Sessions: Guests Sam Slater and Faith Brackenbury
June 13th,7:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Our resident roots music guitarist, Vo Fletcher has two guests this week: Sam Slater and Faith Brackenbury
With Sam’s love of Spanish music and Jazz and mastery of the oud and Faith’s love of Irish music and Jazz and her incredible violin playing be prepared for musical fireworks.
Gates and bar open from 7pm if you’d like to explore our gorgeous gardens before the music starts, around 7.45pm.
Remember- we are totally outdoors with nature – Cardies, hats and blankets might keep your body comfy while the warmth of the music warms your soul.
Tickets (£12) available in advance and (limited ) on the door.
Please check on the day: weather and other events may interrupt the flow.
Sam Slater Sam is a musician, composer and producer, playing guitars and the Arabic Oud for a number of eclectic jazz and world-roots music projects and collaborations. He co-led the critically acclaimed gypsy jazz, flamenco and contemporary classical instrumental band TG Collective, and tours with Sonia Sabri‘s Indian Kathak dance company, and Anglo-Polish singer songwriter Katy Carr. He has performed worldwide, from the mountains of Bulgaria and castles of Spain to the many festivals and concert halls of the UK – the Royal Opera House to WOMAD, to the car parks of southern Serbia!
Sam directs the jazz-inspired Birmingham-based record label, Stoney Lane Records, with the new international Stoney Lane Live series opening with US guitarist Bill Frisell this May to sell-out audiences. He also runs community music producers/programmers Mubu Music.
He has played on live sessions for BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends to Poland’s Trójka Radio, with his music featured on television from NBC and ESPN to the BBC, ITV and CBeebies! In 2020, he won Best Crime/Investigative Track from the American PMA Mark Awards for his co-composed string quartet, A Curious Voyage, and is currently working on a new performance commission with artists from Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Faith Brakenbury
Faith Brackenbury studied violin and piano classically at music school, diversifying into jazz, folk, rock and improvisation at Brunel University. Whilst there she played in the Irish folk band Slainte and with Hot Club bands. Going on to study violin repair at Merton College and then making with luthier John Langstaffe with whom she made the violin she now plays on. She completed a Pg dip in Jazz Performance at Birmingham Conservatoire in 2014 then played and sang with alto sax player Martin Speake in his band Mafarowi, with guitarist Rob Luft and drummer Will Glaser. The two recorded an improvised album ‘Zephyr’ in 2016. Her ‘KnifeAngel Suite’ sextet ep was released in 2019, in response to the Knife Angel sculpture by Alfie Bradley, and the rising rate of knife crime in the UK .
2020 brought about an ongoing collaboration with jazz drummer and composer Tony Bianco. Their album ‘Rising Up’ (Discus) was released July 2021.
September 2022 they released their double album ‘Wayward Mystic~improvisations inspired by the music of St.Hildegard von Bingen’ (Discus) on their Visio Improvisus tour, funded by Arts Council England. September 2023 they released ‘Sentient Beings’, quartet with Paul Dunmall and John Pope, and then ‘Prema’ (FMR) with Paul Dunmall and Olie Brice.
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Check out the dates below to see who’s coming and do join us for some unique outdoor musical experiences in our delightful space.
Gates and bar open from 7pm if you’d like to explore our gorgeous gardens before the music starts, around 7.45pm.
Remember- we are totally outdoors with nature – Cardies, hats and blankets might keep your body comfy while the warmth of the music warms your soul.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY – see below
Fortnightly Thursday evenings through the Summer from May 16th .
Tickets (£12) available in advance and (limited ) on the door.
Please check on the day: weather and other events may interrupt the flow.
The whole season for your diary
May 16th Vo and Ric Sanders
May 30th Vo and Ricky Cool
June 13th Vo, Sam Slater and Faith Brackenbury
June 27th Acoustic Who
July 11th Vo Sam Slater and Katie Stevens
July 25th Vo and annA rydeR
August 8th Gerry Colvin
Aug 22nd Vo and Tom Leary
The Gardens is a charity which relies heavily on income raised through our events, activities, cafe and bar. For this event please use our own bar and cafe rather than bringing your own.
