When: 7.30pm on Wednesday 6 April 2016
Where: The Castle Hotel, 66 Oldham Street, Manchester M4 1LE

PLEASE NOTE: This show is now completely sold out! Follow Hey! Manchester on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for email updates above, for news of future shows.

We’re delighted to be welcoming back Aldous Harding!

Aldous Harding’s songs are not for the faint of heart. Disarming in their desolate imagery and vulnerable instrumentation, they deal with the raw materials of life: birth, death, love and grief. Sometimes reminiscent of 60s-era folk singers Vashti Bunyan and Linda Perhacs, Harding’s work lies in more harsh terrain than her forebears – piercing the long history of the genre with a grit and sincerity rarely encountered.

Hailing from New Zealand’s Southern port town of Lyttelton, Harding was discovered busking on the streets. It wasn’t long before her name became synonymous with both the vivid devastation of her wordplay and the stark intensity of her performance; a unique blend of fragility and sinewy, world-won strength that belies her youth.

Aldous Harding’s debut eponymous album was released on Spunk Records in 2015 to international acclaim, attracting the ears of influential BB6 DJs Marc Riley and Mary Anne Hobbs, followed by a rigorous festival circuit in 2015, including The Great Escape, Torstrasse, Big Sound, Sydney Festival, Perth Festival, Golden Plains and The Others Way.

The Line Of Best Fit lauded her Great Escape performance: ‘[Aldous Harding] mixes traditional folk songs with dirge-y notes and ends her incredible performance with an A cappella cover of Edith Piaf she was told she was too young to be singing. It was spellbinding.’

Of her debut record, The 405 said, ‘the voice is from another time and the imagery is dramatic, the themes are universal…. [a] toweringly talented song writer’.

With a clutch of new songs tucked into her belt, 2016 will see Aldous Harding hit the ground running to tour Europe, the UK and the United States, her songs certain to hit hard those who encounter them.

‘We highly recommend running her tuneful “gothic folk” vocals past your ears’ – Frankie

‘This is a special album in the sense that its graceful and subtle qualities form a powerfully emotive listening experience’ – Under the Radar

Main support comes from Chloe Foy. Chloe Foy’s roots lie in a catchy, homegrown music that has been likened to sounds such as Laura Marling and Sharon Van Etten. Classically educated from the age of four, Chloe’s music comprises of carefully constructed arrangements that delicately compliment her cryptic lyrics. Chloe’s most recent single, In The Middle Of The Night, received generous support from Steve Lamacq on his BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music shows, as well as favourable reviews from mainstream media across the country. After taking a year out to write, Chloe has returned to the live scene with a refreshing new sound.

Opening the show is Najia Bagi. Since 2014 Najia has been concentrating on solo work after performing with producers and bands previously. Currently she is finalising an EP, Call My Name, which will be presented accompanied by a new music video and DJ remixes. She currently appears on Visions of You and Becoming More Like God on Jah Wobble’s Redux album, released in 2015, and will appear on an upcoming release in the UK and US with electronic producer Neko Neko.

PLEASE NOTE: This show is now completely sold out! Follow Hey! Manchester on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for email updates above, for news of future shows.

Attend on: Facebook