An Acoustic Evening with Ward Thomas

Hampshire and Country music may not be obvious bed fellows but twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas (who have been singing harmonies together since childhood) have had Country music in their blood ever since they were introduced to the sounds of Carrie Underwood, Dixie Chicks and Alison Krauss by a Canadian cousin in their early teens. With one listen to their vocal cadences and close harmonies, soon Nashville and Hampshire suddenly don’t seem all that far apart.

2019 was a hell of a year for the super-smoky-voiced, hard-working, far-touring chanteuse Elles Bailey. On 8th March, she dropped her eagerly-anticipated second album ‘Road I Call Home’ to rave reviews, with the album charting in the Official UK Country Charts & Americana charts, gaining over 1.9 million streams since its release and reaching No.1 on the Amazon Blues Bestseller chart

Like its chart-topping predecessor, ‘Road I Call Home’ features co-writing contributions from high-calibre collaborators, including British hit-making legend and Ivor Novello Award winner Roger Cook, storied Memphis and Nashville giant Bobby Wood, as well as Dan Auerbach (of Akron, Ohio powerhouses The Black Keys) on the infectious ‘Little Piece of Heaven’ which has been awarded ‘Song of the Year’ at the 2020 UK Americana Awards.

As a self-confessed ‘rolling stone’ - Elles genuinely does call ‘the road’ home. She’s continued her wide-ranging headline touring throughout the UK and Europe and was also special guest support for Grammy Award winner Mike Farris, Martin Harley, The Kris Barras Band and King King.

2018/19 has also seen Elles Bailey move up the festival listings becoming a featured artist at key festivals including Black Deer, Swing Wesplaar, Ramblin’ Man Fair, & The GB R&B Festival. She also headed stateside for the International House Of Songs Summit in Arkansas and played Nashville’s Americana Fest.

2020 sees Elles touring the UK in March, Germany in April and playing many more international stages including taking to the high seas for the Joe Bonamassa ‘Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea’ cruise alongside the man himself, Joe Bonamassa, King King, Samantha Fish, Walter Trout and many more. She’s also picked up 3 UK Blues nominations 2020 for Artist of the Year, Band of the Year, & Album of the Year.

“Absolutely Superb” Bob Harris BBC Radio 2