Matt Henshaw Recommends ... Lew Bear

Mr Lewis Robinson, or Lew Bear, hails from Northamptonshire and is one of the most lovable friendly giants I have come across on my national and international travels, I've got a long list of recommendations on their way, hoping to shine some light on some of the Beautiful Souls I've shared a stage with in the last year.

I'll be honest and admit that Lew posting this video yesterday morning was the thing that triggered me to start with this folksy gospel troubador from Eddie Stobart country ...



... so now you know, I am susceptible to flattery and anyone wishing to forward the Peace, Love & Tea Movement further ... but it's not just that, Lew's ideals and way of songwriting through research of family and local history, fixation on the English folk tradition and a sharer of my own love of gospel music as the love, the light and the truth. Top Man, big voice, growing everytime we cross paths and a gentile guitar playing style that betrays his mighty physique.

With this in mind, I was touched the last time I saw Lew perform, as he was visible onstage, performing a new song about his family lineage in which he discovered that his great great great aunt was the first woman in Northamptonshire to fall in love with a black man, and for this heinous activity she was ran out of town tarred and feathered, and with no-one speaking of it again, until the story was passed down via Lew's aunt's sister, his grandmother. A beautiful, melancholy yarn emerges full of regret and lessons from the past we all must learn and move on.

If you've ever driven through the Northamptonshire countryside you'll know it is a truly inspirational place, however nowhere is adverse to travesty, and Lew's great paradoxical melting pot of musical numbers is a great blessing for us all.

Peace, Love & Tea, MHx

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Martin Luke Brown ... again ..., Josh Wheatley, Casino Empire, Elizabeth Cornish, The Strangler Figs, Sky Valley Mistress, 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, 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, Matt Henshaw Recommends ...

---===DOWNLOAD LINKS===---
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Matt Henshaw Recommends ... Charlotte Carpenter

So, here we go again, another ready made starlet from the East Midlands for you. Coming straight out of Northants and Live in Leicester every month, Charlotte Carpenter is fast becoming a favourite songwriter of mine. I've found the transition into becoming a solo singer-songwriter quite strange, and at times difficult, even lonely, but when you do come across another artist you find so likable and relatable it makes the journey all the more bearable. Watching Charlotte play live and solo at Hansom Hall in Leicester last month I was struck by her natural demeanour and wonderful disposition, well crafted songs, innocence and she was an absolute joy to listen to. I've never related so much to one girl and a guitar in the entirety of my existence.

I see parallels between her and myself, we've probably written thousands of love songs and yet as we mature and become jaded by the things that life throws at us and the strive to pursue our artistic visions and present ourselves creatively it can sometimes get a little dark and introspective. It's all good though, a deep cleansing catharthis, when someone sings from their heart and soul you know about it, you recognise it and it chimes with you, stays with you and resonates.

Her regular showcase Charotte Carpenter's Tea Party at The Cookie Jar in Leicester has established itself, in my head at least, as the best night of the month in the city and features some of the best acoustic acts from around the country. The imagery and inflections Miss Carpenter bring to the party sit very well with me, I love Lewis Carroll and a good cup of Yorkshire. And I'll be playing with Charlotte at the end of this month (Friday 29th November), I can't wait.

Again, I'd love to see more of this girl and take a road trip in 2014, her new EP 'Whole' will be coming out shortly and from what I've heard it's going to be fantastic. The production sounds top notch and the songs have a depth and wisdom that is astonishing, I like a good minor chord and a wistful lyric. Highly recommended.

Here's the lady herself previewing a track from the new EP, and if you want some more the lead track is on her SoundCloud, playing on repeat for me ...



And here's me being wistful myself, when I sing the second verse I am speaking of people who are the complete antithesis of Charlotte, she makes going out and making idle chatter an absolute pleasure ...