CHRIS WOOD

Music |
22nd November 2017

Wed 22 Nov | Doors 7.30pm | £14.50 | On the door £16.50

Chris Wood is an uncompromising writer whose music reveals his love for the un-official history of the English speaking people. With gentle intelligence he weaves the tradition with his own contemporary parables.

A self-taught musician, composer and song writer, Chris is a lifelong autodidact whose independent streak shines through everything he does. Always direct and unafraid to speak his mind, his song writing has been praised for its surgical clarity. He cites his major influence as “Anon”.

His eagerly awaited new album ‘So Much to Defend’ (officially released 27th Jan 2017) was previewed at Cambridge Folk Festival last summer and includes reflections on minor league football, empty nest syndrome, learning to swim, Cook-in Sauce and, not least, the Gecko as a metaphor for contemporary society. 

Hollow Point; his chilling ballad of the shooting of Jean Charles Menezez, won a BBC Folk Award (he's won six.) and emphatically secured Wood’s place as a serious speech-master for the unofficial history of England. 

Collaborators include Martin Carthy, Dizraeli, Billy Bragg, Andy Cutting, Andy Irvine, Karine Polwart, Jean Francois Vrod, The Imagined Village, Hugh Lupton, Martin Butler and many others.  

On stage Chris has the air of a craftsman who no longer needs to be precious about his art. Without any apparent effort he reaches deep into an enviable repertoire of songs before revealing another gem. 

“… at art school they said I had a remarkable eye for trivia, like it was a bad thing.”
 

“Chris Wood might be the Ken Loach of songwriting. Very political, but at the same time full of compassion, and he grows sharper and more acute with each passing album. He’s good, quite probably the very best we have today, and we need him more than ever.”   fROOTS MAGAZINE

“Steeped in tradition, yet always striving for a new day, this is a glorious album proving that Chris Wood is a bit of a national treasure.” ACOUSTIC MAGAZINE

“As close as it gets to a perfect union of voice and guitar, lyrics and melody, compassion, irony, realism, wit, and humanity.”  The Herald *****

“Nobody comes even close to equaling his bird’s-eye-view.”  THE IRISH TIMES ***** 5 Stars

“A rarefied talent, both as writer and interpreter.”  MOJO **** 4 Stars

 

Nominated Best Original Song ‘None the Wiser’ BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2014

Songwriter of the Year – Spiral Earth Awards 2014

Folk Singer of the Year & Best Original Song ‘Hollow Point’

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2011

Image Credit: Douglas Robertson
 

Venue: Malt Room (standing)
Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult
Wheelchair users, please click here to refer to our accessibility information page.

DATES & TIMES

22nd November 2017

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