[E]gremont’s Florence Arts Centre, is kicking off another year of live music with their first ever “songwriters’ circle” on Saturday 13 January. The idea behind the monthly night comes from local singer-songwriter Dave Camlin who will be hosting the night alongside fellow musician and writer Paul O’Halloran.
The evening is a chance for songwriters to come down and try their own original material or hear how others work through their own songs, sharing tips and ideas along the way. But you don’t have to be a songwriter to attend – the evening is open for anyone to come and watch and hear some superb homegrown and local singer-songwriters in action. So whether you want to just enjoy the music gig-style, or meet other tunesmiths or try out your own come along.
Florence manager Craig Carruthers says, “When Dave and Paul came to me with this idea I was more than happy to include it in the centre’s schedule. We’ve been running free Open Mic Nights for a few years now and have seen some really great singer-songwriters coming down and trying out their material. It seemed like a logical next step to bring a songwriters’ circle to Florence, where we are forever encouraging new talent and giving the community an opportunity to learn – whether that’s in music, arts or crafts. If it’s a success we hope to run the night on a monthly basis and I’m sure we’ll discover some great new songwriting talent.”
For anyone whose New Year’s resolution is to be more creative, and wants somewhere to showcase their original creations and ‘beginnings’, you can interpret ‘songwriters’ circle’ as broadly as you please – it could include poetry, dance, spoken word… anything goes – as long as it can be performed and is your original work.
Camlin, when not performing solo and in groups such and Tryckster, Mouthful and leading local choirs, is also a teacher and researcher (Head of Higher Education and Research at the Sage, Gateshead). He is joined by popular lead singer and songwriter O’Halloran, who is best-known as frontman for the popular Irish rock-folk band The Black Guards.
Tickets cost £7 and can be booked via the website or by phone on 01946 824946
