NE AOTY 2022 Holly Rees

[ Holly Rees ] [ Holly Rees ]

I couldn’t even say how I came across this delightful songbird, she just appeared in my musical life about four years ago, and I’ve loved both her music, and what she represents, her demeanour, ever since; so, to have Holly Rees as the 22 NE Online Magazine Artist of the Year, is fantastic. Highly regarded among her peers, both at home and abroad, we’ll certainly be running a feature later this year about her Canadian adventures – we know she had fun, but we’ll go behind the scenes there for sure, Holly, and her music, hits, literally, every chord. Compared to the likes of Laura Marling and Courtney Barnett, and with a debut track, ‘Ilex,’ back in 2017, being backed by BBC Radio 6 Music DJ, Tom Robinson, it’s been a rollercoaster ride for this lovely musician.

“I was listening to a girl from the North East the other day, Holly Rees, and her track ‘Toast’ and it floored me. It was so brave and created by someone who was really, truly, being themselves. Don’t believe anyone who tells you there is no future in music. There is. All you have to be is good.” - Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music

Even her support gigs since she burst onto the scene have excited, not only her, but her everincreasing following, naming the like od Coco and the Butterfield, the regions own Sam Lavery (now a Capital FM DJ) and Hannah Trigwell, among them. Following the release of her sophomore EP, ‘Slow Down,’ in mid-2018, something that would peak at #6 in the iTunes chart, that stock continued to rise, and she’s since followed it up with further releases in EP format.

After touring with Matt Dunbar in late 2018, she proceeded to release ‘Stick Around,’ before jumping into full-band, indie-rock mode, bringing with it the release of ‘Text Me When You Get There,’ before storming across Canada in 2019.

“Holly Rees’ songs ache in all the right ways—she’s an unreasonably gifted singer/songwriter...” - Stereo Embers Magazine

With 2019 seeing her on the other side of the world for the most part, 2020 would see her, and others, come off-stage as the world itself was plunged into chaos, thus cutting up what was scheduled to be a full-band tour for this ubertalented musician. It was during this time that she would pour all of her effort into what is now her ‘Lost Songs’ EP, a surprise release at the end of 2021 to which she said of it: I’ve written over the past three years that have fallen down the gaps. “I never really intended these sad, soft songs to see the light of day, but, coming towards the end of another year, I thought it might be nice to share them now, as a gentle, winter gift before we draw a line under the year and start fresh in 2022. “As some of you know, I’ve had to shield for a lot of the past two years, which is where this project started, in isolation. “Every part of this project I’ve done by myself - writing, playing, recording, mixing, mastering, even the artwork - and I’m really proud of that. “I hope that, in listening, you might find some of the joy, peace, or escape that I found in making it. “We’ll be back in 2022 with our regularly scheduled noise and nonsense - full band releases, and shows that I can’t wait to share with you, but until then I hope these ‘Lost Songs’ wrap you up and keep you warm.

“Curl up with your headphones and a mug of something nice, and feel some things with me.”

It is certainly something you can do, with any of Holly Rees’ music, all the year round – curl up, and drift away. If that wasn’t enough, Holly has actually begun the New Year with yet another release – if you’ve not gathered yet, we think she’s going for it this year, putting the previous two years firmly in her rear view mirror! This month begun with Holly releasing her new single, ‘English Bay’ to the masses, maintaining the momentum, and reception, she received from her ‘Lost Songs’ release, this coming with a rocking, full-band sound and is said to be “a gritty indie-rock track that marries skilled storytelling with honest feeling. “A song written whilst Rees was on tour in Canada in 2019, ‘English Bay’ couples Rees’ brand of self-aware witty lyricism with the energy and drive of her live band shows.” Unsurprising to those who actually know here, that snippet of Holly having down her won artwork for her latest releases, is not a surprise whatsoever, she, after all, is also a dab hand in the world of art, as can be seen via her website, which takes links to both her art, and her music, and can be viewed via http://www.hollyrees.co.uk/ Keep up-to-date with all things Holly Rees via her socials on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ hollysounds and Twitter https:// twitter.com/hollysounds (Photo credit - Jon Ruben Robinson, Keavey Gamwell & Will Gorman)

ROMESH RANGANATHAN COMES TO THE CITY HALL FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2019 WITH A BRAND NEW SHOW TICKETS ON SALE 10AM FRIDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2018

Romesh Ranganathan is back with a brand-new show, The Cynic’s Mixtape, and it’s his most brutally honest show yet.

Fresh from The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan, A League Of Their Own and Judge Romesh, he’s putting showbiz aside to deliver a carefully-curated selection of all the things he has found unacceptable since his last tour, including why trying to save the environment is a scam, why none of us are truly free, and his suspicion that his wife is using gluten intolerance to avoid sleeping with him.

Romesh’s cynicism has become his trademark, but since being nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2013 Edinburgh Comedy Awards this deadpan humour has become one of Britain’s most respected and popular comics. Now, though, it’s time for the Asian Provocateur to return to his stand-up roots for a while – there’s things he needs to point out, discuss and have a good moan about. Care to join him?

Show drops 2019, don’t miss it.

Tickets for Romesh Ranganathan are on sale Fri 28 Sep from 10am and are £26.50. Tickets can be purchased online at www. theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 (Calls cost 7p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge)