We are deeply honoured to welcome one of the genuine guitar geniuses of our time!
Martin Simpson will perform a special, intimate solo performance on Friday 21st July. A true master of his art who conveys his diverse treasure trove of material from the heart, performing with rare subtlety, intensity and honesty…
With support from Ty Watling.
“One of the virtuoso instrumentalists of the English music scene… he sounds better than ever” – The Guardian
“What’s it like being the best guitar player in the world…?” … Martin’s modesty and grace prevented him from answering this BBC Radio 4 interviewer’s question recently, but the facts speak for themselves.
40 years after he recorded his first album, ‘Golden Vanity’, in 1976, Martin is known as a guitarist of formidable talent. Equally at home playing English traditional folk, American folk and blues and his own compositions, he is consistently named as one of the very finest fingerstyle guitar players in the world.
He is listed in Gibson Guitars’ Top 30 Acoustic Guitarists of all time, and Acoustic Guitar readers voted him number 12 guitarist in the world in 2005.
Universally acclaimed as one of the finest ever acoustic and slide guitar players, and a fine banjo-picker to boot, his solo shows bear witness to an artist at the very top of his game. Whether interpreting material from tradition or singing his own potent self-penned songs, Simpson is a remarkable storyteller: captivating and profoundly moving. His own songwriting produced the poignant ‘Never Any Good’, from Prodigal Son, 2007’s Folk Album of the Year.
He has had the most nominations of any performer in the 18 years of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, an astonishing 32 times, 13 of those as Musician of the Year, winning that particular accolade twice.
“Martin Simpson has transcended borders and oceans to quietly become a superb storyteller and musician of great depth and unquestionable taste” – Stephen Fearing
“Martin is in a class of his own. He is such an expressive player; he is ingenious in his use of the guitar” – Jackson Browne
“One of our finest traditional musicians, Simpson’s latest album offers a roving overview of his talents” – Uncut
