The Grey Lady Music Lounge, Tuesday 20th August 2013

The Varlies are a homegrown Tunbridge Wells rock band. Formed back in the
early 90s by guitarist, Kev Amos and singer, John Whitehorn, they have
been delighting audiences and listeners alike ever since with their own
blend of music and infectious live performances. The Trinity show is set
to offer a chance to catch the full band in one of their now rare
performances together where they will be performing songs from their last
four albums. With Paul May on drums and Steve Mealing on bass completing
this fantastic line up, this really be one not to be missed. Paul Dunton
Says... "The Varlies are quite simply one of the best bands I have ever
seen live. Their sublime musicianship and infectious melodies underpin
their undoubted ability to create fantastic music. This is band that takes
you on a rollercoaster of emotions! Expect everything from high energy
foot stomping rockin' tunes, funky grooves and hire wire guitar riff's to
beautifully crafted acoustic ballads. John Whitehorne is an exceptional
vocalist, with an incredible range and tone that reminds me of Neil Finn, with shades of Bon Iver's falsetto at times. The band's
live sound is hard to pigeon hole as they have their own swagger and
style, however if you said names such as The Dave Matthew's Band or a
rockier version of Crowded House that would give you an idea!"

Show full profile »

Leeds based singer songwriter, originally cut his teeth on the Tunbridge Wells and Kent live circuit also with a string of gigs in Hong Kong on a year abroad. Josh has been writing songs influenced by songwriters such as Justin Vernon, Conor Oberst, Marcus Foster and Peter Liddle. Josh is now working on recording some good quality demos with mind to increase exposure and play more gigs. Recent live performances on LSTV and Leeds Student Radio aswell as a filmed session with Leeds Live Lounge have helped to achieve this. More recent success has come in the form of a winning performance in Talent at Uni, the prize money from which will fund Josh's first foray into the studio to put down an EP.

"The smooth husky tones in his voice and the beautiful acoustics, it’s all packaged and made his own to create simply stunning music. It’s powerful enough to melt your heart, or powerful enough to make you cry..." Beat2aChord 

"His music has a very strong yet relaxed feel and his rich, gravelly voice gives an undertone of passion to his performance" Amy Adejokun, HerCampus 

"Josh is an incredibly modest and genuine artist, with undeniable talent I believe he has the potential to become a fitting success." William Harratt, Talent At Uni

"Josh Davies has paved the way for young male musicians with his unmistakeably unique voice and soulful lyrics. His acoustic vibe is a breath of fresh air to the electronic generation." Kimberly Dickson, Support Young Talent

Show full profile »

A conveniently timed simultaneous purchase of guitars at the age of 15 by best friends Katie Perfect and Amy Squirrell could only mean one thing – overzealous music making. The Kent based acoustic duo is built around many things: a mutual love of all things eccentric; the desire to make and promote their own music; countless in-jokes, but most of all a shared compulsion to create coupled with the inability to control their own musical enthusiasm.

The wonderful world of KP and Squizz is inhabited by Squizz’s acoustic guitar, cello, keyboard, ukulele, stylophone, kazoo and shakey egg, and KP’s basses, trumpet and tambourine. This magical collection of instruments creates a sound world roughly described the band and admirers alike as alternative indie folk, “harmonious and pleasing, downright enjoyable music.” Being both classically trained from a young age the girls also like to inject their love for good old-fashioned traditional music into their songs, as well as taking influence from all areas of the musical spectrum with favourite genres being folk, blues, rock ‘n’ roll and even ska, but to name a few, all while retaining their distinct ‘home-grown’ sound. KP and Squizz are both songwriters who combine the reckless fumbling of adolescence with the more sophisticated pursuits of adulthood to create their unique sound, both in their painstakingly honest lyrics and their music, which can be both toe-tapping and heart-wrenching. Neither of the two is ashamed to declare their love for Fleetwood Mac.

The band’s humble beginnings occurred in their music practice rooms at school, where with a lot of determination and a good few Greenday covers with which to get started, KP and Squizz established their guitar skills and quickly developed a passion for writing songs of their own. In their youth, the band spent many months recording interpretations of favourite songs and of their own music in KP’s study, with nothing but a webcam microphone and free recording software, and in bedrooms of friends alike – a beautiful disarray of background noise and feedback, but nevertheless the precursor to exciting things to come. As far as performing was concerned, the Tunbridge Wells Forum provided much opportunity, and the band gained a great deal of their experience thanks to this wonderful venue. As time went on they managed to branch out across West Kent performing in bars and pubs. KP and Squizz have been known to collaborate with old friends and members of the Kent-based dance-rock alternative post-blues indie-jazz pop band ZIGO to further enhance their onstage experience to form the imaginatively named KP and Squizz and Friends. Look out for the motley collective in the Christmas, Easter and summer university breaks, when things really start to get exciting!

Nowadays KP lives and studies ancient history and archaeology in Leicester, whilst Squizz works towards her music degree in Brighton. Writing songs is a continuous pursuit for both members of the band, and they have begun to perform in both cities as regularly as they can. Now all that remains is to break London very soon!

The band happily signed with Sevenoaks-based label Blizzard Records in the spring of 2010, and is hoping to make it big within the next year and a half or so to avoid the fiscal crush of tuition fees. They released their debut EP (modestly titled, ‘KP and Squizz EP’) with Blizzard in October 2010, available for purchase at any time from the band, Blizzard Records (see link), at live shows or from Amazon, iTunes and many other good eTailers. They are currently in and out of the studio like busy bees recording their debut album, set to be released in the summer of 2011.

Show full profile »

Formerly a three piece, Rocinia is now one man performing his intense self-penned tracks with a renewed vigour and sense of purpose.

This solo format pushes the music in to a different direction, but do not be fooled, Simon brings the same fire and fury to his performances as he always has.

For news and updates on what Rocinia is doing, head to the website.

Show full profile »