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Andrew Marston introduces England's newest Christmas carols

Unsigned, undiscovered and under-the-radar music from Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

2 hours

Music Played

  • Christmas track

    • Malvernbard

      Almost A Christmas Song

  • Bleeding Hearts

    Don't Call This Love

  • Christmas track

    • Chloe Ferguson

      December Valentine

  • Robinson-Stone

    Forever Young

  • Jeremy Johnson

    Human After All

  • Christmas track

    • Phil Hickin

      A Day In December

    • Russ Lloyd

      Holding You This Christmas

  • Artist of the Week

    • Sylva

      Can't Change Christmas

  • Christmas track

    • Mumbo-Jumbo

      Two Tons Of Snow

  • THE LIVE MUSIC HOUR

    • Chloe Elliot

      I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (Live from the Worcester Christmas Lights)

    • BiiJ (But is it Jazz?)

      It's A Mystery (Live from Jacqueline's in Ross-On-Wye)

    • Stone Mountain Sinners

      About May (Live from The Worcester Music Festival)

    • Tazmin Barnes

      Extinction (Live from the Worcester Christmas Lights)

    • Ben Hughes

      She's The One (Live from the Oxford Arms in Kington)

    • Lower Loveday

      You Could've Been My Queen (Live from The Swan in Stourport)

    • The Woo Town Hillbillies

      Dartmoor Girl (Live from the Worcester Christmas Lights)

    • The Woo Town Hillbillies

      Christmas Medley (Live from the Worcester Christmas Lights)

    • Tom Griffin

      A Good Day (Live from Jacqueline's in Ross-On-Wye)

Artist of the Week

This week, we hear from a musician who's had his music featured in the promo for the hit series Peaky Blinders!

Will Cookson, who lives between Hereford and Abergavenny, is a songwriter who regularly records at Abbey Road Studios.

His work has also been used for the season finale of The Flash in a scene where they kill off one of the main characters.

Will's recently started collaborating with Amy May Ellis to create a number of Christmas tracks.

"A haunting pin-drop performance from a musician who's on the crest of a wave" - Andrew Marston.

New carols

Two new Christmas carols have been written - one in Herefordshire and one in Worcestershire.

The first has been performed by the Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir and has been written by local composer Ian King.

The second was performed by the听How Caple Church听Choir, near Ross-on-Wye.

This was their second original score in 2018 having sang a specially commission anthem for Armistice day.

Writing a hit

Jim Eliot has had seven UK top 10 singles - that鈥檚 the same number as Adele. But just who is this one-man hit factory?

Jim鈥檚 written and produced songs for Kylie Minogue, Will Young, Olly Murs, Ellie Goulding, Christina Perri, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Leona Lewis, James Morrison, Rae Morris, Sigma and Foxes - and does all of this from his home in Hay-on-Wye.

This week, we start a brand new series looking at the science behind a top ten hit.

In session

Expect fun, energy, hoe-downs, jigs and reels from The Woo Town Hillbillies!

This collective of musicians/pranksters really love what they do and it shows!

You can expect high-flying bluegrass with tumbling banjo, mandolin and harmonica breaks, all mixed with a smattering of beautiful heartfelt tunes, accompanied by harmonies.

鈥淎 fun time band that will bring a smile to your face and a spring to your step!鈥 - Andrew Marston.

On the town!

What's the difference between an 'open mic night', a 'session' and a 'singaround'? It's a question we get asked lots, especially when presenting the gig guide.

Worcester's Lamb & Flag has been at the heart of the local music scene for a number of decades, so much so that a local author has written a book about it!

Michael Woods launched his new book - at the pub - accompanied by John Smith, Rupert Brakspeare and Mark Wescott on fiddle, guitar and squeeze box.

They give us the lowdown on what you can expect at the variety of events that take place in some of England's finest establishments!

Switching on Worcester's Christmas Lights

Our sessions, this month, come from the Worcester Christmas Lights switch-on ceremony.

Not only was this a fantastic opportunity for the musicians we selected (who didn鈥檛 even know they were being considered for this incredible gig), but also a chance for thousands of people to see the amazing talent we have right here on our doorstep.

As always, we also hope this will also inspire other musicians to share their music with us.

The event, this year, moved from the Guildhall to the newly-revamped Cathedral Square under the statue of Sir Edward Elgar.

The live music advent calendar

Throughout the whole of December, we're dedicating the second hour of our shows to live music.

We won't be playing a single CD, MP3, tape or vinyl - because we're giving you the music you won't be able to get anywhere else on the planet!

This week, hear tracks performed at the ,听the听,听,听听and at听.

Features

  • : The biggest night of the year.
  • : Led Zeppelin 'may never reform'.

成人论坛 Music Introducing in Kidderminster

Our next recording session will take place on Sunday, 27 January at Kidderminster College.

The venue, which has made a name for itself as being the national HQ of the government-funded MAS Records scheme, is supported by Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Ricky Wilson (Kaiser Chiefs) and Karl Hyde (Underworld).

We'll be bringing along handpicked musicians from Herefordshire and Worcestershire to record their live sessions for broadcast.

They've all uploaded their tracks to the听成人论坛 Music Introducing Uploader听- but didn't know they were being considered for this incredible opportunity!

This free event, which is open to everybody, kicks off at 1pm and you're more than welcome to turn up anytime until 5pm.

Broadcast

  • Sun 23 Dec 2018 18:00

Gigs

Gigs

Chloe Mogg's daily list of live music.

History

Tales of epic gigs and local legends.

Masterclass

Masterclass

Top tips for new musicians.

Sessions

Sessions

The best live performances since 2005.