Hark! A Nativity Story was filmed live at Dormston Mill Theatre under strict Covid-19 guidelines. This one-off livestream provided the perfect tonic to a Christmas darkened by lockdown restrictions and marked by botched family plans. … More Hark! A Nativity Story – Saltmine Theatre
If there’s one Christmas album that is determined to lift you out of your lockdown blues then it is the new release from country band Jess and the Bandits. My Country Christmas is a barnstorming record that has happiness and joy written all over it. Opening track ‘Sleigh Ride’ is emblematic of the album’s resemblance … More Jess and The Bandits – My Country Christmas
Philippa Hanna’s latest release remains firmly in the realm of Gospel music with a Christmas EP that comes hot on the heels of Christian worship album Stained Glass Stories. Whilst the latter may have been full of the Country singer-songwriter’s original material, Christmas – the Greatest Story is packed with covers of well-known carols both … More Philippa Hanna – Christmas: The Greatest Story
When Philippa Hanna released her latest album Stained Glass Stories, it was with nervous anticipation that I pressed play. The sometime-Country singer-songwriter has journeyed into the world of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) to make a worship album for the first time. … More Philippa Hanna – Stained Glass Stories
With a powerful voice liquefied in soul, flavoured with RnB and packaged in pop, Rachel Jane is one of the most talented and inspiring young artists I have had the pleasure to come across in recent times. Having been reminded of her vocal quality during the Big Church Day In, I was delighted to hear … More Rachel Jane – Hustle and Hope EP
Sundays have been proving to be quite makeshift for me as a Christian, dipping into different services each week to check out what different churches are doing and how they are managing to connect and engage with people online. This Sunday was no different, though my focus turned from the weekly service to an annual … More The Big Church Day In 2020
Let’s hope the spirit of George Williams lives on. For the founder of Christian social organisation YMCA could be speaking directly into the current zeitgeist. More specifically, his concern for the welfare and rights of ordinary workers in 1844 sounds fairly familiar to some of the observations arising out of the coronavirus crisis in the … More Soul in the Machine – Saltmine Theatre
There were so many artists to enjoy last week at Focus Wales, one of the nation’s premier music showcase festivals. Among them, a host of Welsh country and Americana artists and bands, most of whom I had the opportunity to see and hear over the course of the three days. And from the psychedelic country … More Interview with Bryony Sier
For many, Philippa Hanna was probably a relative unknown a week or so ago. But now that her cover of Ed Sheeran’s Perfect has gone viral, it would appear that this is no longer the case. Yet for those who have followed the 33 year-old singer, long before this latest social media storm brewed, it … More Come Back Fighting – Philippa Hanna
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