Robert Kirby 16 April 1948 - 3 October 2009

A handful of friends and collaborators gather together to celebrate the music of Robert Kirby – one of the world’s most beloved pop/folk string arrangers, on the first anniversary of his untimely death, October 3rd.

This is a special one-off concert featuring Robert Kirby's arrangements, conducted by Harvey Brough, with performances by:

Teddy Thompson, Vashti Bunyan, Steve Ashley, Luke Jackson, Ben & Jason (reformed for this show only), Harvey Brough & Clara Sanabras

and an appearance from Fab Cabs, Robert’s choral group from Caius College, Cambridge in 1967.

Venue: Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regents Park Road, London NW1 7AY. Sunday October 3rd at 2.30pm (doors 1.30pm).

Tickets: available from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/92859

VASHTI IS VERY SORRY TO SAY THAT HER SHOWS IN MANCHESTER AND
BRACKNELL HAVE NOW BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO THE VOLCANO ASH CLOUD
AND HER OWN CANCELLED FLIGHT HOME FROM LOS ANGELES.
NO WAY HOME IN TIME. VERY SORRY ALSO TO ADRIAN CROWLEY,
WHO WAS GOING TO BE PLAYING TOO. THE HOPE IS TO
RESCHEDULE LATER IN THE YEAR.

Barbican Hall

22nd January Barbican Hall, London

Way to Blue: The Songs of Nick Drake
Featuring: Danny Thompson, Vashti Bunyan, Green Gartside,
Lisa Hannigan, Scott Matthews, Teddy Thompson, Krystle Warren,
Robyn Hitchcock, Kirsty Almeida & more

This event has now sold out but tickets are still available for other tour dates
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall - Wed 20th January
Brighton Dome - Thu 21st January
Warwick Arts Centre - Sat 23rd January

Thursday, 18th February

Queen Elizabeth Theatre 
Hamilton Street at West Georgia, Vancouver, Canada
Hal Willner's Neil Young Project
Featuring: Sam Beam of Iron & Wine
Chris Brown
Vashti Bunyan

Robert Burger
Brendan Canning
Fred Cash
Jason Collett
Julie Doiron

Kevin Drew
Sam Goldberg
Shahzad Ismaily
Eric Mingus
Sun Kil Moon

Jenni Muldaur
Ambrosia Parsley
Justin Peroff
Ben Perowsky

Joan as Policewoman
Elizabeth Powell
Bill Priddle
Lou Reed

Alasdair Roberts
Ron Sexsmith
Teddy Thompson
James Blood Ulmer

Andrew Whiteman
Doug Wieselman

Solo Tour

Solo Tour with Gareth Dickson, Jo Mango, Emma Smith

Monday 15th March JAPAN –TOKYO - Billboard Live
Tuesday 16th March JAPAN – TOKYO - Billboard Live
Friday 19th March SINGAPORE - Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay

Thursday 8th April St. George's, Bristol, UK
Friday 9th Apil Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, UK
Saturday 10th St. George's Church, Brighton, UK
Sunday 11th April The Union Chapel, London, UK

Sunday 2nd May RNCM Concert Hall, Manchester, UK
Tuesday 4th May - South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell, UK

Solo tour with Gareth Dickson and Jo Mango
Thursday 6th May STOCKHOLM-Sodra Teatern-
Saturday 8th May HELSINKI-Korjaamo-
Monday 10th May BERLIN Volksbuhne Theatre
(With screening of Kieran Evans’ film
‘Vashti Bunyan – From Here to Before’)

HOMELIGHTS

HOMELIGHTS is a weekend of music & visuals
co-curated by Irish recording artist Adrian Crowley
and independent music promoters Foggy Notions.
It is a sister festival to Adem’s HOMEFIRES in London
and the Fence Collective’s HOMEGAME in Fife and
draws upon the themes of community and artistic kinship.

Taking place in Whelans from Friday November 27 to Monday November 30 and ably assisted by the good promoting folks at Foggy Notions, the lineup is as follows:

Friday Nov 27th. Upstairs @ Whelan’s. 8pm. Adrian Crowley & Friends (solo performances & collaborations) Tickets €12 incl booking fee from www.tickets.ie, Road Records, City Discs, WAV & Ticketmaster outlets nationwide

Saturday Nov 28th. Whelan’s. 3pm – 10.30pm Adrian Crowley (full band performance) James Yorkston Adem Alasdair Roberts & special guests tbc Tickets €20 incl booking fee from www.tickets.ie, Road Records, City Discs, WAV & Ticketmaster outlets nationwide

Sunday Nov 29th. Whelan’s. 3pm – 1.30am Vashti Bunyan Adrian Crowley (accompanied by Geese) Andy Irvine (Planxty, Sweeney’s Men) Minotaur Shock Lord Cut-Glass (Chemikal Underground) & full line-up tbc Tickets €25 incl booking fee from www.tickets.ie, Road Records, City Discs, WAV & Ticketmaster outlets nationwide

'Rehearsing' for one show in Moscow in September.

All summer spent in Topanga, Los Angeles, borrowing a studio from Adam and Korrina Peters. Five new songs so far.

Fat Cat Nights with the Great Escape @ Theatre Royal Brighton - Friday 16 - Saturday 17 May 2008

Brighton Festival

Brighton-based label Fat Cat returns for these specially produced Festival concerts in association with the Great Escape.

Fri Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver, Haushka, Tom Brosseau Sat Nina Nastasia, The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbit, Silje Nes Heading up Friday night's line-up is British chanteuse Vashti Bunyan, celebrating the recent re-release of her early pop material including her 1965 debut single penned by Jagger and Richards. Plus the lush acoustic textures of Andy Cabic's uber-cool Vetiver; North Dakota's golden-voiced folk-roots troubadour Tom Brosseau; and German composer Haushka, whose disruptive ‘piano interventions' bring to mind the rhythmic sounds of Steve Reich and John Cage. Saturday night sees New York's cult singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia headlining another dream roster with her spectral Americana and smouldering vocal intensity. Also featuring the skewed anthemic rock of Glasgow's accordion-toting The Twilight Sad; Glasgow's exuberant post-punk Indie rock trio Frightened Rabbit; and the multilayered organic hooks of Norwegian multi-instrumentalist/singer Silje Nes. Box Office: 08700 606 650 (booking fee) Theatre Royal Brighton

Due to (so far) unresolved difficulties with Universal over the licensing for "Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind/I Want To Be Alone".. the iTunes UK listing for the Singles and Demos collection has these two tracks missing at the beginning.

Two tracks were offered here for download at the time (the files are no longer available):

Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind (Jagger/Richards)

I Want To Be Alone (Bunyan)

Whyn Lewis (VB's daughter) has a show of her new paintings at the Portal Gallery, 15 New Cavendish Street, Marylebone High Street, London, W1G 9UB - 12th November to 1st December

email portalgallery@btinternet.com
tel: 020 7935 5222

FatCat/Spinney release a double CD compilation of early (pre Diamond Day) recordings entitled 'Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind' on October 22nd 2007 in the UK. Di Cristina release the US version on October 30th.

Syd Barrett - Madcap's Last Laugh

10 May 2007 / 19:30 Barbican Hall

"The spirit of Syd Barrett is invoked by an all-star line-up of music and lights. The many guests include Kevin Ayers, The Bees, Vashti Bunyan, King Creosote with Gordon Anderson (The Aliens), Mike Heron, Robyn Hitchcock, Chrissie Hynde, Captain Sensible, Sense of Sound choir+ more tbc"

The house band includes, Andy Bell on bass (Oasis), Simon Finley on drums (Echo & The Bunnymen), Ted Barnes on guitar (Beth Orton).

Lighting Design by Peter Wynne Willson Producers, Joe Boyd, Nick Laird-Clowes

"Chemikal Underground Records are proud to announce the release, March 5th 2007, of Ballads Of the Book, an elaborately ambitious project featuring some of Scotland’s best writers and musicians."

FEBRUARY 2007

Friday 2nd New York, Carnegie Hall - David Byrne's Perspectives "Welcome to Dreamland" Devendra Banhart, Adem, Vashti Bunyan, Vetiver, Cocorosie and Cibelle.

East Coast USA with Vetiver

Saturday 3rd Philadelphia, Johnny Brendas Sunday 4th Charlottesville , Satellite Ballroom Monday 2nd Carrsboro, The Arts centre Tuesday 6th Athens, 40 Watt Club Wednesday 7th Nashville, Mercy Lounge Friday 9th Washington DC, Rock and Roll Hotel Saturday 10th Brooklyn, Southpaw

Australia, with Jo Mango and Gareth Dickson

Tuesday 20th Melbourne, Prince Band Room Wednesday 21st Sydney, Newtown Thursday 22nd Brisbane, The Zoo Saturday 24th Perth, International Arts Festival.

Japan, with Jo and Gareth

Tuesday 27th Sansui, Osaka Wed 28th Metro, Kyoto

MARCH

Thursday 1st Liquidroom, Tokyo

Thursday 15th FatCat Showcase, SXSW, Austin, Texas

by Whyn Lewis ©2006

USA and Canada Tour 2006

09-01 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards 09-02 Portland, OR - Hollywood Theater (Halleluwah Arts Fest) 09-03 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival 09-06 Santa Cruz -The Attic 09-07 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall 09-08 Los Angeles, CA - Getty Museum 09-09 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo 09-11 Chicago, IL - Lakeshore Theater 09-12 Chicago, IL - Lakeshore Theater 09-14 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom 09-15 Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts 09-16 Shelburne Falls, MA - Memorial Hall Theater 10-03 Toronto - Harbourfront Center 10-05 Montreal - La Tulipe

Tour Schedule 2006

14/04 - AB2 (Domino Festival), Belguim (Brussels) 15/04 - Hotel Mozaique, Holland (Rotterdam) 17/04 - Cafe De La Danse, France (Paris) 18/04 - Le Minotaur, France (Vendome) 19/04 - La Cooperative De Mai, France (Clermont Ferrand) 20/04 - Le Grand Mic, France (Tourcoing) 21/04 - Scene National, France (Dieppe) 28/04 - Théâtre Jacques , France (Bourges)

30/04 - Tramway, Scotland (Glasgow) with Belle and Sebastian

01/05 - Cabaret Sauvage, Paris, with Cocorosie 11/05 - Playhouse, UK (Leeds) Fuse Festival, with Adem and Tunng

14/05 - All Tomorrow's Parties, curated by Devendra Banhart (Camber Sands, Rye, Sussex)

21/05 - Bologna - with Adem

25/05 - Brighton Festival, Corn Exchange (Brighton) with Max Richter and Tom Brousseau

02/06 - Venn Festival, (Bristol) with Max Richter

03/06 - Primavera (Barcelona)

04/06 - Homefires (London)

03/07 - Accelerator Festival, Sweden (Malmo) 05/07 - Accelerator Festival, Sweden (Goteborg) 06/07 - Accelerator Festival, Sweden (Stockholm) 07/07 - Quart Festival, Norway (Kristiansand)

04/08 - Big Chill, Eastnor Castle, (Hereford)

12/08 - Summer Sundae, (Leicester)

September/October USA/Canada

cover art is from a painting by Whyn Lewis (VB's daughter) A show of her new work is at the Portal Gallery, 43 Dover Street, London from 3rd till 22nd October 2005 www.portal-gallery.com

second album done - 35 years later

to be called 'Lookaftering' for the years between and the looking back

produced by Max Richter co-arranged by Max Richter and Vashti Bunyan

to be released by FatCat October 17th 2005 FATCD38p

in USA to be released by DiCristina - October 25th 2005

musicians include.. Max Richter, Joanna Newsom, Adem, Devendra Banhart. Robert Kirby, Kevin Barker , Otto Hauser, Marcelo Di Oliviera, Adam Pierce.

May 2005 The big decision. Signing to FatCat Records. Love them. Photograph by Jason Evans April 2005

Working with Max Richter (www.maxrichter.com) as co-producer for album of new songs planned for late 2005.. in USA will be on DiCristina. So far beautiful musicianship from Max and Joanna Newsom, Marcelo

• and plans for other people - need to catch them for a moment.

---***

June moments caught..

With Adem, Devendra Banhart, Andy Cabic, Otto and Kevin - French horn and trumpet played by Robert Kirby.

Many thankyous

---***

May 2005 Prospect Hummer - Animal Collective (feat. Vashti Bunyan)

• an EP of four AC songs released by FatCat May 16th 2005 in UK and May 31st in USA. www.fat-cat.co.uk

Throughout

2004/5 - realising how much of it could be done by VB..
like all the song-writing

• and old
  Martin guitar given by son Leif and brought from California.
  It is not
  liking the cold
  but gets
  better with playing.
  And a Danelectro present from Al. Lovely blue.

DiCristina

re-issue of Just Another Diamond Day for the USA and Canada. October 19th 2004 www.midheaven.com

EP Saint

Marie out May 30th 2004 on Green Ufos

More Piano

Magic - voice on Glen Johnson's song Dark Ages

www.piano-magic.com

For Devendra

Banhart - recorded duet although not on the same continent at the time.
Devendra on
the Georgia/Alabama border.. Vashti in Edinburgh room with creaking
floorboards.
Recording
sent over the Atlantic to join up.
To be found
on 'Rejoicing In The Hands' - out May 24th 2004 on XL and Young God

www.xl-recordings.com

www.younggodrecords.com

Link to Amazon

April 2004

Recording

with Animal Collective at Idle Luxury Studios, London.

2003/2004 More writing, deciding and undeciding.

Royal Festival Hall April 2003 - invitation to play 10 minute set in
Stephen Malkmus curated - 'Down The Dustpipe'.
First VB on stage for more than 30 years.
First live singing of Diamond Day ever.
Kieran Hebden, Adem and Fiona Brice accompany.
Thank you very kindly.

Reviews

Silver Platinum Diamonds

April 2002

till April 2003.. writing, deciding, recording, undeciding.
Demos made
with Simon Raymonde sadly not
moving on.

Feb 2002

Writers Without Homes - Piano Magic 4AD.
Vocals on
Glen Johnson's song - Crown of the Lost. First time in studio for 33 years