Bella Hardy is planning to celebrate her 30th Birthday in style this year by going on tour with her band The Midnight Watch and visiting thirty of her favourite venues from around the UK, one for each year as part of her aptly named ‘Thirty for 30 Tour”.
The young singer who won the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Folk Singer of the Year has a prolific career worth celebrating with six solo albums under her belt. Her latest album being Battleplan which we featured as an Album of the Month back in April (read our review and interview here). In his review of ‘Battleplan’ Simon praised Bella as sounding at her best and it was also on this release that she assembled her highly talented band, the Midnight Watch.
She made collaborative waves earlier in 2013 with the exciting Carthy, Hardy, Farrell & Young and their brilliant debut album Laylam which we selected as one of the best albums of 2013 along with Battleplan (full list here). Further collaborations followed with Canadian singer-songwriter-guitarist extraordinaire Cara Luft as part an international songwriter exchange between Folk Music Canada and the English Folk and Dance Song Society.
Bella also picked up Best Original Song in 2012 for The Herring Girl testament to her gift in the art of composing songs that tell thought provoking stories. Here she is performing that very song with the Midnight Watch…..
This will be a great tour so if you’ve not yet had the opportunity to catch Bella Hardy then now’s your chance!
Thirty for 30 UK Tour Dates
MAY
Bella Hardy Solo…
14th – NORTHWICH, Weaver Hall Museum
15th – BRIDPORT, Electric Palace
16th – BRISTOL, Downend Folk Club
17th – BUXTON, Green Man Gallery
18th – SHEPLEY Folk Festival
19th – YORK St John University
Bella Hardy & The Midnight Watch…
28th – NEW GALLOWAY, The Catstand
29th – GLASGOW CCA
30th – Northern Roots Festival, Inverness
31st – Northern Roots Festival, Inverness
JUNE
Bella Hardy & The Midnight Watch…
4th – GATESHEAD, The Sage
5th – LONDON, Cecil Sharp House
7th – BOXFORD Sudbury, The Fleece
8th – The Gate to Southwell Folk Festival
9th – NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME, The New Vic Theatre
10th – PONTYPRIDD, Muni Arts Centre
11th – CARDIGAN, Theatr Mwldan
12th – BIRMINGHAM, Mac Birmingham
15th – COCKERMOUTH, The Kirkgate Centre
16th – EDALE Village Hall
17th – SHEFFIELD, Greystones
18th – DERBY Guildhall
19th – WAVENDON, The Stables
20th – LINCOLN, The Drill Hall
21st – CAMBRIDGE, The Junction
22nd – CHIPPING NORTON Theatre
23rd – WIVELISCOMBE , The Silver Street Sessions
24th – NEW MILTON, Forest Arts
25th – BURY, The Met
26th – EDINBURGH, The Voodoo Rooms