Soundhouse Whitstable 30.01.26

Sam Brothers is a young Margate, UK based Folksinger and Songwriter whose performances

bring to mind the Soho and Greenwich Village Folk Scenes of the 1960’s. His bluesy guitar, stompbox and harmonica filled performances are deeply
rooted in the music of greats such as Pete Seeger, Sonny Terry & Brownie
Mcghee, Bert Jansch, Bob Dylan and Fairport Convention.

A genuine travelling troubadour from a very young age, Sam was busking in
Brighton when he was discovered by producer Mark st. John (Bob Marley,
Flora Purim, Eddy Grant) in 2017. This led to the production and release
Sam’s Debut album “Farewell To My Old Days”, (Recorded the old fashioned
way – live onto tape), which received significant attention from National and
local radio, as well as the Music press. Distributed by Proper Records and
appearing in Record stores across the UK, the first pressing sold out within a
year.

Following the success of the album, Sam went on to perform all across
Europe and the UK proving support for acts as diverse as Nick Lowe, Rab
Noakes, Chris Difford, Sarah Jarosz, Spiers and Boden, Hank Wangford, and
The Christians, sweating his craft at funky, authentic venues such as like the
Eel Pie Club, The Gulbenkian Theatre and London’s Iconic Troubadour, as
well as playing festival stages at The Isle of Wight Festival, Lunar, Sandwich
Folk & Ale, Blissfields and Smallworld.

Sam went on to take up the unmissable opportunity in 2019 to be part of
creating a stripped back acoustic album “Bare as Bone. Bright As Blood” with
cult rock group ‘The Pretty Things’ , alongside founding members Dick Taylor
and Phil May. Plans were underway for a world tour of the album, until they
were stopped in their tracks by the double bombshell of the Covid Pandemic
and the sad passing of Phil May in May, 2020.

After getting back out on the road with an arsenal of new material, Sam has recorded a new EP entitled “The Folksinger” due to be released on April 5th 2024. Sam will be promoting the EP with a tour of the UK and Germany in the months following the release.

https://www.sambrothers.co.uk/

The Ashen Keys

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One night in March 2023, three musicians took a break from playing an array of instruments (accordion, violin, guitar, clarinet, French horn, oboe and ukulele) and passed scraps of paper around the audience of an intimate gig in Rochester.

On their return, most of these scraps bore the same three words: ‘The Ashen Keys’. The public had spoken. After four months as a band, Hannah Ellerby, Rachel Lowrie and Vicky Price now had their name.

In the time since that defining moment in The Man of Kent, The Ashen Keys have performed their unique blend of vocal harmonies and instrumentation at a series of prestigious festivals. They have played Black Deer, Rochester Sweeps Festival and Broadstairs Folk Week. They also won appearances at the Purbeck Valley Folk Festival and Shrewsbury Folk Festival.

The Ashen Keys combine their love of folk, pop, blues, classical and early music to explore themes ranging from the ancient and mythic through to the complexities of modern relationships – all the while rooting themselves in a love of nature and humanity. When they are not writing, playing and performing, you might very well see them wandering around the Kentish woodlands, seeking out orchids and mother trees.

The band’s debut album, The Name on Your Compass was released in September 2024.

https://www.theashenkeys.com/

We welcome you back to Soundhouse Whitstable, 2026.

Happy new year everybody!