The Grey Lady Music Lounge, Wednesday 4th May 2011

Sidestepping the customary blues-clichés, David Migden & The Twisted Roots – their name accurately reflecting the melting pot genre – perform unique material in a genre-busting crossover of blues, rock and American roots music. His range and tone astonishing; David Migden is regarded as one of the best male vocalists of contemporary Blues music!

David Migden was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, moving to the UK as a teenager. After playing and touring around Europe, initially in the Lee Sankey Group with Matt Schofield and Ian Siegal, he then teamed up with (the then) Dirty Words, releasing “Second Hand Tattoo,” their debut album, to an excellent response from critics and fans alike. David Migden and his band, by now renamed Twisted Roots  released their follow-up album “Killing It” in 2012, once again receiving lustrous reviews in the relevant media and radio play across the globe.

David Migden & The Twisted Roots won the prestigious New Brunswick “Battle of the Blues” competition and appeared at the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival in Canada in Sept 2013,. They were nominated in the British Blues Awards for best original song (“Shel”), and twice in a row, 2013 and 2014, in the category best singer. The band also won both Best Band and Best Newcomer in the “Blues Matters“ writers’ poll of 2013. As a result they were chosen to represent the UK at European Blues Challenge 2104 in Riga, Latvia in April 2014, where they won third place. In Riga they were noticed by Alfie Falckenbach of Blues Boulevard Records, and in the following months an agreement was reached for worldwide release of their third album of self-penned songs: “Animal And Man.”

The band’s reputation has been growing with radio play across the UK, Europe and the US.‘Animal & Man’, recorded at Rimshot studios in Kent, has the sound and songs the band have always wanted. 

The members of The Twisted Roots have each individually played with a host of internationally renowned artists including Robert Plant, James Brown, Matt Berry and Corinne Bailey Rae, and have gained a reputation for playing exhilarating shows.

David Migden – Vocals/Trumpet/Piano

Phil Scragg – Bass

James Sedge  – Drums/Percussion

Joe Gibson  – Guitar/Backing Vocals

Graham Mann – Keyboard/Trombone/Backing Vocals/ Percussion

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David began songwriting in 2001 on a trip around the world, with a 6-chord songbook and cheap guitar as his tools and only companions. Alas, the boybands were dead and gone, so he turned instead to the likes of Paul Simon, Bob Dylan and The Beatles to show him the way. In the years since, David has played gigs all over the South-East, establishing himself as a regular at the Grey Lady with his unique blend of acoustic roots, blues and folk music. He released his debut album ‘Bonfire Music’ in 2013, his EP ‘Be Back Soon’ in 2014, and his homemade album ‘Night Moves’ in 2015. You can download all his music online for free!

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The Soundcasters were formed in early 2008, when Tom James, 19 (Lead Vocalist/Guitarist) and his long-term friend Scott Russell, 18 (Bass/ and Vocalist), with school friend Simon Watson, 19 (Lead Guitarist and Vocalist) decided to form a band and advertised for a drummer. Matt Gibson, 20 (Drummer and Percussionist) auditioned and joined the band. From the first rehearsal, the boys formed a strong friendship and firm desire to be successful as a band.

Their individual tastes in music range from Punk to Jazz and this is reflected in the diversity of their songs. As young lads, this gave them an edge in today’s music scene and helped them to develop their unique sound. The Soundcasters are influenced by bands such as The Beatles, The Band, The Animals and The Arctic Monkeys. Not only have they been compared to The Arctic Monkeys but also The Kinks and The Libertines.

The Soundcasters began to seriously promote themselves in January 2009. They had a hectic summer, and quickly built up a strong fan base; playing private functions, many local and London venues such as The Fly, Bull and Gate, Hope and Anchor and the Dublin Castle, also performing at festivals such as The Lounge on the Farm, Infest and Togfest, as well as filming for a Documentary for Channel 4.

In March 2009, they produced their first EP which had a 60’s pop feel to it that had a huge response from a mixed audience with such songs as ‘Pauline’ in a blues/shuffle style and ‘French Habit’ with its Russian feel that audiences cannot fail to join in singing and dancing along to. The Soundcasters began the year 2010 with a more mature image, feel and sound and a busy and exciting schedule in place for the forthcoming year with plans to play private functions, charity gigs, festivals and further London venues such as The Half Moon, Putney. In March they successfully launched their second EP ‘Ban the Mind Reader’. The music has evolved into a slightly fuller, darker sound with grit, yet lightened with a little country rock. In May they wowed audiences at the infamous Cavern Club in Liverpool as part of the International Pop Overthrow.

The Soundcasters made their TV debut in August when the Channel 4 documentary ‘Amish: World’s Squarest Teenagers’ was shown. This prompted radio interviews and airplay along with many articles in local and national newspapers and TV magazines including the Daily Mirror and Radio Times.

The Soundcasters episode focused on the experience of a group of Amish youngsters spending a week with an artistic and musical family. During the week of filming, the band took their Amish guests to places of interest in Kent and shared with them their love of music, ending the week at ‘Togfest’, the music festival in Milton Keynes, where The Soundcasters played on the main courtyard stage. Clips of their music featured in the programme, causing a great deal of interest in the band, with much activity on their Facebook and MySpace sites helping to increase their fan base.

Following on from this experience, The Soundcasters look forward to writing and recording more of their songs and to continue performing and wowing audiences in and around the UK.

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Tunbridge Wells based singer/songwriter Tom Hunt's alternative acoustic rock delivers an edgy and melodic style, which coupled with his versatile tones marks him out as one of the up and coming local soloists. He says:

"I like nothing more than playing guitar and singing for all you lovely people! My influences come from a wide range of musical styles and genres including rock, alternative, grunge, metal, new wave, punk and dance. I'm currently working on some new material and will hopefully have recorded a few tracks and have them on cd for everyone as soon as possible. As well as performing as a solo artist i currently play in local bands "Super Duper and the Ya Yas", "The Dirty Pillows" and "Avarice Rising". I'm aiming to continue writing songs and eventually record an album of my own material with various friends of mine as guest musicians. Mainly i just want to keep playing and enjoying music".

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