CALLING ALL EMERGING FOLK ACTS! BRISTOL FOLK FESTIVAL RELAUNCHES NATIONWIDE MUSIC AWARD

~ Winner offered two festival appearances. Songs from the Shed session and a session and coverage on Folk Radio UK ~

Bristol Folk Festival has relaunched its popular Isambard nationwide music award which will give one winner a high profile platform at the event this May - and much more!

Last year, organisers staged the inaugural contest to celebrate the first Bristol Folk Festival in 32 years with Welsh band Under the Driftwood Tree emerging as winners.

Sponsored by two of Somerset’s leading music operations –the cult recording studio Songs from the Shed and Folk Radio UK - the 2012 Isambard Folk Award is a nod to Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the famous British engineer who designed the city’s Clifton Suspension Bridge and SS Great Britain. Open to UK-based performers of any age, it will give the winner a chance to appear on the same bill as acts of the calibre of Show of Hands, Cara Dillon and Afro Celt Sound System, this year’s headliners.

Says festival co-organiser Paul Preager: “Last year we had scores of diverse, high quality entries. We want to hear from both bands and solo artists – be they traditional folk, experimental or contemporary. Everyone is welcome.”

The judging panel will select four acts who will go head-to-head in a semi-final to be staged in March in Hall 2 of the Colston Hall.

Special stages: 

Colston Hall and 

Halsway Manor

The winner will get the chance to appear on the Colston Hall’s main stage during this year’s festival (May 5-7) as well as Somerfest – a one-day folk music and arts festival to be held at the stunning Halsway Manor on the edge of Somerset’s Quantock Hills (Saturday, April 7). Created by and for young people and focusing on all aspects of folk tradition, the line-up will include folk innovator Jim Moray, Dyer: Cummings, James Findlay and many more. www.halswaymanor.co.uk/

A bonus prize will give the winner the opportunity of a special Songs from the Shed session as well as a session and coverage on Folk Radio UK.

To enter, artists need to email a link to performance footage of one song/tune on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook or any other social networking site.

Entries should be emailed to isambard@bristolfolkfestival.com giving the name of the band or artist, the footage link, a contact number and email and a brief description of the act. The closing date is March 1.

Says Paul Preager of co-organisers Bristol Music Trust: “We are inviting entries from local artists as well as others from all over the country. It’s a big opportunity for emerging folk acts to play at two key festivals and significantly raise their profile.”

The contest is being backed by Songs from the Shed – the unlikely cult recording studio based in Jon Earl’s humble north Somerset garden shed.

His hugely popular acoustic sessions have attracted numerous top-notch musicians from Steve Harley to Show of Hands’ Steve Knightley and other West Country, national and international performers including Dave Rotheray of The Beautiful South and American folk rock group The Young Republic.

Earl films the sessions in the bijou studio on his no-frills digital camera and then loads them online at www.songsfromtheshed.com/

Originally it was just an idea that he thought might appeal to a few local musicians. But hundreds of sessions on, the “Shed” has attracted widespread media attention, a BBC TV documentary, thousands of online “views” and been featured on Radio 2’s Bob Harris show. As last year, Songs from the Shed will be going “on the road” to the Bristol Folk Festival in May, where it will be recreated in situ.

The second Isambard Folk Award sponsor is Alex Gallacher’s Somerset--based Folk Radio UK which has been recommended by The Guardian newspaper’s radio and TV critic, Elisabeth Mahoney. Championing folk music across the British Isles and beyond the internet radio station and online music magazine is at the forefront of the folk and acoustic scene, attracting some 350,000 monthly page views.

Folk Radio UK was established in 2004 and offers a wealth folk music news, reviews, in-depth interviews and music sessions as well as great 24 hour radio!  www.folkradio.co.uk/.

Last year’s Isambard Award winners were the Cardiff five-piece band Under the Driftwood Tree.

The band, who play a chilled eclectic blend of “surf-folk” acoustic music beat off stiff competition from four other emerging acts to scoop the award.

Cardiff’s Chris Stoodley, Tipperary’s Kathryn Shanahan, Pembroke’s Robbie Price and Alex Perry and latest addition Sam Griffiths play a mix of guitars, ukulele, bass and percussion and met through their combined interests of music and surfing. Known for their excellent vocal harmonies, they were the Welsh winners of the 2009 Surface Unsigned Festival and were invited to Radio 1 by presenter Fearne Cotton for a BBC Introducing session.

Under the Driftwood Tree released their first single If Only If in December and 2012 will see the release of their debut album accompanied by festival appearances (including a return to Bristol Folk Festival) and a UK and Ireland tour. www.myspace.com/underthedriftwoodtree

Says Chris Stoodley: “We were so pleased to win after being up against such strong competition. It was a huge compliment to be given this recognition by such a big institution on the folk scene and we’re thrilled to be returning to Bristol Folk Festival this year.”

Day tickets are now available for Bristol Folk Festival at £30 (Saturday), £35 (Sunday) and £40 (Monday) with a £2 concession for 5-15s, students, pensioners, disabled and unwaged. 3-day weekend tickets are £80 (concessions £70) whilst family tickets are £250 (2 adults and two children aged 5-15).Under 5s go free. Book via Colston Hall box office on 0117 922 3686 or online at www.colstonhall.org

www.bristolfolkfestival.com