“The Austin to Boston Tour” will kick off March 15 across twelve dates in North America. Beginning at South by Southwest in Austin, the four emerging talents from the U.K. and U.S. will pile into a convoy of vintage VW Camper Vans and embark on a journey concluding in Boston at Berklee College of Music on March 31. The tour will be documented by one of Los Angeles’ most praised young filmmakers Marcus Haney, who will capture the essence of the artists involved with daily interview footage, live footage, and beautiful travel footage.

Ben Howard is a highly praised British singer-songwriter poised for breakthrough in the United States. His impressive live shows have lead to sellout tours across the U.K. and throughout Europe. Howard and his band, through relentless touring, have created a huge word of mouth buzz. He has recently received plenty of love from the British press and the influential BBC Radio1, and with upcoming features in NYLON and spins on KCRW, his fortunes look set to continue across the pond. His debut album Every Kingdom (Communion Records) reached #7 in the U.K. charts. This tour will serve as Howard’s first American headline visit to coincide with the U.S. release of the album on April 3.
www.benhowardmusic.co.uk

The Staves are English sisters Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor, whose unique vocal harmonies and haunting melodies have already seen them tipped for success by The Guardian, iTunes, Time Out, and The Independent to name a few. Known for their jaw-dropping live performances, The Staves recently supported The Civil Wars across the southern U.S., and will be touring with Michael Kiwanuka across the U.K. in February before heading out to SXSW. The latter part of 2012 will see the release of their much-anticipated debut LP, the first record on which father and son producers Glyn and Ethan Johns (whose combined credits include The Rolling Stones, Ryan Adams, The Eagles, Ray LaMontagne, Kings of Leon) have shared production duties.
www.thestaves.com

Denver-by-way-of-Missouri songwriter Nathaniel Rateliff who the New York Times describes as “pensive” and “rousing,” earned acclaim with his latest LP In Memory of Loss (Rounder Records) produced by Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Josh Ritter). He spent 2010/2011 supporting Mumford & Sons on tour.
www.nathanielrateliff.com

Andrew Davie’s old band, Cherbourg, was one of the breakthrough acts of 2010, wowing fans with just a pair of stunning EPs. Then, unexpectedly, he split up the band. In March of this year he officially unveiled his new project, Bear’s Den—a delicate, subtle blend of his old band’s romanticism and the influences of Nick Drake and Bonnie Prince Billy.
www.bearsdenmusic.co.uk

TOUR DATES

March 15-18 Austin, TX SXSW Communion Shows
March 19 Oklahoma City, OK The Blue Door
March 21 Kansas City, MO The Record Bar
March 22 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater
March 23 Evanston, IL SPACE
March 24 St. Louis, MO Old Rock House
March 25 Nashville, TN The Basement
March 27 Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
March 28 Vienna, VA Jammin’ Java
March 29 New York, NY The Mercury Lounge
March 30 Woodstock, NY Bearsville Theater
March 31 Boston, MA The Red Room @ Café 939

Tickets will go on sale Saturday January 28th. Check local listings and venue websites for ticketing information.

At 26 years of age, Nick Mulvey has accomplished more than most musicians will achieve in a lifetime. A key founding member of Portico Quartet, Nick has toured the world picking up a wealth of international acclaim, including a Mercury Music Prize nomination for their debut album ‘Knee-deep in the North Sea’.

In total Nick spent six amazing years working with friends, embracing and pushing a new musical instrument to the forefront of cutting edge music. Although he has loved every moment, he now feels that the time is right for him to return to his first musical instrument (the guitar) and work on a solo project.

Nick is essentially a self-taught musician who has been fortunate enough to have worked with some amazing people that have influenced his work greatly. He is a musical innovator, who is looking to combine and sit between genres. All of his music is about the groove and with his new material, there is no holding him back.

Nick is just about to embark on the most exciting years of his career. With confirmed appearances at Glastonbury, Bestival and The Secret Garden Party scheduled for Summer 2011, plus plans to record a debut EP, it shouldn’t be too long before Nick’s ambitions begin to materialise.

Tickets £6 adv. from here

Before introducing the cracking line up for Bristol’s first Communion of the year we are rather delighted to announce that we’ve had a change of venue and Bristol’s nights now will be taking place at the Louisiana.

So what have we got for you? A line up of beautifully delicious musical loveliness that’s what.

Twin Falls
After previously running the excellent indie label Exercise1, Luke Stidson decided that he was ready to go back to doing what he’d done before – writing and recording songs in his bedroom.
Adopting the moniker Twin Falls, Stidson released two well received EPs and soon found the likes of BBC 6Music’s Tom Robinson and Steve Lamacq giving the records some strong airplay.
2011 saw the release of his debut album ‘Slow Numb’
At points you’d be forgiven for thinking Neil Young was a big influence on the out-and-out folk/country moments (he is). You may think the nasty fuzz guitar and synth pop combinations were intended to remind you of Grandaddy (they probably were) and you may even think the ethereal light that touches the production as a whole makes a distinct nod to the late great Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse. All of this would be true, but it’s the finely tuned oscillation between these points that help give ‘Slow Numb’ its unique character.
https://www.facebook.com/twinfalls

Joyce the Librarian
Brizzle boys Joyce the Librarian are playing their Communion debut. A delicate mix of twisted, melancholic melodies – featuring a flugelhorn or two – the band have just seen the release of new EP The Weight of the Line. Expect a crowd.
http://joycethelibrarian.bandcamp.com/

Like Spinning
Studying music at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, Kari started Like Spinning in 2009. After moving back to Oslo and playing around town for a couple of years, she now lives in East London playing in various London venues. With influences like Diane Cluck, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, CocoRosie, Joanna Newsom, Midlake and Warpaint she combines ethereal vocals with melancholy indie.
http://www.likespinning.com/

Arianna
Another artist making her Communion debut this February is Arianna. A wistful combination of folk and blues, this Gloucester based girl is currently working on her next EP, Urban Hymn which is due for release later this year.

Doors: 7pm

Tickets: £5 adv. available here

FOY VANCE
(www.foyvance.com)
+ support

Doors: 8pm / Tickets: £8 adv.
Buy Tickets

Foy Best Vance was born in 1974 in Bangor Co-Down in Ireland. However even before Foy was a year old, his preacher-man father along with his mother and three elder brothers had packed up their belongings and caught the boat to America, the land of the free.

Relocating to Oklahoma, Mr Preacher-man preached the length and breadth of the vast country with family in tow. It was in the black churches of the South that young Foy soaked up the deep riches of the southern roots and started to sing. Music was Foys only outlet and it didnt take long for his folks to notice that their boy had a special gift. Thats when the preacher-man taught him how to play the 12 bar blues, a moment which proved to be a milestone for Foy.

Moving back to Ireland five years later, Foy cut his teeth gigging all over Ireland and Scotland with a soul funk band which didn’t prove enough to satisfy his musical aspirations. It was around this time that he took a renewed interest in his fathers acoustic although the soul flavours have never left him.

Every once in a while an artist emerges to shake you from your seat and touch your soul, singing as if it were the last time he would ever perform. With a distinctive, cracked, soulful voice and a skill to write profound storytelling songs, Foy Vance belongs to a calibre of artists that stands the test of time, irrespective of trends or fads, delivering heartfelt songs about the human condition that everyone can relate to.