LUNCHTIME SPECIAL: MELISSA JAMES
“Melissa’s vocals are sensitive, soulful and emotional...”
Maverick
Having grown up in a household that loved music, Melissa was inspired by the sounds of calypso, soca, reggae. While her father taught her the songs of the church, her elder sisters educated her on the sounds of soul. As her love for music grew, Melissa moved to Paris for two years during which she took up learning the guitar. This developed into her gigging with teacher, James Wilson, and bassist Marten Ingle. Now, some years later, she is deemed "Best current British blues singer I know." By BBC 6 Music's Tom Robinson. Melissa’s lyrics are wonderful story telling journeys that really connect with her ever growing audience as she touches on real and approachable themes. Her latest project, SING4SANE saw her invite participants to join her at RAK Studios to sing and record her charity single release, "Live Again" to raise awareness of mental health issues and to build togetherness among like-minded individuals. This afternoon, Melissa will be performing songs from her upcoming record, ‘Stripped Back’ in the company of Jonathon Holder on piano and Nick Pini on bass.
To make this performance even more special Melissa will also be accompanied for two songs by a group of children who will have attended her musical workshop in the morning at the 606 Club, prior to this Lunchtime gig.
This singing workshop is for children between the ages of 8 and 13 years and will take place from 10 til 12pm. Participation in the workshop is free. Any family members wishing to attend the show can do so at the reduced ticket price of £5.
For further information about the workshop, or to register the interest of a child wanting to participate, please contact Melissa directly on heartsongvoices@gmail.com
“James takes all of her musical loves – jazz, blues, soul, folk – and wraps them up into songs that achieve an astonishing array of moods and emotions” Jazzwise; “Melissa’s vocals are sensitive, soulful and emotional...” Maverick