Tag: Vivienne Bern

Time for Daisies and Moonzies!

The excitement is building for our first Letham Night since the Loveliest Night of the Year way back in June.  Saturday will kick off with the wonderful Coaltown Daisies aka Vivienne Bern and Lynzy Moutter, followed by the band who helped to launch Letham Nights way back in December 2008, The magnificent Moonzie Allstars.  What is really exciting is that both sets of artists have been rehearsing together and so I think we are in for some very special musical fireworks!

The Daisies have only been performing and recording together for a short time but there is already a delightful chemistry between them as their very individual voices and the crisp, clean acoustic guitar strokes, blend together into a powerful spine-tingling mix of melody and harmony.   Listen to this and weep!

The magnificent Moonzies performed a barnstorming set of world-folk fusion the last time they played and since then they have gone from strength to strength, playing gigs in the four corners of Scotland at venues and festivals, honing their sound and developing an even greater diversity of world influences.  Recent gigs include sessions at Eddy’s Acoustic Nights in Kirkcaldy courtesy of Acoustic Music in Fife as well as opening for a previous Letham Nights star, Chloe Hall, at the Byre Theatre in St Andrews.  They are soon to release their new album ‘Hypnagogic’.  By the end of the night they will have the joint jumping again for sure!  Listen to this:

The Hippophant [audio:http://www.moonzieallstars.com/mp3s/hippophant.mp3]

Bokespok [audio:http://www.moonzieallstars.com/mp3s/bokespok.mp3]

Revenge of The Armann [audio:http://www.moonzieallstars.com/mp3s/revenge.mp3]

La Vie Est Courte [audio:http://www.moonzieallstars.com/mp3s/lavieestcourte.mp3]

There are still a some tickets left but it is going to be a busy old night.  If you still have not reserved yours please send me a quick email to lethamnights@btinternet.com

🙂


A Night to Remember with the Chloe Hall Trio

12th September will stick in our minds and hearts for years to come after a truly magnificent Letham Night with the Chloe Hall Trio and Vivienne Bern.

It was written on the stars that Chloe Hall and Letham Nights would come together. From the moment we received Chloe’s first email from the other side of the world in Melbourne, Australia, asking to ‘take a punt’ on our venue, we knew she was a woman of great taste and discernment, not to mention talent and OH! how right we were!

Together with Chris Mildren on bass and Teal Bain-Roben on his tea-chest drum kit, the Chloe Hall Trio enthralled us from start to finish with their beautiful melodies and spine-tingling 3-part harmonies. Chloe’s lyrics tugged at our heartstrings, made us sigh wistfully, smile, sometimes laugh out loud and when combined with the stories behind each song well, – you could feel the love in the hall! For her first set, Chloe went straight into a series of songs from her new album ‘Outside’ including the title track and ‘Shipwreck’ (Are you the one I’ve been waiting for? Are you the shipwreck, or the shore?”) and ‘Walking after Midnight’.

After this first set, Vivienne Bern from Glenrothes took to the stage and sat down with her acoustic guitar. She was nervous about having to follow on from such a great performance yet as soon as she began to pick out the introduction to ‘Your Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go’ by Bob Dylan, we knew we had another great performance to look forward to. Vivienne’s voice and guitar playing were effortless and she continued with a series of covers and self-penned songs. In ‘Forgive You’ she slipped effortlessly from a fragile, cracked style to gutsy blues. A cover of the Beatles’ ‘Help’ gave a great song new life and her rendition of Nina Simone’s ‘I’m Feeling Good’ left us all breathless. What a great talent she is and we look forward to hearing more of her own songs next time she plays Letham Nights – there WILL be a next time!

Chloe and the boys then returned to the stage and we were carried off again on a journey with the songs. The highpoint was the achingly beautiful and inspiring ‘Dance With Me’, a celebration of the power of love in the face of great adversity. Hear Chloe tell the story and then sing the song.

As Chloe says – ”a rare and precious moment of real connection and love”.

Thank you to Chloe, Teal and Chris – and of course Vivienne for … well, as it says in the final encore song, sometimes you need no words….

P.S. don’t forget – this ozzie lot, while quite good, are just not quite up to the sheer class of the Chloe McHall Trio….Take a wee peek at this!

**Next gig is Sat 17 Oct 2009 Letham Nights #8 – Spanky’s Heroes & Guests**


Vivienne Bern- Live on Celtic Radio

A message from Vivienne Bern, singer songwriter, who thrilled the audience at Letham Nights on 12th Sept….

Hey Folks,

Its just to let you know (boast boast), that I am getting a wee live spot on the Mary K Burke Show on Celtic Radio Glasgow this Sunday (27th) evening between 7pm – 9pm. Reason I’m telling you is that Mary has given me an email address so that friends can email questions in during the live show (now be nice Roy and Rab)!! studio@celticmusicradio.net I think she will be asking about the ‘Acoustic Music in Fife’ website and events too.

Us Fifers will not get it through the 1530AM station, but you west coast folks should be able to tune in. Its also online.

So if you are not up to anything on Sunday and have time, maybe tune/log in and have a wee listen.

Cheers v much.

Vivienne


Chloe Hall has gone, Spanky’s Heroes are on their way…

For those of you who missed the Chloe Hall Trio on Saturday 12th September, commiserations! For those of you who came, thanks and have you still got that warm, happy glow that Chloe’s songs induce? It was an exceptional night with top quality music and a great Letham Nights atmosphere. Chloe, and the boys were delighted with Letham and Vivienne Bern excelled as support act. A full review will be posted on smartcommunityfife and letham.org.uk just as soon as we get ourselves organised but in the meantime, you can see some great clips by following these links:


So what’s up next?

On Saturday 17th October, all the way from Dundee, indie alternative rock band Spanky’s Heroes will take to the stage and get the place jumping. Driving rhythms, uplifting melodies, jangling guitars… magic!

To try before you buy go to: http://www.myspace.com/spankysheroes

Then, on 28th November, the stunning Luva Anna will play Letham Nights, bringing their unique blend of sea shanty-folk-punk to shake things up. They will be joined by the magnificent Bum-Clocks, Edinburgh-based 3-piece band whose show combines the energy of Iggy Pop with the inspiration of Rabbie Burns. You don’t believe what you are reading? Take a peek:

http://www.myspace.com/luvaanna

http://www.myspace.com/burnbrosross

Now come on, help me to stop nagging you with emails and get yer tickets in early!!

Don’t forget to join the Letham Nights facebook group:

Michael

Michael Farrell
lethamnights@btinternet.com
tel 01337 810372
mob 07918 601511


FW: Letham Nights Update part 2!

Apologies to Vivienne Bern for not mentioning that she will be playing for us at Letham Nights with the Chloe Hall Trio.  Vivienne is from Glenrothes, an accomplished singer-songwriter who is very prominent in the Fife Acoustic Music scene.  She has a beautiful voice and plays a mixture of her own songs together with a wide range of covers.  We are delighted to welcome her to Letham Nights with Chloe and the band.
To find out more about Vivienne check out http://www.myspace.com/viviennebern

Michael