Date/Time
Wednesday 26 July 2023
7:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Categories Folk
Monday 24 July: I heard this morning that Adam Holmes is unable to come to Ashburton on Wednesday. He was originally planning to be in Cornwall later this week, and to come to Ashburton on the way. Those plans have fallen through, which makes travelling all the way just for the gig unviable. He is hoping to re-schedule the date for a tour in 2024.
Anyone who’s bought a ticket already will be contacted directly.
Andy Williamson
Arts Director, Ashburton Arts Centre
Adam Holmes is one of Scotland’s finest singer-songwriters.
Adam’s 4 albums, Heirs and Graces, Brighter Still, Midnight Milk and Dreamweaver have cast an impressive shadow across the UK Folk Scene and gained him Scottish Album of the Year Nominations (in 2014, 2017 and 2018) and BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Nominations. His songs have featured widely on BBC Radio 2 and Radio 3, BBC Scotland, Edith Bowman’s BBC Scotland Quay Sessions show and Virgin Radio, amongst many others.
Listen to Adam Holmes here on bandcamp adamholmes1.bandcamp.com
He is the second youngest of 8 children raised by his mother in a small flat in Portobello.
Adam crafts lyrics that resonate like old folk songs, set to melodies rooted in the haunting slow airs and church hymns that echoed throughout his childhood. Only in the world of folk music could you imagine the staff at one of the liveliest, smokiest and most famous Folk music pubs in Britain, Sandy Bells, making a space at the end of the bar so that an eight year old child could get the best view of the singers and musicians. But that was the very place that Adam first picked up the skill of learning music by ear.
Age 15, after the death of a close friend and a cascade into drugs and alcohol he found his way out through the focus of rapping and producing hip hop. Simultaneously he began to play guitar and write songs and after leaving school and moving into his first flat aged 16 he worked on building sites, trying to pick up an apprenticeship as a joiner.
On the very same day that he was finally offered an apprenticeship aged 19 he received a phone-call offering him a place in the semi finals of the BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2009. He chose his place in music and hasn’t looked back since.
His masterful songwriting and enchanting voice has, over the years, seen him work and share stages with: Martin Simpson, Karine Polwart, John Prine, John McCusker, Graham Coxon (Blur), Ladysmith Black Mamboxa, Martin Green (Lau), Adrian Utley (Portishead), Becky Unthank (The Unthanks), Dominic Aitchison (Mogwai), Anais Mitchell, Aidan Moffat, Karine Polwart, John Wood (Nick Drake and John Martyn Producer), Simon Heyworth (mastering engineer and co-producer of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, Eddi Reader
* See Access, Tickets & Finding Us for more about why there are three ticket prices, plus other useful info about coming to events at Ashburton Arts Centre.