NEWS: Me Lost Me, Ceitidh Mac, Heather Ferrier @ Bobiks

Image: Me Lost Me by Amelia Read

Why, you may ask, are Jazz North East promoting a showcase of the very best our region’s alt-folk scene has to offer? The answer is what makes each of Me Lost Me, Ceitidh Mac and Heather Ferrier so compelling in the first place – their commitment to probe and break beyond genre norms; a contemporary, exploratory philosophy not dissimilar from the acts you’d typically hear at a JNE show. They’re not jazz per se, yet this kindred spirit will be evident over the Easter weekend, as the trio share a bill at Newcastle’s Bobiks on Saturday 8th April.

For Jayne Dent, this headliner is a de facto preview of upcoming Me Lost Me record RPG – an advancement in sonic design where electronic experiments are supplemented with dabblings in improv, folk choirs and plenty more besides. Album contributors Faye MacCalman (clarinet) and John Pope (bass) will be present and correct here, while Ceitidh Mac will take to the stage as a duo with regular collaborator Will Hammond, primed with enchanting cello-led gems being honed during her stint as Artist in Residence at Sage Gateshead. Kickstarting proceedings, accordionist Heather Ferrier’s exuberant compositions have the range to thrill audiences both traditional and contemporary, whether she’s with her new trio or – as is the case here – performing solo. Jazz nut or otherwise, this is a triple-header you’ll not want to miss!

Me Lost Me, Ceitidh Mac, and Heather Ferrier perform at Bobiks, Newcastle on Saturday 8th April