Friday 26h January, 2018, The Atkinson, Southport
Winter Wilson are preparing to hit the road with the legendary Fairport Convention – but they could very easily be on the dole. This is the story of a coule who turned the nightmare of redundancy into a dream of playing music for a living…
“We gave ourselves a year to see how things would turn out,” says singer Kip Winter. “Five years later we are still getting away with it! It’s not easy, but playing music professionally beats working for a living.”
Kip and partner Dave Wilson were popular part timers on the folk scene and released Winter Wilson albums at their own leisure. But, following the banking crash and global crisis of 2012, things changed for the couple and music became the priority. Since then, critical acclaim has followed their every move and they even made one of the Daily Telegraph’s ‘Top Ten Folk Albums’ of 2014 in the redundancy-inspired and intrepid ‘Cutting Free’.
The music they make is as sharp in sound as it is observational in message and is delivered with a keen ear for melody and instinctive harmonies. Dave Wilson’s songs pull no punches and are as comfortable in a contemporary box, as they are at home on the floor of a folk club. Indeed, his songs have found their way into the repertoire of many a seasoned floor singer, as well as several other recording artists.
The duo has been hand-picked to support musical legends Fairport Convention in 2018 and are ready to delight audiences around the country. To coincide with this, they are releasing their brand-new album ‘Far Off on the Horizon’ on January 25th this year and it’s another outstanding collection of original songs on subjects as diverse as migration, old age, young love and Australian weather! This latest collection of songs fits very well with the emotional geography of the roads they’re now travelling.
“We never did the gap year thing as students, and we knew we had enough money from my redundancy to buy a van and get by for a little while, so I’m glad we said: ‘sod the daily grind’ and got out there,” says Dave.
‘Getting out there’ also includes releasing albums like 2016’s acclaimed ‘Ashes & Dust’ and touring them around the world. “Tallullah, our camper van, recently covered over five thousand miles in six weeks on the first leg of our last tour,” reveals Kip. “We went all around the UK, over to Germany and then around Ireland.” Early 2017 saw the pair venture even further afield, touring Australia and New Zealand. Everywhere they travelled, reactions were positive and word of mouth continues to build about their music.
“Winter Wilson have a touch of the prolific about them,” declared Fatea Magazine about 2016’s ‘Ashes & Dust’. “But when prolific is this good, then we want more please.”
Judging by the determination and enthusiasm of these two talented musicians, we won’t have to wait long to see and hear more – starting with eighth album ‘Far Off on the Horizon’ and a nationwide tour.
OTS News on Social Media