"Bringing big names to a small town"
The 2016 Festival Experience
Catrin Finch
Catrin Finch, is one of the most accomplished harpists of her generation. Since her inspiration to learn the harp at the age of five she has been delighting audiences with her performances in the UK and worldwide. She studied at The Purcell School and the Royal Academy of Music, where she studied with Skaila Kanga and received the Queens Award for the most outstanding student of her year.
In 2000-2004, she had the honour of reviving the ancient tradition of Royal Harpist to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, last held in 1873. In 2013 Catrin Finch collaborated with Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita on a record celebrating the harp traditions of Wales and West Africa and 2015 saw the release of Catrin’s new self composed album entitled “Tides”, on her new label ‘Acapela’.
Colin Blunstone (The Zombies)
Colin Blunstone: Now rightly regarded as one of the most innovative British groups of their brief but brilliant 1960s incarnation, in 2001 the Zombies name was happily reactivated by frontman Colin Bluntstone and keyboard wizard Rod Argent as they built up to the 50th anniversary of their formation. Colin’s timeless voice led on ‘She’s Not There’, ‘Tell Her No’ and ‘Times of the Season’, and on collaborations with the likes of Dave Stewart (‘What Becomes of the Brokenhearted’), and the Alan Parsons Project (‘Old and Wise’) and features in a solo catalogue containing such gems as ‘Say You Don’t Mind’ and ‘ Don’t Believe In Miracles’.
Darius Brubeck Quartet
It is true that jazz and non-jazz and fans of a certain age, will remember the legendary pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, along with his enduring popular hit ‘Take Five‘, so we were delighted to welcome Dave’s son Darius, to Stow-on-the-Wold. Yes he did play that number! The quartet, which has been together in this line-up for more than ten years, has been playing to sold out houses in the UK, including London’s Ronnie Scott’s, as well as performing in Germany, Ireland, at the Edinburgh International Festival, and the nearby Cheltenham Jazz Festival.