Wishing you a very Happy New Year! 2017 brings a spring tour with the Coracle Band; Pete Flood (drums) Rachel Newton (harp, vocals, fiddle) Sam Sweeney (strings) (Lucy Farrell) (viola, saw & vocals) and M G Boulter (acoustic, electric & pedal steel guitars) will be joining me on the road in March, dates below.
23/03 Ropetackle Arts Centre SHOREHAM
24/03 The North Wall, OXFORD
25/03 Bridgwater Arts Centre BRIDGWATER
26/03 Blackheath Halls LONDON
27/03 Ludlow Assembly Rooms LUDLOW
It's a real privilege to tour with such a fantastic bunch of musicians. We had great run of gigs last year, being lucky enough to play at brilliant festivals like Rio Loco festival (France) Rudolstadt (Germany) and Folk by the Oak (UK) together, as well as touring in December. So a huge thank you to everyone who came to concerts, brought CDs and supported my music-making in 2016 - it's massively appreciated and you make it all worthwhile!
There are changes afoot in 2017. The Emily Portman Trio comes to an end as I bid farewell to singer and harpist, Rachel Newton, one of my longest standing collaborators. Rachel will be spending more time focusing on her own wonderful music. Rachel (who released 4 albums in 2016 alone!) is one of THE most hardworking, talented, creative and generous musicians I know and it's been a real privilege to have had her by my side for so long, adding so much magic to the songs wot I wrote. Since meeting at Newcastle University many moons ago, Rachel, Lucy and I have spread our musical wings together, so I'm delighted and proud to see them both focusing their energies on their own excellent musical endeavours. I'll treasure the music we've made together and all the adventures we've had - Thank you Rachel & Lucy!
Luckily I won't have to miss playing with Rachel and Lucy altogether as we'll be continuing, along with Ali Roberts, to play trad songs as The Furrow Collective. We have lots of touring plans this year, more info here.
So I hope you can come and catch The Coracle Band live in March, for the last chance to see Rachel playing with us! Go and check out Rachel's website and keep an eye on that brilliant Lucy Farrell who is cooking up some exciting musical plans of her own.
I'll leave you with just a few snaps from our tours over the years, starting with The Glamoury album launch (in a warehouse somewhere in London around 2010 taken by Tim Chipping) with professional photos by Elly Lucas.
And here's to celebrating musical friendships, old and new in 2017.
Emily x
