With a weary, well-travelled voice and a serenely intricate finger-picking style, Mr. Smither turns the blues into songs that accept hard-won lessons and try to make peace with fate. New York Times The Oxted Sessions is delighted to welcome true American original Chris Smither to Oxted URC this October. Honing his synthesis of folk and blues for over 50 years, Chris Smither returns to the UK to perform music from his vast song catalogue in 2025. A profound songwriter and captivating performer, Smither mesmerizes listeners with his guitar playing melding the styles of his two major influences, Lightnin' Hopkins and Mississippi John Hurt into his own signature guitar sound. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and humanist philosophers and continues to earn accolades. On tour to celebrate his 20th album "All About the Bones" (Signature Sounds 2024), Chris continues to draw deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers and is one of America's most distinctive acoustic performers. Known for writing "Love You Like A Man" which Bonnie Raitt, jazz great Diana Krall, and Kelly Clarkson have covered, Chris' music has been recorded by numerous other artists and featured in soundtrack albums, independent film, television, and commercials. ] Singer-songwriter BettySoo joined Chris in the studio to make "All About the Bones" and is Chris' special guest on this tour.

Portland based band Glitterfox has released five singles in just six months under their new record label Kill Rock Stars, with two more arriving this Spring. The band's been growing steadily since Drive came out in August 2023, with their indie rock recipe that deftly balances Southern songwriting shine and nostalgia-fueled anthems. The four-piece band's songwriters and front persons, married couple Solange Igoa and Andrea Walker, have always channeled their personal struggles as well as experiences as queer, neurodiverse individuals into their songwriting. Bassist Eric Stalker and drummer Blaine Heinonen bring a love of Americana, grunge, and dance music into the mix. All of these influences can be heard on the band's latest singles, produced by Chris Funk of The Decemberists, and featuring Peter Buck (R.E.M.) and Jenny Conlee (The Decemberists) and in their spirited live shows as they prepare for their full-length album debut in 2025. Opening the evening is Sofia Ford. Sofia is a 22 year old singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer from south London. As a rock/pop artist Sofia has a big passion for 90s rock music as well as well as Blues. These elements really shine through Sofia's music with melodic bass lines and raging electric guitars yet through this wall of sound you can always find a catchy hook which has become prevalent in Sofia's music. As Sofia has progressed in the industry she has written, self produced and recorded all of her music as well as directing her videos and imagery. This Oxted Session is sponsored by Serve Legal. Serve Legal is the market leading provider of ID and compliance testing services in the UK & Ireland. They provide extensive, independent audit services to national retailers, leisure operators and sports broadcasters through a team of 7,000 auditors who work as 'mystery shoppers'. For more information on Serve Legal - to arrange an audit or to apply to become a mystery shopper - please visit https://www.servelegal.co.uk/

In a dank cell, 'Bloody' Queen Mary I, the first woman to wear the English crown, meets the Archbishop she has condemned to burn at the stake, and tells her story... over a high stakes game of chess. First performed to sell out audiences at Vault Festival in 2023, BURN is a defiant, feminist retelling of Queen Mary I ready to confront her own reputation. BURN is an historical play with themes of death and miscarriage. We recommend it for audiences age 13+ Pay bar . CARD ONLY.

Martha has constantly experimented with her musical parameters. In the early days this meant singing the folk songs she had know since childhood one week and recording electronica and trip-hop the next. Her new tour is a sparky union of folk, acoustic, trip-hop and electronica. With her longtime collaborators and musicians Matt Tweed and Matt Kelly, among others they entwine raw vocals, sparkling melodies and thought provoking lyrics with filmic movements and earthy baselines. To see them live is to connect with longed-for parts of ourselves.

The Oxted Sessions are delighted to welcome Hannah Scott for the first time, while returning favourite James Hodder will open the evening. She reduces women and children to tears - in a good way The Guardian and grown men. Tom Besford, English Folk Expo & Richard Haswell, Liverpool Philharmonic This is beautiful. Dermot OLeary, BBC Radio 2 Wonderful songwriting. Seth Lakeman She screams class but in the quietest way possible. Folking.com The best stories elicit profound personal reactions and in the 15 years she has been writing and performing, Hannah Scott has become a consummate storyteller. Her music is shaped by human stories, with family, in all its chaos and glory, sitting at the heart of her work. Her lyrics are powerful and poignant, and her voice feels strangely familiar, though you cant quite put your finger on why. Her writing may be deeply personal but her music has a universal appeal that extends beyond the melodies you catch yourself humming days after listening to her songs. Born in Suffolk and raised by an artist mother and an eccentric entertainer father, with music going back three generations to her songwriting great-grandmother, creativity was always destined to be an integral part of Hannah's life. At the age of four, her father bought a second-hand piano for £70 from a friend in the pub and she didnt look back, falling in love with both playing and listening to classical music. Picking up a guitar in her early teens as the influence of her peers and more contemporary music took hold, Hannah taught herself some simple chords that would lay the foundation for her earliest attempts at songwriting. Career highlights include having her song No Gravity featured on the hit international TV series Grey's Anatomy, recording a live session on BBC Radio 2 with Dermot OLeary and opening for Madeleine Peyroux, performing to an audience of two thousand. She has also shared the stage with folk luminaries such as Seth Lakeman, Cara Dillon and Fairport Convention and has performed at festivals including Cambridge, Sidmouth and Manchester Folk. Equally at home in small venues, she thrives on the intimacy of performing in spaces where she can look audience members in the eye. Opening the evening is James Hodder. James is a British troubadour who fuses Folk and Americana influences with bittersweet lyrics and storytelling. In 2023 he released 'Wilderness Road', his second full-length album, to much acclaim. As with his debut, James made the album with Dan Cooper at Rodel Sound. The sessions were recorded over three days and included Jim Kimberley on Drums (The Kimberleys/Robert Vincent), Tom Monks on keyboards (Nine Below Zero) and long time collaborators John Appleyard on harmonica and Beth Reid on vocals. To mark the album release, James played a sold out show with the band at London's iconic Betsey Trotwood on Friday 10th February 2023. Hosted by Black Cat Music, the event received a glowing review from Americana UK: "one of the best concerts by a debut artist that I have seen in many a year". In January, James was chosen as a showcase artist at the UK Americana Music Week in Hackney, continuing to win over new fans with every performance.