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<\/a><\/p>\nOn Sunday 13th February, Balloon and Gathered In Song present a sort of Valentine\u2019s celebration featuring two amazing bands from across the water, both playing as duos, one solo set from a local boy and readings from a Canadian and Mancunian that have both moved to Wales! This take place at Newport\u2019s wonderful Le Pub.<\/p>\n
DOLLY VARDEN<\/a> \u201cIt\u2019s a gift to be able to do this\u201d says Christiansen when asked how the couple manages to navigate the sometimes tense mix of creativity and marriage. \u201cI couldn\u2019t imagine life any other way\u201d, echoes Dawson. \u201cWe\u2019ve been singing together since the day we met\u201d. In 1988 Dawson and Christiansen were asked by a mutual friend to add background vocals to a recording. Though they\u2019d never met, they noticed that their voices effortlessly harmonized. Soon they were inseparable singing partners, and in 1990 they became husband and wife as well. In the early 90\u2032s they co-led Stump The Host, a twangy rock band that packed them into Chicago area clubs. Then, in 1995, as the couple\u2019s singing and songwriting found new depth and maturity, Stump The Host transformed into Dolly Varden, a new band named after an elusive species of trout. Dolly Varden has released four critically-acclaimed albums in the United States and Europe through Evil Teen Records and Undertow Music, home of American Music Club, Centro-matic, Jesse Harris, Bottle Rockets, David Bazan and more. Dawson has also released two critically acclaimed solo albums, the most recent, \u201cI Will Miss The Trumpets And T he Drums\u201d came out early in 2010.<\/p>\n \u201cElectric-country majesty\u2026when Dawson and Christiansen fly in close harmony you get a good idea of how Marshall Crenshaw and Lucinda Williams might sound in duet\u201d David Fricke, Rolling Stone Magazine<\/p>\n \u201cSongwriter Steve Dawson has an unerring capacity for finding the caveat in joy and desolation, in light and darkness. His voice thins and strains with compelling force; partner Diane Christiansen\u2019s is here a fragile ache, there a soothing croon of reassurance; and when they sing together, the two create an entirely new whole. Dolly Varden continues to make pop music that is seductive, transcendent and peerless\u201d Harp Magazine<\/p>\n MAGNOLIA SUMMER<\/a> Over the years, Magnolia Summer has toured throughout the midwest, showcased in SXSW and CMJ. They have shared the stage with Matthew Sweet, Counting Crows, Cracker, The Minus 5, Grant Lee Philips, Glen Kotche, Bobby Bare Jr., Robyn Hitchcock, Ken Stringfellow, Ha Ha Tonka, Richmond Fontaine, the Bottle Rockets, and Will Johnson. Their newest record, Lines From The Frame (2009) is the first recording the band has completed in an outside studio.<\/p>\n In addition to the new record, you can also hear Magnolia Summer on the 3-CD compilation\u201cOf Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs For 43 US Presidents\u201d that features music by Mark Kozelek, Califone, Rosie Thomas, Bill Callahan, Xiu Xiu, Radar Bros., and Alan Sparhawk.<\/p>\n THE DOUBLECROSS<\/a> TYLER KEEVIL<\/a> MATTHEW DAVID SCOTT<\/a> Tickets on sale now from Diverse. \u00a34 advance, \u00a35 door.
\nThis fantastic double bill marks an overdue return to South Wales for husband and wife team Steve Dawson and Diane Christiansen who have been singing, writing, and recording together for well over a decade. They\u2019ve performed to capacity audiences and critical raves all over the U.S. and Europe as a duo, and with their band, Dolly Varden.<\/p>\n
\nMagnolia Summer is a St. Louis-based rock band that has a rolling cast of members who also do double time in other bands (such as Grace Basement and the Bottle Rockets). Centered around singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist, Chris Grabau, Magnolia Summer has released three records (via Undertow Music) to critical acclaim.<\/p>\n
\nOpening the gig will be a short solo acoustic set from The Doublecross\u2019 main player Jon Greenwood, a man so respected around the Cardiff area that he had more than 20 of Wales\u2019 finest musicians play on his album Things Will Never Change. Springsteen, Hot Water Music, Evan Dando and Walter Schriefels influence his gruff, plaid coated acoustic tunes.<\/p>\n
\nTyler Keevil grew up in Vancouver, Canada. He first came to the UK in 1999 to study English at Lancaster University. Since then, he has received several awards for his short fiction and filmmaking. His stories have appeared in a wide range of magazines and anthologies, including Interzone, New Welsh Review, On Spec, and Plant: The Welsh Internationalist. He lives in mid-Wales with his wife, Naomi, and lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Gloucestershire. His novel, Fireball, was published by Parthian in September.<\/p>\n
\nOriginally from Manchester, Matthew David Scott is a novelist and playwright now based in South Wales. He has published two novels: \u2018Playing Mercy\u2019, which was longlisted for the EDS Dylan Thomas Prize, and most recently \u2018The Ground Remembers\u2019, both with Parthian books. He has also had many short stories published in a variety of anthologies and magazines. As well as this, Matthew is a co-founder and writer for Slung Low, an award winning group of theatre makers based in Leeds. Check www.slunglow.org<\/a>\u00a0to find out more.<\/p>\n
\nDoors 7pm.<\/p>\n