Jack McNeill & Charlie Heys TWO FINE DAYS

“The Birmingham-based, Young Folk Awards-nominated duo’s free-spirited music sounds centuries old. It’s not, and their fresh guitar and violin set-up adds a rare sparkle to traditional hues.” Q Magazine

Jack and Charlie’s well-known idiosyncratic approach to folk music and song writing has earned them an enviable reputation as two of the most exciting, heartfelt and challenging musicians around. Writing songs that seem to grow out of the ground and tunes that tell stories in their own right, Jack and Charlie’s original music strings together the past, present and what might yet be of folk music. Their first two albums on Fellside, Light Up all the Beacons and The Northern Road followed them as finalists in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards, and were met with critical acclaim; their fresh and compelling sound inspiring audiences up and down the country and being described in The Sunday Times as “real folk – not nu-folk, folktronica, or some other apologetically named subgenre – and it doesn’t seem to need reinventing.”

All the music and songs take inspiration from ever-changing landscapes, people and common traditions of hope, fear, love and home. Still feeling inspired and at the start of a growing musical career their enthusiasm resonates with an audience hungry for something new and exciting. For their new album TWO FINE DAYS the duo are joined by Hannah Phillips on Scottish harp (TMSA Young Trad Award Finalist), Sean Law on Double Bass and the renowned percussionist Tom Chapman (The Old Dance School, The Urban Folk Quartet, Chris While and Julie Matthews).

Expanding their musical language, creating beautiful and memorable textures while cooking up an instrumental, breaking storm, Jack and Charlie have come a long way since the folk awards; their live shows are packed with stories, good humour and most importantly, music to remember.

When it comes to the songs on TWO FINE DAYS who better to describe the story behind the songs than Jack McNeill himself; “Debatable Lands is about the bloody history concerning the people who lived in the border lands between England and Scotland. Much has been written and sung about this subject before where for 300 years families were subjected to brutal attacks from both sides, but perhaps the greatest harm would be inflicted upon each other. I was brought up with these stories and this song looks at the worrying question of why rather than unite at such times, people will sometimes destroy each other. In For the Want, ‘A kingdom was lost, all for the want of a nail’… a well-known story about small actions (or lack of) and their large consequences. In this song it’s the kingdom of friendship that is rescued by the knowledge that no-one is free of blame when things go wrong. You’ll find pieces of ‘seaglass’ all over this country’s coastline, bits of glass that have been tossed and tumbled in the waves to finally be thrown back to shore. The idea behind the song ‘Seaglass’ is that sometimes this process of breaking, produces unexpectedly beautiful things. The tune in the middle is called ‘left-boot clog’, it was written remembering a story about a relative of mine who fell overboard and was later identified by his two left shoes which had been hurriedly snatched up, unchecked after a period of time on shore. The title track is of course Two Fine Days. It’s often said that there can be a few small events which can change a whole life, that when we look back on the people, words and decisions shaping where we are now, the ones that really counted are few but unforgettable. Two Fine Days are just that.

For more information and the latest tour dates, please visit:
www.fellside.com

“Undeniably impressively talented…thoughtful and intelligent songs…brimful of interest and promise…this album will turn out to be rather a grower.” fRoots

“Delivered with commitment and passion, these highly descriptive sound-stories are beautifully set against [Jack’s] understated, melodic guitar playing and Charlie’s perfectly judged fiddle accompaniments.” R2 magazine