Music Club gets ready to welcome Iain Matthews

THE Bronte Music Club, based at the Bronte Centre, Rathfriland welcomes another musical icon, singer/songwriter Iain Matthews, on Friday February 12.

Iain Matthews has had a long singing career dating back from the swinging 1960s where he released material as the vocalist of Pyramid. In 1967 he became the founder member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention.

He later had a solo career and fronted the bands Plainsong, Hi-Fi, No Grey Faith, More Than A Song and Matthews’ Southern Comfort. Southern Comfort had a 1970 number one with a cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Woodstock’, although he admits that his heart always remained with songwriting and playing live.

He has had a long and winding career, sailing through trends of rock, pop, country and folk with some chart success whilst maintaining a continuous cult following. He has seen commercial success, major label deals and numerous bands come and go, while always bouncing back in one way or another.

Born in England, Iain became a US citizen, staying in the US for 28 years, before eventually settling in the south of Holland in 2002, where he met and married his soul mate Marly. They have two children Madelief and Luca.

After 40 something years of being labelled a folk rocker or a country rocker, Iain has delightfully surprised his fans by releasing a jazz album, Joy Mining, on which he is accompanied by the Searing Quartet. “Singing with a jazz quartet was incredibly satisfying and I think it’s the best album I’ve ever made,” he enthuses.

“I’ve never been one to rest on my laurels,” he asserts. “I’ve always thought of myself as a contemporary singer/songwriter and I’ve made a conscious effort to not relax into being one of these artists that just grinds out the hits night after night and collects the money and goes home. I’ve tried to be as inspired as I possibly can.”

Don’t miss this opportunity to see Iain play live at the Bronte Centre. Doors open at 8.30pm for performance at 9pm. Tickets priced at 12 can be purchased or reserved in advance by contacting the FE McWilliam Gallery – call 028 406 23322.

Related topics: