Part of Newcastle Art Centre’s folk programme The F Word, hosted in our Black Swan Bar & Venue…
Naomi Bedford and Paul Simmonds
Thursday 13th February
In The Black Swan @ Newcastle Arts Centre, Black Swan Court, 69 Westgate Road, NE1 1SG
Doors 7pm
The F Word is a monthly Folk programme and Club at Newcastle Arts Centre. It offers lovers of Folk an opportunity to see top musicians, as well as hear local Folk artists sharing new music in the ‘Floor Spots’ ahead of the headline act. This new night celebrates the genre of Folk, programmes top talent, and connects audiences to new musicians.
Tickets £10 adv, £12 on the door
Naomi Bedford and Paul Simmonds are a working musical duo, based in the Folk and Country Roots genre, who have made 4 acclaimed albums and been nominated for a Radio 2 Folk Award (Best Original Song). They tour widely and have appeared at Cambridge Festival, Glastonbury, Celtic Connections and many others. They were recently featured as the Guardian Album of the Month for Singing It All Back Home, their Appalachian Ballads album, for which they were also featured in session on the Mark Radcliffe BBC Radio 2 show.
Simmonds is also known as the chief songwriter with legendary folk rock band The Men They Couldn’t Hang and it’s said he “undoubtedly stands as one of Britain’s finest living songwriters” – Louder Than War
Bedford has collaborated with a wealth of UK music legends such as Justin Currie, Andy Summers, Alasdair Roberts and Paul Heaton, and co-wrote and sung on Orbital’s Top 20 hit ‘Funny Break’.
The duo’s most recent album Strange News Has Come To Town appeared in the summer 2024, and on this “long-awaited fifth album… Naomi Bedford and Paul Simmonds remain as vital a musical force as ever.” – Klof Mag
Praise for their 2024 album Strange News Has Come To Town
See their online platforms below:
Youtube < Watch their opening track ‘Optimist’ – a folk tonic for long nights and challenging times!
Bandcamp < Listen to Strange News Has Come To Town!
What are the Floor Spots?
The F Word will champion emerging, local Folk artists. Each night will kick off with supporting ‘Floor Spots’, hosted by Alasdair Paul (DIY Ceilidh, Pons Aelius) and dedicated for North East based Folk musicians who wants to share their sound with a new audience.
If you’re a Folk artist based in the North East and are interested in sharing something new with an audience, we’d love to hear from you.
You could be just starting out on your musical journey into the world of Folk, you could be ‘emerging’ on to the scene, or you could be a seasoned Folk musician with new stuff to share.
Just email us at admin@newcastle-arts-centre.co.uk – introduce yourself, what you play, a bit about your experience and which of the above nights you’d be interested in performing a Floor Spot.
All Floor Spot musicians who’ve been invited via email exchange see the headline gig for free!
FURTHER PROGRAMME FOR THE F WORD…
Good Habits on Thurs 6th March
Bubamara on Thurs 3rd April
