Growing up reading the lyrics and liner notes of dusty old records have left Andy Oliveri nothing but a storyteller. Echoing the spirit of Neil Young and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, he writes simple folk songs with his heart on his sleeve and words from a bared soul. Evident in the stripped back arrangements of tracks such as ‘My Fathers Son’ and ‘What I’m Told’, the fragility in his voice and guitar allow the songs to breathe, with no overblown arrangements to mask the sentiment.

After a succesful run of shows to close the year and a single due through istartedthefire Records in the Spring, Oliveri looks set to be a great force within UK folk in 2012.

Check out a rough 'bedroom' demo of 'Balance Upon a Rope' above and keep an eye on our Facebook page for up to date info.

Folk collective Boat to Row, Captained by Michael King have cast off as a five piece, coupling a rare sense of genuine ease in each other’s musical company with a fresh, energetic sound.

King’s nimble guitar melodies cushion a rich set of boy-girl harmonies, tripping glockenspiel, swooning violin and ricocheting drum beat. The band also boasts a many-hued spectrum of lyrical themes, gliding from young love and tender friendships to outdoor sauntering and nautical fantasy. Aside from heady romance acoustic, Michael has turned his hand to the ebullience of the working classes, infectious bass riffs and pounding feet; this Midlands outfit is by no means lacking in versatility.

Boat to Row have navigated the shores of the UK this past year, gracing stages at Dot-to-Dot, Truck, Wood, Moseley Folk and Gloucester Underground Festivals as well as supporting the likes of Willy Mason, The Acorn, Johnny Flynn and Slow Club with their warm sound.

Anarcho-anglo storytellers JL&tSS deliver their blend of country-folk/punk - the most energetic, poetic and engaging British folk music in the UK today. In two short years the band have incessantly toured the country alongside the likes of Mumford & Sons, Frank Turner, Dry the River, Johnny Flynn, Alessi’s Ark and Pete Doherty amongst many others, their visceral approach to live performance often takes them from the stage into the crowd for intimate singalong moments, impressing crowds everywhere they go. In mid 2010 they released debut album ‘Atlases’ (produced by MPG Engineer of the year and double Gammy nominated producer James Towler) through istartedthefire records to critical acclaim and airplay from Steve Lamacq on Radio 2, Kerrang Radio and BBC Introducing – including being named BBC Gloucestershire Introducing’s ‘Band of 2010’. During the summer they performed at major and independent festivals such as Big Chill, Wychwood and Y-Not, including the highest attended perfomance on the second stage at 2000 Trees Festival last summer alongside Goldheart Assembly, The Subways and more.

The young quintet draw influence from a plethora of alt. country folk artists and hardcore punk bands alike, opting to mould these influences with a strong political ethic and a ‘play-til-you’re-dead’ attitude to live performance to create an innovative and arresting sound, crammed with hook -filled soaring harmonies, country/punk rhythms and passionately honest lyrics - often likened to Bright Eyes, Frank Turner and Billy Bragg.

Following the huge successes of 2010, this year is already promising more for the band in the form of rebookings for 2000 Trees and Wychwood Festivals, two single releases scheduled for early spring and a string of dates in February alongside fellow Folk-Punk upstart Frank Turner. Being hotly tipped across the board it has never been more imperative to see this band live.

This acclaimed Cheltenham-based folk singer songwriter has been quietly but steadily gaining great endorsements from some heavyweight music industry figures over the last year …

Summers was personally invited to support the legendary Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith) on several of his recent European tour dates including shows at the famous Dublin Olympia theatre and The Bobino in Paris. Winwood was even present in the studio for the recording of Joe’s most recent songs featured on ‘The Wincraft Sessions’.

The quality of Joe’s songs and voice have also been spotted and championed by Radio 2 and 6music presenter Steve Lamacq who introduced and featured the Walsall-born lad on his show as his new act of the week after picking his debut self-titled EP out from a bag of promo cds!
Lamacq furthered his endorsement by putting on Joe’s first ever solo London show where he personally introduced Summers on stage.

Guitarist Andy Oliveri and Vocalist Romy Quinnen make up the soul-folk hit-machine-duo that is Midnight Mile. Since their mutual musical exploits joined them via the voices of friends the band have honed their craft (a mix of

Feist’s avant folk-pop and Damien Rice’s acousitca) in the quiet side streets of Cheltenham for a collection of years now. Whilst numerous magazine fabricated fashion genres pass by their window the ‘Mile peacefully wait to unleash their sound. And what a sound it is…a monstrous sculpted figure of fragility and innocence, of breaking bones and arresting love, strewn gracefully over foot-tapping snare rolls, country guitar chords, twinkled organs and sultry vocals.

Led by the beautiful Romy and her soulful songwriting, the Midnight Mile arrange her engaging anecdotal lyric over a base of folk influenced rhythms of collective arrangement. The band have crossed musical paths before in previous Cheltenham outfits which becomes increasingly evident in their almost sibling relationship onstage and their ability to communicate ideas and feelings without explanation. The band’s abilites have taken them to perform at Wychwood and Two Thousand Trees festivals, support fellow soul/jazz folk duo Nizlopi and have their material used on tv by Channel 4.

The ‘Mile continue to raise the bar for a now thriving local scene, and will continue to do so throughout this year in support of their debut E.P and future full length to be released this year.

If summerfolk were a real genre, Ruth Bewsey would be the queen of it. Blending the beautiful stylings of

Tristan Prettyman, Imogen Heap and KT Tunstall to create an arresting and enchanting piece soft folky excellence, a single fragile voice over upbeat plucked guitar riffs is all Bewsey needs to absorb her audience. Ruth’s voice is not a common occurrence and should be for that reason adored for its purity and power, for its ability to deliver a lyric so poignantly it can make your heart swell swell inside your chest!

In the short time that she’s been playing solo ruth has built up a strong following which has led her to play a range of events from Wychwood and Two Thousand Trees festivals, to smallest and most intimate shows for the istartedthefire ‘storytellers’ series. Aside from this she is also establishing a successful career as a vocalist for electro and dubstep recordings for up coming producers, cementing her as a ‘one to watch’ over the next few months.

With plans in place for a solo record to be released soon and tours with fellow istf artists in the pipeline Ruth’s name will soon stretch the length of our fine island and fill the radio waves with summery folk goodness for everyone to sing a long to.