February 2016

The Lord Nelson is undergoing major refurbishment in January so our monthly session has had to be cancelled. We hope to reschedule Ewan Wardrop later in the year.

Our February session provides a rare opportunity, both for us and our booked guests, to listen to some very fine local songwriters performing in a folk club setting, instead of the bear pits of the open mic circuit where they usually ply their trade.

Neil Johnsen

NEIL JOHNSEN deserves a special mention, not only for having ploughed a sometimes lonely furrow to sow the seeds of his sensitive songs in raucous pubs but also for having battled to overcome serious hand injuries which prevented him from playing for many years.

Alice Western

19-year old ALICE WESTERN says the likes of Nick Drake, Jackson C Frank, Joni Mitchell have provided her with inspiration and, with her soulful vocals and deft guitar playing, seems assured of a bright future.

Having sat (literally) at the feet of some of America’s finest roots musicians who dropped in to visit her dad (a professional blues musician) while on tour in the UK ELSIE FRANKLIN has developed into a formidable fingerpicking guitarist with a distinctive vocal style. Still only a teenager, she is already making a name for herself on the Sussex music scene. And The Blues Band’s Dave Kelly described her thus, “the most natural blues singer I've heard in years  -  and her guitar playing is pretty damn good too.”

Elsie Franklin

            

Also on the bill is JODIE MUNDAY.