Blowzabella

Ear-catching music from Blowzabella

Here’s a group of musicians that create some new-to-the-ears unusual music together. Blowzabella is a genuinely unique band that makes an inimitable, driving, drone-based sound played with a fabulous sense of melody, rhythmic expertise and sheer feeling. All the band members compose and many of their tunes are ‘standards’ in the modern British/European folk repertoire and played by people all over the world. Bands across Europe who experiment with folk music often cite Blowzabella as a major influence. Much loved and respected, there is no one else quite like them.

Blowzabella consist of Andy Cutting – diatonic button accordion; Jo Freya – vocals, saxophone, clarinet; Paul James – bagpipes, saxophones; Gregory Jolivet – hurdy-gurdy; David Shepherd – violin; Barn Stradling – bass guitar; Jon Swayne – bagpipes, saxophone.

Andy Cutting has just won the BBC Folk Awards Musician of the Year…for the third time – a remarkable achievement for a remarkable musician. Andy joined Blowzabella when he was a teenager and the band was the first showcase for his many talents. The band are doing a short tour in the southern England in May, where they will be celebrating his success and playing a lot of new material as well as old favourites.

Blowzabella Friday 20 May. 7:30pm. St Mary in the Castle, 7 Pelham Crescent, Hastings TN34 3AF. Tickets: 01424 451111 

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