Description

Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra have been gleefully trampling over genre boundaries for over a decade now, chucking Rockabilly, Blues, Country, Swing, Soul and more into their musical gumbo, but always sounding mostly just like themselves.

Based in Newcastle but hailing from across the UK, the Tea Pad have released five albums, and toured widely across the British Isles and Europe, playing everywhere from Glastonbury and Cambridge Folk Festival to village halls and barns, and all points in between.

Well-known for their energetic live shows, and dry humour, they?ve toured with some of the big-name Americana outfits such as Pokey LaFarge, The Dead South and Sierra Ferrell. They have released music on Sleazy Records (Spain) and Migraine Records (Germany), appeared multiple times on Radio 4?s Loose Ends, and had their music played by everyone from Marc Riley to Huey Morgan.

The band have constantly added new flavours to their sound: Heron in particular is a vinyl obsessive, always fired up about some new passion ? calypso or boogaloo or whatever this week brings ? but mostly enthusing about obscure blues and country 45s, and that eclecticism and search for new sounds certainly feeds into their songs.

The upcoming album Feet First was recorded in just two days at Lightning Recorders in Berlin, Germany. The studio is well known for producing authentic analogue recordings, live in the room, and straight-to-tape. This ?capturing of a musical moment? can really be heard in the new Tea Pad Orchestra record. The addition of Ben Powling on saxophone has also elevated the band?s sound into a new and exciting era! After a decade of honing their craft, they have never sounded so good!

Joining Rob Heron (vocals/guitar) are Tom Cronin (mandolin/harmonica/guitar), Ben Powling (saxophone/clarinet), Ted Harbot (double bass/electric bass) and Paul Archibald (drums).

?Hank did it like this. So did Sinatra. So did Tom Waits. So did John Lee Hooker. Mix these influences with a healthy dose of youthful enthusiasm, a real passion and an ear for detail, sheer authenticity, and a good slug of both Scotch and Bourbon, and you might find that the results are very much to your taste. They are certainly to mine? ? Mark Whyatt, Folk Radio

?Newcastle?s finest swing-honkytonk-rockabilly band? ? fRoots

Description

Located on Oldham Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, Gullivers is an iconic, lively and bustling bar with a long history dating all the way back to 1865.
Gullivers has had many different guises over the years. It was originally a Wilson’s house called The Albert Hotel, then The Grenadier before J.W. Lees brewery bought the pub in the 1970s. They renamed it Gullivers and it has existed in its current form to this day.
But there’s much more to Gullivers than just the busy bar; it also houses two distinct yet complementary live music and performance spaces; the upstairs Ballroom – a 100 capacity gig venue with a raised stage and the downstairs Lounge – an intimate, 40 capacity space ideal for acoustic or low-key performances.
As well as working with established and longstanding promoters from Manchester and beyond, Gullivers prides itself on being a welcoming, supportive space and a creative hub for the city’s grassroots artistic communities; with many now successful bands, artists, performers and promoters cutting their teeth within its walls.
This rare combination of space, location and ethos allows Gullivers to boast a busy calendar of live music, spoken word, comedy, theatre, film screenings, exhibitions and much more on almost every night of the week.

109 Oldham Street,

Manchester,

Greater Manchester,

England,

M4 1LW.

0161 839 4064