Findlay Napier + special guest Rebecca Pronsky

Event information

Tickets: £8 on the door.

Findlay is leading the Scottish nu-folk revolution with anthemic tales of love, debauchery and sin. He has been emerging as a songwriter of increasingly impressive stature for some years now, in his Queen's Anne's Revenge side-project with Nick Turner (of Watercolour Music) as well as with Back of the Moon's repertoire. Right now, however, Findlay is clearly relishing the chance to put his own work centre stage, and it certainly merits such standing, especially matched with his colourfully expressive, thrillingly powerful voice.

He is a graduate of the BA Scottish Music Degree course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama where he studied Scots song and guitar. On leaving the RSAMD he went onto form multi-award winning band Back of the Moon. The band released three critically albums and toured extensively in the UK, Europe and North America.

Findlay began writing with Nick Turner in 2002 and the writing project called 'Queen Anne's Revenge' was born. The pair have released two albums under the psudeonym 'Queen Anne's Revenge' and continue to write together. He is also a member of the Northern Songs Collective led by Ronan Keating sideman Jimmy Docherty. In October 2010 The Northern Song Collective signed a publishing deal with Hornall Brothers publishing in London.

Looking for a live outlet for the songs of 'Queen Anne's Revenge' led Findlay to form his current touring band 'Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers'. The band is currently working on their second album to follow up 2008's 'Out All Night' and have released two singles 'Harry Met Charlie' and 'Raise a Glass'.

Between 2002 and 2005 Findlay's idea for a non-competitive stage for young musicians 'The Young Tradition' and 'Master and Apprentice' concert series received fantastic reviews across the board. Presented and managed by Findlay the concerts soon outgrew their small venue and moved into the Royal Concert Hall. This year Findlay renewed his relationship with Celtic Connections, compering, managing and performing at the 'Late Night Session' in the Royal Concert Hall.

As an instructor Findlay is in great demand. He has taught songwriting, guitar, group work and arranging at many Feisan, festivals and local authorities across the UK, The Scottish Music Centre, the RSAMD and Glasgow Fiddle Workshop. He has also taught at The Sunshine Coast Fiddle School in BC Canada, The School of Celtic Music on Vancouver Island and The Calgary Folk Festival Boot Camp.

Findlay has been nominated as Songwriter of the Year in the MG Alba 2011 Scot's Trad. Music Awards.

Special guest is Brooklyn's own hippie-twang songstress, Rebecca Pronsky, who is touring the UK to promote her new album "viewfinder" which is released on the day of her appearance in Farncombe.

Rebecca may be Brooklyn born, raised, and based but the twangy folk she creates on her 'viewfinder' album sounds more at home in the deep woods and green pastures of Parsonsfield, Maine where it was recorded. Rebecca spent two weeks holed up with her band at Great North Sound Society with engineer Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, John Prince, Langhorne Slim) creating the sweeping soundscapes that dominate 'viewfinder'. The songs convincingly range from broodingly ambient to upbeat twang.

Rebecca has been touring heavily for five years, playing around 75-100 shows a year in the US and Europe. With songs that straddle the line between traditional and indie, Rebecca has shared stages with a varied group of artists including Freedy Johnston, Patty Larkin, Peter Case, Josh Ritter, Erin McKeown, Loudon Wainwright III, Caroline Herring, Sarah Bettens of K's Choice, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Shawn Colvin, The Everybodyfields, Shannon McNally, Catie Curtis, The Bowerbirds, Eilen Jewell, Tracy Grammer, Carrie Rodriguez, Wayne Hancock, Steve Forbert, and many more.

Her musical life began early. She was identified as a talented singer as a child and received vocal training in New York City. But it wasn't until she was 16, after many years of singing other people's songs, that she picked up the guitar and began to write her own. At Brown University, Rebecca studied ethnomusicology and jazz singing and recorded her first demo of original music. Demo and diploma in hand, Rebecca moved back home to Brooklyn. Soon she met guitarist and composer Rich Bennett who helped her record her first EP and has been her musical partner and co-producer ever since.

Brooklyn, NY native Rebecca Pronsky continues to stake her claim as one of New York's finest singers and songwriters. Rebecca's tunes are "literate, passionate, and wry" (Time Out NY) with "brutal, cutting lyricism" (Ithaca Times), and "a little twang and a lot of empathy" (Philadelphia City Paper).