MiTH

Tanya Nicolson and St John Haw, The Swish Collective, Chelsea-Belle and Roarke Angelbright will be performing at Music in the Hills (MiTH) at The Knoll Guesthouse and Backpackers, Knoll Drive, Hilton from 7 pm on Wednesday, September 21.

Tanya and St John are some of our favourite musicians here in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal. Tanya leaves her heart on the stage – the utter abandon with which she delivers jazz standards, jazz not-so-standards and soulful ballad covers has left MiTH members tearful on more than one occasion. She lives and breathes every lyric.

St John, in his unique, quiet way, provides a perfect foil for Tanya with smooth and evocative keyboard work and a raspy vocal that is as surprising as it is visceral. Their talent is undoubted and self-evident. Their impassioned performances, however, are clearly a function of deep pools of emotion.

The Swish Collective was forged in the iconic downtown drinking-hole that is The Thistle Hotel. This group of music lovers was brought together by their passion for performing. The group comprises members of all ages, from all walks of life, salesmen to scrappies, teachers to travelling barmen.

The signature of the Swish collective is our very own Swish Ambassador; you’ll know him by his suit and trademark tambourine. You can expect a show full of energy, the songs you love to sing along to, and boy band good looks. Wayne Gracie, Sasha Jarman, Andre Swart

Chelsea-Belle is a folk singer/songwriter who performs contemporary music with her guitar. Country music is a major influence for her, as well as local artists such as Matthew Mole, Ruby Gill, Majozi and Jeremy Loops. Needtobreathe, Florida Georgia Line and Lady Antebellum are some of her favourite bands, as well as the artist Dustin Lynch.

She got her first guitar when she was eight and has been known to avoid doing work by spending hours playing guitar in her room. She thought of the tune and first few lines of her first song on the back of a motorbike just outside Pretoria, had to keep humming the tune all the way back to Maritzburg to remember it, and was extremely surprised to find she did remember it when she arrived.

Roarke Angelbright is a singer-songwriter from Westville. The 19-year-old solo artist puts a unique twist on his performances by using a loop station. He records backing to his songs live and on the spot. Percussion, rythm, riffs and whatever else he needs is played, live, on one guitar, and looped to create a more full, ‘band sound’.

He plays a variety of unique covers and original songs. His style takes influences from folk, blues and even small elements of hip-hop in his rythmic beats – but overall it is probably best described as acoustic rock.

Roarke played in the 2014 Durban International Blues Festival, at the age of 17, as well as many other venues throughout KZN. He became a solo act in the beginning of 2016 when he began singing and looping live for the first time. Roarke Angelbright

Musicians who wish to play at MiTH should call Bill Pocket on 076 684 7647 or email him at bpocket@amberridgekzn.co.za. Performers plus one partner get in free.

MiTH is a semi-open mic music club. An opportunity for musicians to share the joy of their music with a friendly audience which includes fellow musicians – who have all “been there” too. Non-musicians welcome too!

Doors open at 7pm and tickets are  R20. Food and soft drinks available (BYOB).