The next Liverpool Acoustic Live gig is taking place on Friday 22nd January 2010 at the View Two Gallery on Mathew Street. The doors open at 8.00pm and the music starts at 8.30pm

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Entrance is £4 on the door, or £3 in advance from contact[at]liverpoolacoustic.co.uk

We've got a new line-up of Vinny T Spen, Andy Chandler, Suzanne Jones, and Sparkwood & 21.

Join the facebook event here.

Vinny T Spen myspace.com/vinnytspen

Vinny T Spen comes from the folk tradition, and is heavily involved with the Manor Folk Club in Wallasey. His songs, however, are a long way from what most people would think of as folk music, and are firmly in the singer-songwriter bracket with captivating stories of life and love, and with great lyrics and easy melodies.

Many thanks to Vinny for stepping in to fill a vacant spot in the running order. We'd always planned to have him back at Liverpool Acoustic Live - we just didn't think it would be so soon!

Andy Chandler
andychandler.com myspace.com/andychandlermusic facebook page

Andy Chandler was born in Stockport, and inspired by Manchester's flourishing indie scene. Classically trained, he began writing songs when he was just eleven years old. His childhood heroes were Ray Charles, Tom Waits and Otis Redding but by 2008 it was the guitar sounds of Radiohead, Elbow and Kings of Leon that were inspiring his writing.

With this in mind Andy started to work with guitar-playing collaborators who helped him find and develop his sound. Whilst writing his new material and playing 'bill-paying' piano bar gigs, Andy was invited to open for and accompany award-winning soul singer Nate James on his UK tour.

The tour's success lead to invites from the leading lights of London's acoustic scene with gigs at The Great Indoors, London Unplugged, Curious Generation and The Bedford.

In October 2008, Andy wrote and recorded his debut single, 'Playboy Money' and three days after putting pen to paper it was signed by ITV producer Gavin Blyth for his forth coming film. The early part of 2009 saw Andy continuing to develop his sound and collaborating with an exciting collective of musicians.

In July he went into the studio with producer Fred Ruddick (No Fakin’, 6ix Toys) to start work on his first batch of demos. With the help of fellow musicians Miss Afrika, Terry Butters, Mark Beaney, Jake Foord and Adam Beaney he has produced nine tracks that he can't wait for the world to hear! Autumn 2009 saw Andy embarking on an extensive tour of the UK allowing him to showcase his new material and continue to develop his fanbase.

Playboy Money is available from Townsend Records and iTunes.

'Andy Chandler is sensational. Truly one of the most original male vocals I have heard since the start of London Unplugged. It's a pleasure to have Andy take to the stage and capture our audience with his stunning songs and passionate stage presence. A true artist and most definitely a rising star.' London Unplugged

Suzanne Jones myspace.com/suzannejones18

Suzanne Jones was the lead singer of a Liverpool based band called The Frocks, which some of you might remember. After 8 years hiding and writing up in her attic, she's decided to go it alone, and she's currently in a highly creative phase. Suzanne has just starting to perform again and plans to record her first solo album in 2010.

Suzanne has played on the Liverpool acoustic scene over the last few months and is looking to spread her music further afield over the coming year. She's had fantastic feedback so far, such as this quote from a visitor to her MySpace profile. "You sing with such clarity and purity, and the words carry such weight. It is a beautiful combination. I love these here on your page, particularly Headstrong and Future's Lane. Headstrong has been going round my head all day."

Sparkwood & 21 myspace.com/sparkwoodand21

Sparkwood & 21 are four close friends (Dave Williams, John Daglish, Nik Kavanagh and Steven Silker) who came together one warm summer's night to keep themselves immersed in music. Fast forward to today and they've made a small, but treasured dent in the affections of a whole bunch of friends and acquaintances across the UK and beyond. With a growing reputation as one of the best live bands to have emerged from Liverpool in recent years, they begged, borrowed, scrimped and saved to record and release their debut album 'By The Water's Edge'.

The new album By The Water's Edge is available to buy from Sparkwood & 21's MySpace profile here using PayPal.

John O'Connell www.johnpig.com myspace.com/johnpig2

John O'Connell was born in 1959, and was raised in the Everton area of Liverpool. At the age of 22 he began to play music full time and was one half of the duo Groundpig. John’s musical influences are routed in acoustic, folk and classical guitar. His major influences are Stefan Grossman (ragtime guitar), Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy and anything that presents itself in acoustic fingerstyle guitar. However in order for John to continue making a living he had to stray from this path and play what would be considered a more popular style of acoustic music, i.e. Paul Simon, Lindisfarne, James Taylor, Neil Young and Bob Dylan.

John plays many styles of music and if you were to see him play live, you would be pleasantly surprised to hear music from the likes of the Poques, David Gray, Cat Stevens, U2 and Oasis. John also plays a wide range of instruments such as Nylon String Guitar, Steel String, Mandolin, Five String Banjo and Harmonica. He also mixes into his live sets, a number of his own original songs from his two latest albums which have also been featured many times on Radio.

John O'Connell's music can be bought online here.

Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight #22 - January 2010

If you get the chance, please support your local artists by emailing them, joining their mailing lists, leaving them comments, going to their gigs, and buying their music direct from them where possible.

The Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight is produced and presented by Graham Holland on behalf of the Liverpool Acoustic website. It is also available on the Internet courtesy of Art In Liverpool FM (Defnet Media), and is a proud member of the Association of Music Podcasting - supported by Libsyn

The theme music is King of the Faeries by Andrew Ellis from his CD Midnight On The Water.