There is a strange kind of faith involved in continuing to make music when very little evidence suggests that you should. Not religious faith, necessarily. Not even confidence. Confidence would suggest that you know where it is all going, that... Read more

Last Saturday night I had the immense pleasure of hosting the 5th Songwriter Evening in my local village hall. Songwriter Evening was set up to be a place devoted to listening to songwriters in a lovely building in front of... Read more

There was a time when the phrase “home studio” sounded far grander than the reality. In my case, it meant a room in the house, a computer, Cubase, a microphone, a keyboard, a pair of headphones, some speakers and enough... Read more

No, I'm not leaving home, this is all the equipment I take to run a Songwriter Evening at the village hall 400 yards from where I live. I never realised when I decided to start Songwriter Evening that I would... Read more

Paul McCartney hardly needs any promotion from me, but that hasn't stopped this album being promoted literally everywhere. There's been wall to wall coverage of it, McCartney has popped up on podcasts, YouTube and TV shows around the world so... Read more

Great songs deserve great sound — and at Songwriter Evening, sound is a vital part of the experience. The live sound is controlled by Jermaine Nelson-Williams, a graduate-trained sound engineer with more than 20 years’ experience. Jermaine brings technical skill,... Read more

Kiss Me Goodnight is one of the songs from my second album Collateral. It is also one of the songs that caused me the most grief while I was writing it. The song was originally written for my niece’s wedding.... Read more

Songwriter Evening is just over a week away, returning on Saturday 6th June for another night of live original music at Ysceifiog Village Hall. If you enjoy discovering new songs, supporting independent musicians, and hearing music performed in a proper... Read more

Some songs come from joy. Some come from memory. Some come from the places we would rather not go back to, but somehow still need to understand. The Ties That Bound Us Close is one of those songs. It tells... Read more

At the last Songwriter Evening, the audience was treated to the thoughtful, atmospheric sound of Violet Cry, a Cheshire-based duo bringing original, soulful and melodic music to the stage. Violet Cry are Diane Wye and Ian Wilson. Diane’s background in... Read more