When: 7.30pm on Monday 21 May 2018
Where: The Castle Hotel, 66 Oldham Street, Manchester M4 1LE

We’re delighted to be working with The Once for the first time – plus Sean Christopher!

Their fans have been waiting patiently for a year for new music, and with We Win Some We Lose, The Once have delivered a deep, thoughtful and exciting new collection of songs.

A modern indie folk trio from Newfoundland, The Once have collected a trio of Canadian Folk Music Awards, numerous ECMA awards, and were named Artist of the Year by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council. They have earned not one, but two JUNO nominations for Best Roots/Traditional Album – the most recent in acknowledgement of Departures (2014). While originally known for its haunting interpretations of traditional music, The Once has at long last uncovered a sound that truly represents their inner artistry.

‘I think we finally know what The Once sounds like,’ says Phil Churchill, ‘and with that knowledge comes a freedom we would not let ourselves have before.’ The Once’s newest EP, We Win Some We Lose, perfectly encapsulates the trio’s newfound artistic freedom and songwriting voice.

With their folk roots still firmly in hand, Phil, Geri and Andrew have embraced a distinctly modern sound by the inclusion of drums and percussion, electric guitars and sweeping keyboards. CBC’s Jeff Rielly says We Win Some We Lose ‘leaves [him] in a perpetual state of wistful, anthemic longing. An innocence that nevertheless leaves [him] with the sense that we are flirting with tragedy’. Lyrically, The Once’s newest collection of songs encompasses an arresting sense of loss, emphasised musically by Geraldine’s bewitching delivery of beautifully haunting melodies. The first single, We Are Love, offers a ray of hope amidst an otherwise provocative and emotive musical anthology.

The group formed out of pressure and necessity when working at a summer theatre festival in the tiny ex-fishing village of Trinity, Newfoundland nearly 10 years ago. In the Newfoundland vernacular ‘the once’ means ‘imminently, but not necessarily so’. Phil, Geri and Andrew wanted something that would embody who they are, where they come from, and would illicit a smirk and a nod amongst Newfoundlanders back home, but would forever require an explanation elsewhere.

The Once’s first album actually came about due to a stroke of serendipity, when a stranger at a show was so impressed that he offered them $5000 to record an album. Their award-winning self-titled debut was eventually released by the Canadian label Borealis Records, as was its follow-up Row Upon Row Of The People They Know, for which they received their first JUNO nomination.

In 2013 another chance encounter, this time at a Glasgow festival, led to a collaboration and friendship with Mike Rosenberg, a.k.a. Passenger. Hot on the heels of his worldwide #1 hit, Let Her Go, Rosenberg invited The Once to sing on both of his recent albums – including his current #1 album, Young As The Morning, Old As The Sea – and together they have performed all over the world. In 2014 the band released the album Departures worldwide to great critical acclaim, leading to multiple awards, including another coveted JUNO nomination.

With the release of the EP We Win Some We Lose, The Once enters a new era, with new sounds, new styles and new ideas. The whirlwind of the past few years has honed their sound and creativity, and having found their voice, the band is looking firmly ahead.

Special guest is Sean Christopher. Sean Christopher has been immersed in music all his life. As a child growing up in the Netherlands he would listen to his father play Flamenco guitar for hours and hours every day, while his mother’s extensive vinyl collection introduced him to legendary musicians like The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, and David Bowie. Sean built himself a basement studio a few years back and decided to record his first full-length album there. In the end, it was his father’s old Flamenco guitar that took centre stage and drove the recording of what was to become Yonder, which will be released on 11 May.

Buy tickets now. Tickets are available from the bar (no booking fee), Vinyl Exchange, WeGotTickets.com, Ticketline.co.uk and on 0871 220 0260.

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