Emerging and very local artist, Amy Rayner, will support The Banana Sessions at Letham Nights #22 with songs from her new eponymous EP.  Rising star Amy from North East Fife, is a young singer-songwriter with a prodigious talent who cites as amongst her influences Sheryl Crow, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, The Pretty Reckless, Bright Eyes, Belle & Sebastian and the Eels.   For more info… http://www.amyrayner.co.uk/

Hello to one and all!

Some of you I have already met and some others may recognise me from wee gigs I’ve done at Letham Nights already. I also featured with Herbert The Tortoise in the recent Prezi for The Observer 50 Radicals. I have since been invited to join the LN committee.

Following our first committee meeting proper last Saturday it has been decided that amongst my duties will be the spreading of the word south of the Forth. With this in mind I set out this afternoon with my stash of posters and a good swedge of blu-tac (other brands of sticky wad are available of course).

I’m really looking forward to seeing The Banana Sessions and Amy Raynor in a couple of weeks. I’ll also be on the lookout for fresh talent in Edinburgh with future LN bookings in mind so please get in touch if you’ve got the  licks, riffs and/or chops.

Make sure you check these guys out on 3rd March. It’s gonna be mega!

Mick

Dear Letham Nights lovers,

Who knew?!  When we started up Letham Nights our aim was to provide a stage for local talent, but who knew this would happen….

Local residents of Letham and Monimail Parish, Lynne Harvie and Donald Dallas have been so inspired by Letham Nights that they have put together their own band along with friends Martin Kotlewski and John Arthur and will play their first gig as support to The Banana Sessions and Amy Rayner at Letham Nights #23 on Saturday 3rd March at Letham Village Hall.  Lynne has been a regular devotee of Letham Nights since its inception in 2008 missing only 2 of the previous 22 gigs.  But this time she decided to take things several steps further. Firstly, she wrote a song about Letham Nights – Letham Blues.  And as if that wasn’t enough, she began practising it secretly with local historian, teacher and guitarist, Donald Dallas.  Before they knew it, two other musician friends, Martin and John, came on board to form a 4-piece band – the Letham Lullaboys – and they approached the Letham Nights team about making their debut.

This was too good an opportunity to turn down! We set up Letham Nights to provide a stage for local talent and you can’t get much more local than Lynne and Donald!  We are delighted that Letham Nights has inspired them to make music.  We have had a sneak preview and people will not be disappointed!”

Lynne and the Letham Lullaboys will take to the Letham stage for their first live performance at Letham Nights #23 on 3rd March 2012 at 8pm. They will be followed by NE Fife singer songwriter Amy Rayner and then the magnificent The Banana Sessions.

Surely you are not going to miss this….?!!!

Use the details oppposite to book your ticket.

Michael

The Banana Sessions Mixtape Album Tour is coming to Letham Nights

Saturday 3rd March 8pm – midnight

Tickets £8.50/£7

from lethamnights@btinternet.com

Prepare yourself for an explosive live performance!

www.thebananasessions.co.uk

The Banana Sessions are a Scottish five-piece, each with their own musical style and wild imagination. The band formed in 2007 and soon became known for their unique style of pop music with heavy folk and jazz influences. And in the four years that they’ve been together, they’ve played blazing live shows across the UK; recorded two EPs – the Yellow EP and the Green EP; and most recently, released their debut album, Mixtape.

The Yellow and Green EPs were both recorded live over a few days, in an attempt to catch the band’s energy at its best, but Mixtape sees The Banana Sessions explore a much more intricate and mature sound. The album features a selection of Scotland’s musical finest, including Martin Green & Aidan O’Rourke (Lau); Lindsey Black & Heather McLeod (The Bevvy Sisters) and Ross Ainslie (Treacherous Orchestra/Salsa Celtica); and was produced and engineered by Garry Boyle (The Depot), mastered by Stuart Hamilton (Castlesound Studios) and with concept production by Dave Hook (Stanley Odd).

The Banana Sessions are a live force to be reckoned with, and are now renowned for their explosive live performances both on stages and off. Their much talked about bout of guerilla gigs included appearances on various forms of public transport (buses, trains, subways, etc.) across the UK. And on a train from Glasgow to Edinburgh one night, their impromptu performance impressed a writer from The Skinny so much he gave them a four star review. After this, they were asked to perform at Glasgow’s Subway Festival, ventured further afield to Ireland and London, where they played an impromptu gig at Fruit Towers – home of Innocent Smoothies – and entertained the crowd every night at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival aboard a most unusual venue, The Pink Bus.

The band are now UK festival favourites; and have had their Wellington boots firmly wedged into the muddy fields of such staples as Wickerman, Insider, Knockengorroch and Kelburn Garden Party. More recently, they were delighted to be named one of the highlights of Beatherder 2009/10 and in 2011, rocked the socks off Glastonbury.

The Banana Sessions’ reputable shows have gained them recognition across the UK but they’ve also managed to make an impression worldwide with their famous ‘Prodigy Medley’ (view below), which has reached over 200,000 hits (and counting) on YouTube and was posted by The Prodigy themselves on their own website. February 2012 sees the band embark upon The Banana Sessions Mixtape Album Tour… so keep your eyes peeled for them at venue near you.

The Banana Sessions are:

Roberta Pia – Lead vocals, Calum Wood – Guitar/Backing Vocals, Tom Pickles (Flute, melodica & whistles), Calum McIntyre (Drums, percussion & backing vocals), Tom Donaldson (Tuba or Sousaphone)

And now here is that famous ‘Prodigy Medley’,