singer-songwriter

Laura Marling (born 1st February 1990) is a folk singer/songwriter/guitarist from Eversley, United Kingdom. She began playing the guitar at the age of five, first being taught the blues by her father in front of the family fire, and has been enthralled by the songs and lyrics of the likes of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, James Taylor and John Mayall ever since. It’s not just the “golden-oldies” that Laura admires; she also harbours a rather deep love for alt.country’s favourite son, Ryan Adams.

Drawing on influences from old-time jazz standards, folk balladry and traditional country, Halifax Nova Scotia’s Jill Barber has become one of Canada’s most distinctive young voices. Jill is gaining acclaim and radio play for her new 2008 album " Chances" and her status as a 2008 double-Juno nominee and multiple East Coast Music Award winner for previous releases "For all Time" (2006) and "Oh Heart" (2004).

In the past year 18 year old Newcastle based singer/songwriter Beth Jeans Houghton has garnered a reputation as an antidote to the current crop of acoustic songstresses. With her alternative blend of experimental folk, Beth has been hailed by the NME as "a Joni Mitchell for the anti-folk generation". With influences ranging from Frank Zappa, Vashti Bunyan, Fourtet and Love, Beth has cultivated a sound that is truly her own.

Jesca Ada Hoop is a American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Northern California, who performs music that covers differing genres. Her musical mentor has been Tom Waits. One of five children in a fifth generation Mormon couple, Hoop was steeped in a musical environment created by her family. She began performing as a child and starred in her high school choir. Hoop broke away from the strictures of Mormonism just as her parents were separating.