Big Ginger Tom Music presents Katie Spencer & Henry Parker

Raised in the East Yorkshire flatlands on the fringes of Hull, Katie Spencer’s landscape has always been that of open skies and widening rivers. Industry still shapes the city here. The people, as with the land, are moulded by tides and stark horizons. Stand in the same place for long enough and you can watch the sun rise over the North Sea and then sink into crop fields, glowing auburn in late-summer sun. It is this sense of space and movement that flows through Katie Spencer’s music.

The songwriting, and most notably her guitar playing stems from a time when the steel-stringed instrument was truly finding its voice. Artists like Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and perhaps most
evidently Michael Chapman, flow into her sound, carrying with them the warmth and idealism of the early 70’s folk and songwriter movements.

Henry Parker’s contemporary take on folk, which he explores via thoughtful yet deeply accomplished guitar playing, unfurls and moves much like the landscape itself – mirroring the unpredictable, yet beautifully flowing, rolling hills and valleys of his home, the Aire Valley in West Yorkshire.

Henry’s musical roots go back to a self appointed upbringing in rock and heavy metal. However, enthralled by the ethereal playing of Bert Jansch and Nick Drake, finger-picking and open tunings rapidly became the essence of his sound. The result is a strain of informed, progressive folk music found nowhere else.

Doors and bar at 7pm, music at 7:30pm.

Tickets from https://www.wegottickets.com/event/589891