October 24
Hello again. We've just finished recording our new album at Beck View Studios in Scarborough. Phew! Two days of hard slog, enabled by Chris Jones' patience and wisdom. We recorded live to tape which we think delivers a very authentic and warm taste of what we do. What you hear is what you get- albeit without Blow-ins banter and blather - you have to come and see us to get that. There is something about a real live gig that is so different from a recording.....
This week also saw us performing on an International platform, the audacious and amazing Daily Antidote of Song . This project was started by Jo Rasi of Carpe Diem Arts in the USA during Covid with the bold intention of getting people to sing songs of peace and healing online every day and so far they have clocked up over 2350 days of song. Sound quality varies as it is delivered via Zoom - but it is well worth joining just to get the buzz of knowing that you're not alone in desiring peace and justice in the world. The sense of warmth and community offered by the different facilitators who include such prestigious music leaders as Dr Kathy Bullock and award-winning performers such as Namvula is palpable and it's a lovely way to connect with people across the world with participants from the USA, India, Australia, the UK and beyond.
You can watch the broadcast here
On October 26 our YouTube channel goes live. We've got lots of video material on there to give you a taste of what we are like live. You can find it here . If you see us performing live and take a video do please send it to us so we can use it -thanks. Also we love reviews on our Facebook page so if you've seen us and would like to comment, please use the 'Review' tab. Thanks!
October 8
What a year it's been so far! We never imagined when we first began performing together in 2018 that we would be spending our retirement as very active touring musicians... this year has seen us playing more than ever. We began the year with visiting some folk clubs in Cornwall in January as floor singers - this has resulted in us planning a Cornish tour with gigs in Bodmin and Redruth in November. We played at the most Northerly folk club in England - Horncliffe in Northumberland - in June, following a packed out concert at the Alnwick Playhouse, and we've already played the Waveney Folk club in Lowestoft (the most easterly) twice, with a return visit on October 9th. So we can't resist extending our Cornish trip to do a floor spot in Penzance, which at a pinch could double as both the most Westerly and the furthest South.....
Meanwhile April saw our Scottish debut (if you don't count the fact that we met on Iona and played informally as Abbey musicians there in 2012) at St John's Cathedral, Oban. We're now planning a concert even further north and west on Ardnamurchan to help raise funds for a Community Shop project there next year - watch this space. Back in Scarborough we have become a fixture in the Scarborough Fair and Big Ideas by the Sea calendars, making May a very busy month as that also included two appearances at Filey Folk Festival. We collaborated with our friend Tim Tubbs to devise a script-in-hand musical show 'Mr Walter's Excursion' bringing to life the last great Bass Brewery outing to Scarborough in 1914 - a merry and deeply poignant production played to a packed St Mary's church.
In August we had our first-ever appearance at Whitby Folk Festival - we were honoured to be invited to be part of the Welcome concert alongside luminaries Alistair Russell, Jill Pidd, Eddie Murphy and Lynda Hardcastle and Alan Rose.
September saw a welcome return to Bungay folk Festival where we did two very different sets; a comparatively sedate showcase concert in St Mary's church and a bonkers chorus-fuelled packed house in the characterful surroundings of the medieval Three Tuns pub. The latter was enjoyed by Richard of Fatea Magazine who writes ''The Blow Ins delighted a sizeable crowd .. with a mix of gentle harmonious instrumentals on harp and guitar (notably 'Fawn in the Field' ) and some delightfully daft songs '
And suddenly, it's October... at the last minute we applied to be part of the 'Hiring Fair' event at the new Headland Festival in Hartlepool. We had fifteen minutes to convince the judges of our worthiness to be the Festival's Rising Stars with a stage spot that very afternoon and a main stage spot for 2027. To our delight we won the competition and are looking forward to a year of partnership with the Festival.
So what with Cornwall in November, another Lowestoft appearance at the East Coast Pavilion in December, a gig at our favourite local cafe - Mojo's Music Cafe in Scarborough, we are pretty busy. And that's before we've factored in our monthly Time for Peace at St Martin's church and our own little folk club Folk Around the Room, also once a month. Phew...