Fri 3rd March, 2023
8:00 pm - 10:30 pm (Doors: 7:30pm)
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Larkham and Hall are a Singer/Songwriter duo hailing from the marina in Bristol harbour. Displaying a flair for lyrics, story-songs and vocal harmonies, the husband and wife team often garner comparisons with songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell and Tom Waits, and draw influences from the same.
Sarah and Elliot blend her country-edged, soulful vocal and his smoky room, rare-steak, bourbon-laced tones to create a sound that is both romantic and passionate, often packing a real punch when combined with Elliot’s heavyweight, poetic vocals about the darker sides of life. They marry Americana and folk narratives with cut-throat honesty to deliver a collection of songs that have a strong emotional pull, often with an audible nod to their early interest in rock music, sixties troubadours, and latterly an affinity with Spanish flamenco.
Growing up in Blagdon village, Elliot Hall was diagnosed with schizophrenia aged seventeen, and spent the next seven years in psychiatric hospital battling the illness. When his father bought him his first green Stratocaster guitar (which he still plays on stage today) he says he knew he could finally find a way out, through music. Using his beloved Bob Dylan as a benchmark for lyrics, he has now written over 2,000 songs and worked his way up, out of hospital to win the title Bristol Songwriter of the Year. Today, he uses music to help other people suffering severe mental illness, through his charity Mind Your Music. Both Sarah and Elliot teach and mentor vocalists, songwriters and guitar players on their Dutch barge in Bristol, and have brought music into drug and alcohol addiction centres, psychiatric care homes and prisons as part of their work.
The duo – who regularly perform sell out shows – are joined by creative and expressive musician Charlie Rose on keyboard and violin, who matches their passion and flair for romance and emotion in music and on the stage.
‘A rough, gruff and tumble voice that pulls away at lyrics this good is the kind of daydream we need in England to reignite a spark for credible new songwriters. Fans of folk, poetry and rock ‘n’ roll should pay attention to this wholly earnest and breathtakingly awe inspiring rogue’ Alex Lee Thompson – NME (Elliot Hall review)
‘The music is replete with Elliot’s songwriting skills and the hypnotic musicality of Sarah’s vocals. The duo are singers of songs, troubadours of melodies; they bring the traditions of English folk with a tale to tell, often shining a light into the darker corners of life’s experiences. Sarah Larkham is a vocal dynamo. A true songbird of Americana.’ Liz Aiken – Bluesdoodles.com
‘A lot of guff is spoken about ‘authentic voices’. Elliot Hall IS one of those. All is shot through with rare honesty, as heartbreaking in its simplicity as it is in its romance. Heroic and compelling.’ Anna Britten – Venue Magazine
‘They concoct a powerful brew – one you’ll want to taste again and again. In fact, when you listen to this music, be ready for its essence to linger in your head for days.’ Tim Carroll – Folkwords Magazine
‘A world class act. I watch their career with interest.’ Steve Lee, Glastonbury FM.