Hove Folk Club

Emma Scarr with Garry Smith: 3rd July 2009

Emma has been active on London's live scene for approaching two decades. A proficient performer on guitar, fiddle and banjo, in recent years she has concentrated on songwriting, and it is this angle which predominated when she appeared at Hove.

Emma has had a long association with the hugely popular Northern Celts, known for their upbeat, feel-good performances at pubs, festivals, sessions and ceilidhs in and around London. She is also a regular solo performer at Folk in the Cellar in Camden Town, a long-time residency in The Constitution pub.

The main influences on Emma's songwriting are the "Alt-Country" trailblazers - Steve Earle, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. More recent Americana artists like Mary Gauthier and Gillian Welch are also touchstone references. Closer to home, writers such as Steve Knightley of Show of Hands have been an inspiration, as well as the music and performers Emma has encountered in pubs and folk clubs over the past 20 years.

Emma was accompanied by slide guitarist Garry Smith, who describes himself as follows:

"Born in the Brent Delta in NW London and exposed at an early age to the music of Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson, Clinton Ford and Winifred Atwell. Thankfully rejected all and discovered blues and folk music in teens. Took up guitar. A great deal of time passed spent playing in Folk Clubs, Wine Bars, and pubs and joining and forming bands, none of which enjoyed any success (but which were all driven by the underlying throb of the blues) . Discovered the joys of Home Recording (it's what computers are really for, you know) and disappeared for days at a time. Got a Tricone resonator and the Earth shifted on its axis. Everything changed. Totally back into acoustic playing generally and exploring the possibilities of the Resophonic in particular. I’m on a new journey, and VERY excited..."

MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/emmascarr;
http://www.myspace.com/garrymsmith

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