From quiet, bluegrass-inspired beginnings as a three-piece vanity project, Songs from the Blue House has turned into some sort of polyglot acoustic orchestra with as many as 14 members on occasions. Mainstay members are currently James Partridge (vocals/guitar), Shane Kirk (guitar/vocals), Richard 'Gibbon' Hammond (bass/vocals), Helen Mulley (vocals/flute), Richard 'Fiddly' Lockwood (fiddle), Tony Winn (banjo), Tony Turrell (piano/keyboards) and David Booth (drums). They sometimes convince Nick Zala to come and play pedal steel. Main writers James & Shane have been playing together on and off for over two decades, but Shane eventually dragged James out of an 11-year musical hiatus to form SftBH in January 2003. SftBH can and will try their hands at almost anything, and frequently do. Sometimes folky, sometimes country, part acoustic pop and partly windswept ‘big music’, the band’s breadth of material either confuses or delights, but as musicians from very varied backgrounds, and not being overly ambitious people, they’re quite happy with that. SftBH are known for more than their musical sluttishness though - their often bewildering onstage banter can entertain as much as the music. These guys have a confidence bred from experience but comfortingly, they’re not too big for their boots. SftBH have enjoyed main stage starry-eyedness at Cornbury Festival (2006), followed by a feature in the fantastic national UK magazine The Word (www.wordmagazine.co.uk), a cracking performance at Oxford Folk Festival in 2007 as well as live broadcasts on BBC Radio Suffolk in their native East Anglia. Their third album, ‘Tree’ was released in August 2007, courtesy of East Anglia’s finest acoustic record label (and live music venue, recording studio and multi-media providers), High Barn. www.high-barn.com, 'Tree' features guest appearances from Judy Dyble (ex Fairport Convention) and Paul Mosley from the band Moses, amongst many others. A fourth album is under way, with a Spring/Summer 2011 release planned.
