Melting Vinyl: Bringing the cream of live music to Brighton.

After two stunning sold-out shows, Haley Bonar returns to Brighton along with her recent LP ‘Impossible Dreams’ (Memphis Industries). Bonar delivers her minor-key tunes and elliptical lyrics in a haunting, delicate voice, telling real stories back to us as if they were our own.

Bonar first reached a national audience as a teenager, when fellow Canadian Alan Sparhawk heard her perform and offered her a spot on tour, opening for his band Low. In the last decade, Haley has released eight more recordings to critical acclaim and mounting success: lots of touring, playing festivals, capturing awards and artist grants, inventive video productions, placing song tracks on prime TV shows and popular film, appearing on myriad Best-Of lists while continuing to write and perform locally. It’s no accident that her creative prowess drew the attention and respect of fellow collaborators like Dave King, Andrew Bird and Justin Vernon.

Haley Bonar is more than a hard working musician. She is an innovator, creator and visionary, dug into the trenches of living. She writes genuine, epochal and poetic tales that feel like our heartbreak, failure, frustration and joy. She remains true to her artistry regardless of trend, politic or scripted gender barriers. In a clear, insistent and often haunting voice, she tells real stories back to us, as if they were our own. It just doesn’t get much better than that.

Bonar returns with her recent LP ‘Impossible Dreams’, which was recorded on analog tape at Pachyderm Studios, Minnesota and produced by Bonar and Jacob Hansen. The album is the follow-up to 2014’s ‘Last War’, which enjoyed widespread critical acclaim and featured in Rough Trade, NPR and Village Voice’s ‘Albums of the Year’ lists.

Recent single “Kismet Kill” was A-Listed on BBC 6 Music and she gave a stunning performance on Later… With Jools Holland recently.

“Haley Bonar played an array of songs from her albums, old and new. The band was on top form and Bonar seemed to love being out in front of the crowd in the intimate and long sold-out Green Door Store.” – Brighton Source

“I’m keenly awaiting the return of Dakota-born Haley Bonar, whose whip-smart, alt-rock album, Last War, was my record of the year in 2014” -Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music

“Echoing the bright guitars and synths of The Cure’s poppier fare, Bonar creates a whimsical masterclass of indie-pop songwriting.” -Consequence of Sound

Support comes from
Michael Nau
New Full Time Hobby signing Michael Nau will be supporting Haley Bonar. His LP ‘Mowing’ is out now.

“Beguiling solo journey through rootsy Americana.” “Intimate and inviting” – Q Magazine, 4*

“The songs themselves trip by with a deceptively casual air, from the drowsy jazz cadence of “Mow” to the very lovely, Lee Hazelwood-ish “The Glass” “Love Survive”, meanwhile proves that Nau knows his way around a classic pop melody” – Uncut 8/10

Seadog (duo)
Seadog is the project of Brighton based musician and songwriter Mark Benton. It began with Benton at the nucleus of an ever-changing cast of musical friends. Seadog currently have a new eclectic troupe of performers with a fresh collection of dream-pop songs. They combine their musical ideas, fusing delicate acoustic lullabies with anthemic electric and acoustic textures.

DJ sets from Grant
Check out his spotify taster playlist here
Influenced by John Peel’s show, Hove native Grant has been a music lover his whole life. He started putting on gigs, starting in his parents’ kitchen in Davigdor Road, with artists such as Popguns, Blow Up, and Jane Fox from the Marine Girls. He also set up his own record label, La-di-da records, releasing music by How Many Beans Make 5, John Cunningham and Dead Famous People. Grant was also the one who opened up Church Road Studios with Julian Tardo. The studio is still going strong, having recently been the place Fear Of Men recorded their debut album ‘Loom’.