Description

Yorkshire?s Chris Brain has carved his place firmly into the contemporary folk scene following his highly-regarded first two albums, Bound to Rise (2022) and Steady Away (2023).

Garnering acclaim from the likes of Cerys Matthews (BBC 6 Music) and Mark Radcliffe (BBC Radio 2), he has since shared the stage with iconic acts like Robert Plant, Jacqui McShee and Martin Simpson.

With the release of his third much-anticipated album, New Light, in Spring 2025, he will be embarking on a UK/Ireland solo tour. New Light brings a refreshingly contemporary sound as Chris contemplates transformation, nostalgia and tenderness in times of vulnerability ? all woven around his familiar gestures towards the natural world.

From sublimely deployed strings and dappling piano to rhythmic percussion, the album?s arrangements are perfectly wrapped around Brain?s honeyed vocals, anchoring fingerpicked guitar and persuasive melodies.

Recorded in various locations, from his allotment shed to The Nave Studios, New Light embodies the expanded parameters that his sound has reached. Both intimate and expansive, New Light expresses a surety of Chris Brain?s song-writing abilities with the album?s imagery and melodies dwelling long after the music ends.

?There are shades of the master Ralph Mctell here and I can think of no greater compliment than that. Love it!? ? Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2 Folk Show

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