Birdie Jackson - Bitter Lullabies

"Strong, passionate and totally absorbing"- Generator NE Bridie Jackson & The Arbour are from Newcastle Upon Tyne. They launched their début album, Bitter Lullabies, with a sold-out show at The Sage Gateshead in January 2012. Bridie has a unique voice "that despite it's strength and power has a whisper like quality that draws you in with it's gentle intimacy and bewitching melancholy" (The Crack Magazine). Her voice and "inventive guitar playing that instantly intrigues" (Head Scaffold), are complemented by 'The Arbour', a talented group of musicians who provide rich layers of vocal harmonies alongside combinations of cello, violin, mandolin and bell plates. The range of instruments are used sparingly; "working up magic from seemingly simple elements" (Narc magazine), in a set which varies from entirely a capella to riotous, stomping bluegrass-tinged new folk. The breadth of influences that can be heard in their music ranges from gospel music to flamenco, as well as the more contemporary echoes of artists such as The Fleet Foxes, Goldfrapp and Feist. This is music that proves impossible to define, yet is instantly engaging, as Bridie's "casual, kick-off-my-shoes confidence draws the audience in" (Laura Fraine, Journal Culture).