Ralph McTell – Songs from Hill of Beans and others
Thursday 23rd June 2022 at 8:00 pm

Singer songwriter Ralph McTell made his debut in 1968 with the album ‘Eight Frames a Second’. He is the composer of the Ivor Novello award winning, international hit song and buskers favourite “Streets of London”. In 2002 he was presented with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and will be performing songs from his latest album, ‘Hill of Beans’ alongside beautifully crafted material from his 50+ year career. Accompanied by his masterful fingerstyle guitar playing and stories from his life in music, Ralph’s show is a soloists masterclass.

‘Hill of Beans’ produced by the legendary Tony Visconti, is Ralph’s first album of original material for 10 years. A singer songwriter of international acclaim who has played across the world, McTell brings his exquisite songwriting to life with virtuoso guitar picking and evocative stories. His spellbinding songs and wry humourous anecdotes take the audience from his buskers days in Paris, to concert halls in Australia and America and through the Streets of London.

Why you shouldn’t miss this show:-

Lyrical Songs with intense emotional depth

Exquisite guitar playing

Brilliant raconteur

An emotionally fulfilling evening

With support Smith & Brewer

Online ticket sales for this event are closed.

Refreshments

There will be a Cash Only licensed bar or bars for this event (no spirits or shots) under the auspices of a TEN licence from Bromley Council. Refreshments may be purchased before and during the performance and during the interval. The usual alcohol licensing law applies including as to age and serving etc. We reserve the right to refuse to sell, serve or otherwise supply alcohol to any person for whatever reason and more specifically we reserve the right to request satisfactory proof of age before selling, serving or supplying alcohol to any person. Audience members are not permitted to:-

Bring alcohol into the buildings.
Consume alcohol on the premises unless it has been purchased from our bar(s).
Consume alcohol outside the buildings.
Buy alcohol from the bars for consumption off the premises or to remove it from the premises.

Artist Information

Smith & Brewer

Support

Ben Smith and Jimmy Brewer met at an event organised by Joan Armatrading for the acts she had chosen to support her on her 2015 tour. Although they originally planned to just write together, they soon realised that their playing styles and voices complemented each other and they started playing together after their inaugural gig supporting Joan Armatrading in front of a thousand-strong crowd.

Since then, they have played together all over the UK, notably as the support act to 10cc and Ralph McTell on their 2018 U.K tours, at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention 2018, the 2018 Cambridge Folk Festival and the UK Americana Music Association Showcase in 2017 and 2019, as well as at AmericanaFest in Nashville in 2017.

‘Smith and Brewer’ might conjure up thoughts of a firm of accountants or solicitors, but the musical duo of Ben Smith and Jimmy Brewer are as far removed from the stuffiness of those professions as can be. They create guitar-driven country-rock that’s dreamy and fiery, spontaneous and well-crafted. From beginning to end, Smith and Brewer exemplify originality and utilise their talents to make country music with a brain. They consistently deliver impressive performances; their harmonies, guitars, and percussion are all point perfect. This British pair is very reminiscent of the merging of two famous duos together, the Louvins and Everlys without sounding too much like either of the brother pairings. While honouring the past, this debut album sounds as bright as a new penny. That about sums up the feel of this recording: planted in yesteryear but cultivated firmly in the now. The duo shine as a beacon of warm and quirky outsiderdom in a rising tide of cookie-cutter Nashville Americana that is currently the norm for most UK ‘country’ acts.

Blended together Ben and Jimmy’s voices sound made for each other, soaring and guiding the music through all the ups and downs of these finely crafted songs. Upholding the highest standard in harmony-drenched cool-vibes country-rock, these dozen self-penned songs cover all the relationship issues from unrequited love to enduring passion and all the heartbreak in between. While this album may have more in common with songwriters from years past than it does with anything currently on country radio, this pair’s music is hardly a nostalgic throwback. It’s something new and entirely different, a unique approach that simultaneously pushes the boundaries of today’s country music and reclaims decades-old traditions for a new generation of listeners.

smithandbrewer.com