singer-songwriter

It was the cat-poles around the lake at his grandfather’s farm that inspired Ben Sollee’s debut album Learning To Bend. The frailty of those awkward looking plants standing stoutly against winds that challenged even the strongest of nearby trees is an affecting metaphor for human struggle and perseverance. This idea is central to Learning To Bend.
Key tracks on Learning To Bend include two reactions to the current political landscape, “A Few Honest Words,” and an adaptation of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” in which Ben has written updated, politically relevant verses.

Frank Yamma is one of Australia's most talented contemporary performers. He also happens to be a traditional Pitjantjatjara man from Australia's central desert and speaks five languages. An extraordinary songwriter and an exceptional guitarist, Frank Yamma also has an incredible voice, rich, deep and resonant. When Frank sings about standing on a sand dune watching over the landscape, it is if you are standing with him. When he sings about the plight of Aboriginal children born into a world of chaos and alcohol, Frank wrenches the heart.

Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American country singer, songwriter, composer, producer, entrepreneur, author and actress. Parton began performing as a child, singing on local radio and television in East Tennessee. At age 12 she was appearing on Knoxville TV, and at 13, she was recording on a small label and appearing at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. When she graduated from high school in 1964 she moved to Nashville, taking many traditional elements of folklore and popular music from East Tennessee with her.

The Boy Who Trapped The Sun, funnily enough, is not his real name. Colin MacLeod - for it is he- was discovered swinging round the rafters of an Aberdeen bar, dishing out Deep Purple covers and, he says, “generally acting like an arse.” Having smashed his guitar and knocked himself unconscious on stage, he set to cleaning up both the broken instrument and his act. Thus The Boy moved to London; to become a solo artist and an adult. And so emerged a record - due out this summer - full of strange, sometimes sinister stories: equally inspired by home, Hemingway, ghosts and ex-girlfriends.