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Floating Artists to the Fringe 

Supported with funding from Arts Council, I've been able to book some fantastic acts to come and play during my Floating to the Fringe Tour 2015. Many of them will also be joining me at the Edinburgh Fringe, where I'm booked to play on George Street from 20th-31st August. Here are the acts booked so far in order of appearance during the tour,  with more names to be announced soon! You can find all the tour dates here.

Kelly Oliver - Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Cley Marshes, 31st May 2015
Kelly gained a 4* review from The Telegraph for her debut album This Land ( which came out in October 2014), won an Emerging Excellence bursary from Help Musicians UK in Summer 2014 to pay for said album to be recorded, won an 'Album of the Year' from FolkWords and was runner up in Best Debut Album of the Year from FATEA. 

She gained two BBC Radio 2 plays for her single, Diamond Girl, on Bob Harris' show and Mark Radcliffe's last October.She has just supported Cara Dillon, has her first TV appearance on both London Live TV and Norwich’s Mustard TV and is releasing a single Jericho on May 11th.
http://kellyoliver.co.uk/

Vibe - The Green Britain Centre, Swaffham, Norfolk, 5th June
Three piece harmony band Vibe have a unique approach to their music. Alongside playing on Gospel and Soul ideas with a modern twist, they also like to combine body percussion with acopella singing. Vibe base the majority of their compositions around a piano backing, but have recently collaborated with a voilinist and electric guitarists to create a bigger sound! Keep an eye out for this up and coming girl group.  
Vibe on Facebook!

Steve Young - The Green Britain Centre, 5th June, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, Far Ings, 12th June, and Edinburgh Fringe, George Street, 24th-26th August
Steve has been in the Music Industry for over 20 years as an Entertainer, Songwriter, Session Guitarist & Music Educator 
From 2007-2012 he toured with the world famous singer Darren Hayes - founder and front man of the Pop Duo - Savage Garden, and in 2012 Steve became Musical Director and co-founder of the Broadgrass Band fronted by the world famous actor Ramin Karimloo. 

In Oct 2014 Steve released his Debut EP – ‘Little Things’. Although he's written for artists all round the world this is the first time he has written just for himself and as the ‘Artist’ The EP, which is a mix of acoustic Pop, Folk & Country has received great reviews and has been sold all over world inc Japan, Canada, USA, Australia, UK and Europe. Steve recently played at the Country To Country Festival at the London O2
 www.steveyounguk.com


SamH - The Witham Arts Centre, Barnard Castle, 17th June and Edinburgh Fringe, George Street, 20th-22nd August
Samh started out in 2012 with an EP, descriptively titled ‘Samh In A Green House’.  The £800+ proceeds raised from the EP went to a small Ethiopian children’s charity called The Kindu Trust.  Due to its popularity and the great fun that occurred in the process, Samh has continued to delve deeper into the world of his musical existence. 

Since then he has done 100s of live shows as a solo performer and with a band and has recorded many more songs.  His music has appeared on several radio stations and has a growing admiration and popularity in his hometown of Huddersfield.
SamH on Facebook    

Rrose Selavy - The Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye (several venues), 11th - 20th July, and Edinburgh Fringe, George Street, 23rd - 25th August
Rrose Sélavy is a BBC Introducing poetic-folk musician with debut EP 'I Am Like The Tree'. The creative culprit is primarily a poet at University of Cambridge, Jade Cuttle, with her poetry published in collaboration with BBC Proms and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Her EP ‘I Am Like The Tree’ is inspired by the humble-hearted wisdom, strength and resilience of trees, that to which humans aspire but will never achieve.

If this sounds intriguing please follow her on Twitter @JadeCuttle and on Facebook ‘Rrose Sélavy’. Do you know that if you stethoscope a tree you can hear the hum of its heartbeat? #treesruletheworld
www.rroseselavy.co.uk

Daria Kulesh - The Isle of Skye and Rum (several venues), 22nd July - 27th July, and Edinburgh Fringe, George Street, 27th - 31st August
Daria Kulesh’s “refined and cut glass crystal voice” with her strong Russian heritage conjures a beguiling romanticism. Dynamic delivery and passion come to the fore in her debut solo album Eternal Child, described as “phenomenal” by Fatea Magazine and named Album of the Month by FolkWords, among other accolades. It is expected to build on her rapid ascent as a unique and exciting singer songwriter.

From performing in a resident band at an Irish pub next to the Kremlin to singing at a charity gala at the former Moscow Governor's palace, from busking in Nova Scotia, Canada to playing at Cambridge Folk Festival and the Southbank Centre, Daria's musical and personal journey is turbulent and varied - and her songs reflect that.
www.daria-kulesh.co.uk


Ethemia - Edinburgh Fringe, George Street, 20th - 22nd August
All across the country everybody's talking about Ethemia, the ground breaking acoustic duo from Gloucestershire which is made up of Michaela Mott and Berny Poulton.Known as one of the hardest working bands on the circuit having performed over 500 gigs and appeared on over 40 radio stations including BBC Introducing and BBC Musicians€™ Masterclass, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2 & BBC London with Gaby Roslin.

Their sound brings Fleetwood Mac and The Beautiful South to mind, and recently Gaby Roslin on BBC Radio London, was moved to comment on air: "Fabulous music...that was amazing. The entire studio is lost for words, I'm completely overwhelmed. Would you please come back on my show?"
www.ethemia.com

Johnny Steinberg - Edinburgh Fringe, George Street, 26th - 28th August
Johnny Steinberg is a prolific songwriter and performer. He is an experienced song-writing tutor and has co-written with a long list of recording artists.  He has honed his craft under the tutorship and mentoring of great song-writers such as Ray Davies from the Kinks, Chris Difford from Squeeze, Boo Hewerdine from The Bible and Mercury Award runner-up Kathryn Williams.

“Johnny’s songs have tremendous heart, vulnerability and compassion. He’s made me cry on the first listen to a song and that is a rare and potent gift to possess as a story teller and song-writer” - Karine Polwart—BBC Folk Award Winner (2005 and 2007)
www.gigmit.com/johnny-Steinberg


Carrie MacDonald - Edinburgh Fringe, George Street, 29th - 31st August
Carrie Mac is a Scottish singer/songwriter who has supported the likes of Tom Jones, Adam Lambert and Nerina Pallot to name a few.  Carrie has just self released her new EP "Love Curse" on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify which includes her cover of "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac"
 
www.youtube.com/carriemaconline
 

Floating to the Fringe 2015 

My tour plans are shaping up nicely now, with most of the dates for England booked, and many Scottish dates just waiting to be confirmed. I’ve come up with the title ‘Floating to the Fringe 2015', which I think represents the tour pretty well, as not only will I be milk-floating to the Edinburgh Fringe, but to the fringes of Britain, playing in remote places such as the Outer Hebrides. 

I'm working with acoustic music champion Helen Meissner from Folkstock Arts Foundation, who will be doing some PR for the tour, and providing artists from Folkstock Records to play some of the support slots. Green energy is a big theme of the tour, travelling in a sustainable way with solar panels powering my music gear, and I wanted to find venues to perform at that would reflect the whole ethos of the tour. This led me to approach the Green Britain Centre in Swaffham, Norfolk, where my tour launch will take place on Friday 5th June 2015. It’s an incredible venue, with the world’s largest wind turbine with a viewing tower, and I was treated to a guided tour to the top. The view didn’t disappoint!


 













I’m going to be running song writing workshops at most of the venues I’m performing at, supported using public funding by Arts Council England. We'll be doing exercises using the senses to tune into the environment, and applying these skills to writing song lyrics. I’ll be making audio recordings of the journey which I’m hoping will form part of a radio documentary, and will be running a competition for the best song lyrics to win a free day’s music recording with my mobile music recording business Travelling Studio.
 
For me, one of the most exciting things about the tour is that I’ll get to spend a summer visiting some incredibly scenic and remote parts of Britain that I’ve never seen before. From the fenlands of Lincolnshire (where I’m playing at two Wildlife Trust Centres), to an off-grid performance along Hadrian’s Wall with Northumberland National Park, up to the Mull of Kintyre and remote western Scottish Isles such as Collonsay (population 130, apparently most of them will be at the village hall to watch me play that night!), to Stornoway at the top of the Outer Hebrides, and then through the grandeur of the Highlands to the Edinburgh Fringe.


 






  Colonsay

Sometimes a feeling of trepidation overcomes me when I think about doing all of this in a milk float. But then, unless we take chances in life nothing exciting would ever happen, and I feel sure that once my journey begins help will come my way if and definitely when I need it. In the mean time, can anyone recommend a good psychiatrist!...


If you are interested in getting involved in the tour, booking me to play, or would like some advertising space on the milk float then please check out my Pledges Page. Help me get on the road in 2015!