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Matt Henshaw Recommends ... Abandon Her ... again ...

If you like your pop music catchy and classy then look no further than the girls and boy that make up Abandon Her.

Abby, Olivia, Sarah and Giles weave delicious harmonies over superb melodies, and it's just pure songwriting. The kind of purest songwriting I love, and take to heart when I do all the travelling on the road that I do.

When you hear a song in June 2014 and it's still knocking around in your head on the other side of the continent in January 2015 that's "mission accomplished" as far as I'm concerned.

Songs like 'Witches Islands', 'Right Back to Your Door' and new songs like 'Lilac' are real "humdingers", that's an appropriate use of that kind of terminology, right ?

Spread The Love, see you and them at my homecoming show in Leicester on Saturday night, gonna be good fun ...

Peace, Love & Tea, MHx
MattHenshaw.com

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Anywyn Williams, Caroline Francess, Lew Bear, Martin Luke Brown ... again ..., Josh Wheatley, Casino Empire, Elizabeth Cornish, The Strangler Figs, Sky Valley Mistress, Jesse Wright, Siobhan Mazzei, GEORGIE, Tapestry, The De Montfort University Gospel Choir, By The Rivers, Martin Luke Brown, Joy Mumford, Three Girl Rhumba, MotorMouf, Samuel Idwal, Abandon Her, Stef Baker, Emily Carr, Becky Edwards, James Byron, Mahalia, Mia & The Moon, Rosa-Leigh, AJA, Kate Rendell, Esther Van Leuven, East Midlands Girls, Ones to Watch for 2014, The Bobcats, Savanna Bones, Mattayoux, Matt Zara, The Simpletones, Charlotte Carpenter, Leah Sinead, Amii Dawes, Hib Word (House Of Verse), Matt Henshaw Recommends ...

---===DOWNLOAD LINKS===---
DOWNLOAD & STREAM 'YOUR EYES ARE MADE OF GOLD' NOW !!
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/your-eyes-are-made-of-gold-ep/id904335049
https://play.spotify.com/user/11100320251/playlist/7CJI4WcomJKYozyujcN4hK
DOWNLOAD & STREAM 'ALWAYS IN THE WAY' NOW !!
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/always-in-the-way-ep/id875188981
https://play.spotify.com/user/ilsonowl/playlist/2tHGjyz7EpEZpvgc8HpuRm
DEBUT 'IT AIN'T EASY/MY LIFE - EP' !!!
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/it-aint-easy-my-life-ep/id814589358
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aint-Easy-My-Life-EP/dp/B00I8ZDJZC/
https://play.spotify.com/album/733AAcf7c2KcZ75SUFlpi3
'EASIER' OUT NOW !!!
'Easier' Official Video - https://goo.gl/ynTayr
iTunes - https://goo.gl/9r5341
Spotify - https://goo.gl/OTLXaV
GooglePlay - https://goo.gl/JVvd5r

Matt Henshaw Recommends ... Sky Valley Mistress

Feel like I've been a bit neglectful with the blog of late, and it feels like I've been neglecting a child. So, this week I think I'm gonna bring you a whole load of recommendations. And I hope you've seen I've been busy as a worker bee in the meantime. But let's get on with it, I hope you're ready to get some groovy rockin' on with ... Sky Valley Mistress.

These just might be the heaviest thing I've recommended, but I gotta tell ya, I saw them live and they blew me away. And they might just be the furthest afield band I've written about. Hailing from Lancashire this female fronted rockin' four-piece have been down the East Midlands a few times, and are seriously putting the work in getting around the country and spreading their wings, flying out of the little Northern town of Darwen, Blackburn's little sister.

Maximum respect to them for grafting, writing proper tunes, and packin' some groove in with rockin'. Talented musicians, and a vocal punch, and they're seriously cool. As anyone who might know me would tell you that when music gets any heavier than Led Zeppelin, I'm out. This lot get it just right, just for me and the competent nods towards Jack White's erstwhile output gives you an indicator of their musical influence, above all they're damn good.

I saw them first at The Shed in Leicester and drummer Max handed me a card with a kind of QR code on it that I took home, scanned and it linked me to their video, 'The Day of the Lion', and it is cool as the proverbial f-word, and stars, as it turned out my almost sister-in-law, just highlighting how serendpitously beautiful 2014 has been so far. We're all connected, us beautiful and positive people.

So, here you go, get some Dirty Blonde Blues down yer neck and enjoy ... talk tomorrow, Peace, Love & Tea, MHx



Jesse Wright
Siobhan Mazzei
Georgie Rose
Tapestry
The De Montfort University Gospel Choir
By The Rivers
Martin Luke Brown
Joy Mumford
Three Girl Rhumba
MotorMouf
Samuel Idwal
Abandon Her
Stef Baker
Emily Carr
Becky Edwards
Mahalia
Mia & The Moon
Rosa-Leigh
AJA
Kate Rendell
Esther Van Leuven
East Midlands Girls
Ones to Watch for 2014
The Bobcats
Savanna Bones
Mattayoux
Matt Zara
The Simpletones
Charlotte Carpenter
Leah Sinead
Matt Henshaw Recommends ...

---===DOWNLOAD LINKS===---
DOWNLOAD & STREAM 'ALWAYS IN THE WAY' NOW !!
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/always-in-the-way-ep/id875188981
http://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/always-in-the-way-ep
https://play.spotify.com/user/ilsonowl/playlist/2tHGjyz7EpEZpvgc8HpuRm
DEBUT 'IT AIN'T EASY/MY LIFE - EP' !!!
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/it-aint-easy-my-life-ep/id814589358
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aint-Easy-My-Life-EP/dp/B00I8ZDJZC/
https://play.spotify.com/album/733AAcf7c2KcZ75SUFlpi3
http://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/it-aint-easy-my-life-ep
http://www.emusic.com/album/matt-henshaw/it-aint-easy-my-life-ep/14753983/
http://www.7digital.com/artist/matt-henshaw/release/it-aint-easy-my-life
http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/matt-henshaw/album/it-aint-easy-my-life-ep
http://www.napster.co.uk/artist/matt-henshaw/album/it-aint-easy-my-life-ep

Matt Henshaw Recommends ... GEORGIE

I love this girl. She's a Queen, she's a star and she has a presence that soars and shines beyond your average girl with a guitar. Talk to her on any night of the week and without saying very much, in fact saying very little, you'll know she's passionate, driven and has a wealth of musical knowledge and talent that far surpasses your average songstress.

Without drawing too many parallels to myself I like it that you can go to shows in Nottingham and Georgie will be there, checking out who's hot and who's not, and making recommendations of who you should see next, unless of course, like myself in Leicester, we're busy elsewhere Spreading The Love !

I mentioned on this week's Tea and Toast with Matt Henshaw & Stu Crown podcast that Georgie reminds of a female composite of Elvis Presley in his majestic prime and Bob Dylan at Isle Of Wight. And that's no lie. I know she's a big Elvis fan, and we share a love of the old school classics, good songwriting and delivery are in her second nature.

By all accounts and all reports I've heard back, Georgie Rose was the standout act of this year's Dot To Dot Festival, and I'm not surprised.

Hence why I'm so excited that she is playing as my first non-Leicestershire artist at Matt Henshaw's Rhythm & Gospel Cavalcade at The Cookie this month ! Not far to travel but it's funny how East Midlanders seem to believe there's a whole world of difference between the 4 major cities and handful of of beautiful larger towns we have in this area.

I hope there becomes more of a cross-contamination of music around these parts and everyone gets behind one another, I've been around and believe me, there are some gems lurking around the corner in Notts, Derbyshire, Leicester, Lincoln, Northampton, etc. you only need to peek outside and you'll find something you like.

Peace, Love & Tea, MHx

PS. she's bringing this lot with her, gonna make some beautiful noise ! I, for one, can't wait !!

Tapestry
The De Montfort University Gospel Choir
By The Rivers
Martin Luke Brown
Joy Mumford
Three Girl Rhumba
MotorMouf
Samuel Idwal
Abandon Her
Stef Baker
Emily Carr
Becky Edwards
Mahalia
Mia & The Moon
Rosa-Leigh
AJA
Kate Rendell
Esther Van Leuven
East Midlands Girls
Ones to Watch for 2014
The Bobcats
Savanna Bones
Mattayoux
Matt Zara
The Simpletones
Charlotte Carpenter
Leah Sinead
Matt Henshaw Recommends ...

---===DOWNLOAD LINKS===---
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/it-aint-easy-my-life-ep/id814589358
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aint-Easy-My-Life-EP/dp/B00I8ZDJZC/
https://play.spotify.com/album/733AAcf7c2KcZ75SUFlpi3
http://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/it-aint-easy-my-life-ep
http://www.emusic.com/album/matt-henshaw/it-aint-easy-my-life-ep/14753983/
http://www.7digital.com/artist/matt-henshaw/release/it-aint-easy-my-life
http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/matt-henshaw/album/it-aint-easy-my-life-ep
http://www.napster.co.uk/artist/matt-henshaw/album/it-aint-easy-my-life-ep

Matt Henshaw Recommends ... Emily Carr

When you walk into a pub, order a pot of tea and take a seat, place you Wednesday scarf and coat on the back of your chair, take a sip and watch some open mic acts you're not usually expected to be overly impressed, but in Leicester, where there's seemingly an open mic night every night of the week you might just be surprised from time to time.

I went down a Wednesday night show just south of the city centre hosted by The Simpletones and was knocked out by the talent. I've seen Matt Zara, Kate Rendell and Becky Edwards down at the Cradock open mic nights from Little & Large, and loads more acts that I'm sure I'll share with you another time, but this time around I'd like to shine a light on Emily Carr ...

Emily was seemingly shy, although everything about her makes you want to shout and point and exclaim how great she is. Carrying the weight of the 2010s, as all teenagers do in the decade they leave school, Miss Carr is strikingly visual and has a voice that nabs your attention puts it in a box and let's it float upstream.

I like guitars, I love Emily's guitars, maybe it's because they're blue and white, maybe it's because they're exceptional pieces of wood, or maybe it's because she plays them wonderfully, either way it warms the cockles of my heart, and I'm sure the way she sings and plays will cheer you too.

Matt Henshaw Recommends ... Savanna Bones

Sorry I've been overdue a recommendation for a little short while now, so here' we go with some noisy rockin' cataclysmic dirty blues - Savanna Bones. These top chaps invited me to play at their hometown show and blew me away, live and on the cooly stamed brown card CDs they give out, for nothing, and there's some top notch stuff on their.

When people generally encounter two piece blues they tend to opt for the lazy journalist comparisons of The White Stripes and The Black Keys, and yes, whilst they are often relevant touching stones, there's a whole lot more going on here. Elements of lots of modern rock bands go into the pot, I hear elements of recent Arctic Monkeys, a little 22-20s, occasional bits of The Hives and The Dead 60s, and there's a lot of proper fuzzy old blues influence in their too.

Adam Paddy on guitar drinks from the same poisoned chalice as Disraeli Gears era Eric Clapton, whilst Robbie pounds the drums like John Bonham, with a loud full fat soaring ride cymbal and stomping bass, whilst all the time searching for lyrical plateaus left on a Wildean cutting room floor.

Personal highlight from their set was the unyet recorded Crooked Little Beast, it's a corker but hopefully they'll get some more of their other tunes online soon, tales of psychopaths, serial killers, fire, light, loudness and darkness, it's all in there, it's all good and it's all Savanna Bones. Catch them live when they get themselves together for a showdown, it'll stay yer !

Blues & Soul,
MHx


PS. here's one of my bluesy rockin' efforts you all should know ...

Matt Henshaw Recommends ... Matt Zara

Recommending again, this time an absolutely sensational guitarist, who at a such a young age wasn't born when John Major was prime minister, is one of the most accomplished and talented musicians I know. Playing bass or guitar he can transform a melody into symphony with one instrument. Often times it's not cool to bash on about someones talent being amazing just because of how young they are, so for a second let's just completely discard the simple fact that Matt is barely tackling his GCSEs and know that at whatever age he is simply a brilliant musician, if he was 44 I'd have the same amount of respect and admiration for him, and I'm sure by 44 he'll have a lot more stories to tell about his wild successes as a guitar man.

Now, I'm no whizz kid on the guitar, I went to the Manchester school of simplicity, starting out learning the chords to Noel Gallagher songs and then ripping a few licks off of The Stone Roses' John Squire and eventually attempting some Hendrix, Clapton and Jimmy Page, but Matt Zara eats, breathes and sleeps his instrument, I would be surprised if he sleeps with it, such expression and dexterity in his fingers, a skill at improvisation and playing by ear that most don't develop and execute with such ease.

Let's just say Matt would be my first port of call if I ever needed a serious guitarist, session man or tour buddy, he'd be an asset to any ensemble and a pleasure to share the stage with, no doubt one day I'll find myself saying the words "and on guitar, Matt Zara!" to a huge round of applause and some ecstatically excited girlish screams, if only from me ! And if he'd join a band with me at the helm.

I met him for the first time at an open mic night in Leicester and unfortunately missed him, but he, and his whole family, sat and watched me do a few tunes and I felt as though I'd found a new friend and a family away from home straight away, beautiful people, it wasn't until he mentioned that I should go to an open mic the following night nearer his home and with some of his friends that I really had the chance to be blown away, and discovered a further set of incredibly talented people and indeed a musical family.

The first step in my dream band of Matt's ... I already have an organ and piano player in mind, I'll let you know about him further down the line, but here's one of Matt's original compositions ... you might catch him playing in Leicester, a open mics, busking or alongside the fabulous Mark Elliott and Martin Luke Brown ...



I'm working on my guitar skills ... the next "title video" I upload might just include a guitar solo ... oooooooooh ...

Spread The Love!
MHx

PS. here's me doing some plucking and strumming ...

Matt Henshaw Autumn 2013 ...

It Ain't Easy - Matt Henshaw

Hard at work in the studio ...

If you're following me on Twitter you'd know by now how hard I've been working this month putting together some wonderful sounding recordings. Lugging guitars and all sorts around the fine (and sometimes not so fine!) London Underground ... questions? Why do some people just smell?? And why do they insist on such close proximity??? Also, if the sign says "trains every 3-6 minutes" then why does the screen say "next train 8 minutes" ?!??

Anyways, here's a picture of me tinkering on the piano ... piano? That's right, Messr. Henshaw ie. me is playing almost all of the instruments (so apologies in advance if the standard is a bit shaky, if you get to hear 'em that is, session musicians might just arrive like the cavalry any minute now and play all over my nonsense) ... vocals, guitar, piano, bass, string arrangements, percussion and song-writing duties all fall at my feet ...

Until next time x

Matt Henshaw = One to Watch for 2012 ...

As far as lists go, there are many on the inside and outside telling who to look out for and listen out for in 2012 ... I'm so pleased to tell you that I'm not on a list that belongs to Dante or Nostradamus but an independent music industry insider along with a whole host of other acts as one to keep an eye on over the next twelve months ... I hope I don't disappoint, and as always I'll tell all here first on my ever popular bloggity blog ...

Matt Henshaw in the mix and one to watch for 2012 ...

Here's another picture of me rockin' the live stage ...

The East Midlands & above ...

So, you will have no doubt (should have) read from the previous blog that I've been driving around and about in Leicester, well, I've continued up and carried on from there in the last week or so hitting some of my old haunts, seeing old friends and singing the occasional tune along the way. Sheffield (home of the mighty Owls!), Nottingham (former home of Censored, remember them?), Derby (home of ReggiiMental aka Jimmy B-Boy and The Deepest Cellar) and Eastwood (birthplace of DH Lawrence) have all been graced by my presence amongst other nooks of LE, DE, NG and South Yorkshire ... I hope those towns and cities of bricks and mortar enjoyed my visits as much as I did ...

... had to check out this young talent whilst visiting home ... maybe you should too ... video by the one and only Michael Holyk ...



Also, my old pal Will Jeffery is still sounding raspy and beautiful as ever ... appearing here with the ever wonderful Zoe Kirk ...