Category Archives: Sunday Driver

Sunday Driver rounded off our half-term mini-tour with a couple of great but rather downbeat gigs. On Friday night we supported solo guitarist Clive Carroll at Cambridge Folk Club, which now takes place in a small room above the Golden Hind pub in Cambridge.

Even replacing Scott’s drumkit with djembe and cajon, we were pretty loud but the audience seemed to like it. Unfortunately I only managed to catch a few minutes of Clive’s set as I had to dash back to London to tend to a puking husband.

Then on Saturday we were up and at it again, playing a lunchtime gig for the Arctic Circle’s Daylight Music series at the Union Chapel in Islington. It’s such a fantastic venue to play, and it didn’t disappoint.

We were preceded by the fantastic Anja McCloskey and her band (and her 50lb accordion):

And melodic piano/cello duo My Glass World:

No pics of our gig as I forgot to give anyone the camera, but we had a great time. In retrospect, we probably should have played more upbeat songs – we were a bit worried about coming across as too boisterous in the relatively sedate atmosphere but I wish we’d rocked out a bit more!

Anyway, it was a great way to round off a successful week of gigs. There’ll be some very exciting Sunday Driver news coming up this week so watch this space!

Next stop for the Sunday Driver juggernaut was the High Barn in Great Bardfield, a venue in a tiny Essex village that has somehow managed to carve out a name as a great place for acoustic music (and also Four Poofs and a Piano, who were on the week before). We were treated to a beautiful sunset and an amazing starry night:

We were supported by a couple of lovely singer-songwriters, who not only played great sets but were super-friendly backstage – firstly Ellie Jamison:

And then Jon Hart:

Scott and Amit go through their strenuous pre-gig warmup routine:

We played. It was fun:

And then I went off to stay in the luxurious-sounding “Stansted Skyline Hotel”, which turned out to be little more than a few rooms off a restaurant on the road out of Great Dunmow, reeking of cigarette smoke and suffering from very poorly-fitted curtains. The harp was not impressed. I reminded her sternly that if she wants to stay in better hotels, we need to get some better-paying gigs…

The bathroom facilities also left much to be desired. Here’s the shower – can you spot what’s missing?

Ah, the glamorous life of a musician… Next stop, Cambridge Folk Club.

After our photoshoot, Sunday Driver headed off for another gig at Norwich Arts Centre, following our successful show there last year supporting Raghu Dixit. This time we were on a bill with the Ruth Gordon Trio and the Mary Hampton Cotillion.

First up were Ruth Gordon and the rest of her Trio, composed of banjo, cello and guitar. They played a lovely gentle set, and I liked her use of bells and shells on her ankles as percussion.

We were on next. No photos of that, as I forgot to ask anyone to take them. We were a bit loud compared to the other acts, but went down well I think.

Finally Mary Hampton and her Cotillion (apparently a type of dance figure) took to the stage. Their set was amazing – probably the best gig I’ve seen for ages. Elegant, creepy, dissonant, beautiful and utterly enchanting. I bought both her albums after the gig, and I hardly *ever* do that (cos I’m really stingy). Go and see them if you get the chance, they are fantastic.

Sorry for the blurry picture, – I was right at the back – but I was really taken by this song, Honey in the Rock, where the percussion was provided by two of the musicians playing pat-a-cake.  It may sound a bit twee but it really wasn’t.

A wonderful night, topped off by staying over in Norwich with my fab friends Ruth and Russ. You know who your real friends are – they’re the ones who leave a hot water bottle in your bed on a chilly night…