Matt Henshaw Recommends ... Caroline Francess ... again ...

Well, this little diamond I found. This absolute gem of an angel ... frum up north ! Sheffield to be precise, and she's a real show stopper.

I've said before that listening to her is like listening to an Original Sound Track, or a Disney film, maybe less frothy, but certainly as catchy and heart string tugging.

Effortlessly switching from humorous ditty to war poetry set to Andrew Lloyd Webber / Elton John solo piano.

I'll tell you something, Burt Bacharach once had a pet duck called Quack Quackarack ... that might not make any sense, but when you think about the combination of Bacharach's humour and genius songwriting, then see Caroline, it will all make sense.

Check her out 'Home' and 'Queen B' you'll be humming whilst washing the dishes or strolling through the park ... and then you think, "hey, she's a Sheffield Wednesday fan too" ... and hey Preston, Robert's your father's brother, and you've got one of my favourite artists right about now !!

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

Peace, Love & Tea, MHx
MattHenshaw.com

'Like' and follow 'Matt Henshaw Recommends ...' on facebook ...

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 ... Martin Luke Brown

So all this week I've been in Nottingham and treating you to some top acts I've seen, but today, right in the middle of the week I thought I'd introduce to you this cheeky chappy from Leicester ... Martin Luke Brown.

He's a handsome boy, got a smile that could break a thousand hearts, magnificent hair no matter how he wears it, one of the most pleasant guys around and he plays the piano like it ain't no thang ... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a little bit envious. And the piano isn't all he plays, he's a real Stevie Wonder type multi-instrumentalist.

He's been hiding out a little recently since we met last summer, and since I've seen him play a couple of times, an couldn't help but tap my feet. So I'm extremely pleased to say he's going to be doing a bit of a hometown comeback show at my Rhythm & Gospel Cavalcade night at the Cookie, joining myself, Samuel Idwal and Mia & The Moon, before he launches his brand new video and goes of doing sessions for the BBC and some major festivals and summer dates.

Last time I bumped into him he'd just finished, or was in the middle of a string of dates in schools for the charity D.A.R.E, that raises drug and alcohol awareness amongst children, a cause quite close to my heart, as you may know, as a former drinker and someone who started in school, we need to end the glamorisation of drinking culture amongst the youth, or perhaps more importantly, stop making life so dreary for our under 18s that reaching the legal drinking age or getting a fake ID or nicking booze from your parents is something to look forward to and be excited about.

Addiction and binging shouldn't be a taboo but should be masqueraded for the negative consequence of a sick poorly run society where inequality and a mundane life of chasing pennies a work shifts is the path for far too many. Spread The Love, Change The World, Less Booze, More Juice, Less Drugs, More Fruit ... maybe it sounds overly simplistic but I believe that the majority of the worlds problems could be solved explicitly or implicitly by the growth and consumption of more fruit and vegetables.

Anyway, keep your eye on the wunderkind - Martin Luke Brown - he's up to something, I'm not sure what, but he's definitely going somewhere ...

Peace, Love & Tea, MHx


Try another Matt Henshaw Recommends ...
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===---
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 ... Stef Baker

Head down to the Soundhouse to see Grace & The Magic Roots and catch up with the great Rhett Barrow on a quiet Tuesday night and you just might happen to see someone who stops you in your tracks and blows you away. That's exactly what happened last night with the wonderful, glorious and extremely talented Stef Baker ... I enjoyed her short set so much that I've added her to my show at The Cookie on Friday night.

Just four songs was all it took, and to be fair she had me hooked after two original gems, and then produced a superbly haunting cover of Wonderwall that reminded you that, even though you've heard it a million time ad infinitum, and it may have driven you up the wall at varying points in your life, it is a great, great song. Kind of like when Ryan Adams slowed it down and Noel Gallagher said that's how he always intended it to be. Although The Chemical Brothers claim he took it to them before they recorded Setting Sun and N. Gallagher wanted to make a Balearic dance tune with it !

So, yeah, Stef Baker will be joining myself, Becky Edwards, Kate Rendell and Emily Carr at The Cookie in Leicester on Friday night, and there's a few other surprise guests planned too, and with Charlotte Carpenter hosting her Tea Party downstairs we're sure to have a whole building full of Love !

Other reasons to Love Stef ... even though you'll have hundreds after Friday night ... she obviously quite likes LEGO almost as much as I do as well !!

Matt Henshaw @ The Oxjam Leicester Takeover 2013 ...

Afternoon Tea to all,

Yesterday I played three sets in total at three wonderful venues for Oxjam 2013 ... met loads of great people, made plenty of new friends and caught up with some old ones as well. Spending a day doing what Sundays are for ... home-made banana bread, apple crumble, carrot and coriander soup and a nice hearty garlic & celery broth ! The compost is absolutely buzzing !!

Here's me at the start of the day at The Curve Theatre in Leicester ...



Here's what I played:-

Your Eyes Are Made Of Gold
Always In The Way
Not In Nottingham
Play The Game
707
My Life
It Ain't Easy

And here's me at Hansom Hall, beautiful yet underused venue in Leicester city ...



And here's what I played there:-

It Ain't Easy
It's A Wonderful Night
Always in the Way
Stop Me Girl
Me & You
You Send Me

An absolute pleasure it was to hear my voice ringing out singing Sam Cooke ie. The Greatest's first smash hit in Leicester own mini Royal Albert Hall. Made me think about the future and what is and what could be. My dreams as a teenage were always to sing in the Albert Hall and the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool ... help me out, help me get there.

And then I played a pretty impromptu set at The Basement, top place, and some top blues bands on later on ... I was playing away from the guitar and sat a piano and jammed through a few songs ...

Stop Me Girl
That's Life
Goodnight

Yeah, that's right, in true lounge piano stylee I played a bit of Frank Sinatra for the locals, they loved it. They wanted more anyways, I was only supposed to play two, and whilst my piano skills are little lacking, plonking and pedestrian to say the least, I was asked to do one more. Good times all in all and all the great acts I managed to see I fancy doing a blog on each, so I'll be bring back 'Matt Henshaw Recommends ...' ASAP.

Peace, Love & Tea,
Matt Henshaw.
MattHenshaw.com

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