Folk in the Chapel presents The Greatest Endangered Thing with Neil McSweeney and Bellza

Name: Folk in the Chapel presents The Greatest Endangered Thing with Neil McSweeney and Bellza
Start: 2024-11-28T19:30:00+00:00
Location: Samuel Worth Chapel

Schedule

Thu Nov 28 2024 at 07:30 pm

UTC+00:00

Location

Samuel Worth Chapel | Sheffield, EN

The Greatest Endangered Thing
Formed by Samuel James Taylor and Rebecca Van Cleave, the duo released their debut EP “And You, And Me” in 2021. Their latest record, Phosphenes, is an album in two parts. Working with highly celebrated musicians including Bellowhead frontman Jon Boden and Michael Rinne (Sarah Jorosz, Miranda Lambert, Mary Gautier) the band recorded Phosphenes: Volume 1 live over five days in the summer of 2023 in Sheffield’s Tesla Studios with long time collaborator David Glover.
The second half of Phosphenes is due to be released in 2025.
“…they alternate the spare with the richer sound. Radiating warmth and compassion we must hope for a lot more from this enigmatic folk duo.” - Americana UK
"... a stirring spark of greatness that leaves you longing to relive it again." - Belwood Music

Neil McSweeney
Folk singer-songwriter Neil McSweeney emerged from the flowering of Sheffield music that gave the world the likes of Slow Club and Richard Hawley and has since established himself as ‘a songwriter of rare ability’ (R2). Setting lyrics that deal with the contrasts and contradictions of life to romantic melodies as hopeful as they are melancholy, McSweeney’s finely crafted songs have been championed by his peers as well as across national radio and mainstream and specialist press. Since the release of his debut album, Cargo, McSweeney has made increasingly big waves on the English folk scene picking up main stage festival appearances. Folk audiences may recognise Neil from his time touring alongside BellowheadIn 2016 Neil became co-founder of Hudson Records and alongside his ‘day job’ running a masters course for the music department at the University of Sheffield, Neil still finds the time to collaborate and create with the likes of Jon Boden, Fay Hield, Vera Van Heeringen, Lucy Farrell, M G Boulter and many more great songwriters and musicians.

Bellza
Bellza is a singer-songwriter who writes, records and produces alternative folk from the isolation of their home in Hastings. The resultant fragmented yet confessional work was released on August 23rd, the day of their 18th birthday, as Goldfish which has been praised as ‘a tender, intimate, lullaby that affects from the first spin’ (TUTV). The full-length debut album explores alienation at a fundamental and philosophical level, as well as the emotional turmoil of gender identity and social alienation. Such lyrical focuses are reflected in the production of the album which was done largely independently. Having performed with indie greats such as Weyes Blood and The Big Moon earlier this year, Bellza’s live performance remains confidently quiet, whilst introspecting upon worlds of overwhelming angst and existentialism.