The real Sandi Thom has stepped forward, and surely no one has ever been quite so happy to get the blues…
“Perfect in every Way” Maverick Magazine
“The oomph of Joan Osborne” Mojo
“The miracle reinvention from pop diva to gritty blues rocker ” News of The World
””One of the most surprising albums of the year” The Mail on Sunday
Sandi will welcome on the evening her special guest – Steve Balsamo
Even before her debut album, *Smile… It Confuses People* was released on June 5, preceded by a single, *I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker* on May 22, 2006, Sandi Thom was a phenomenon. The record company called her “the first webcast signing in major record label history” and she became the overnight internet star who won a global audience and a megabucks handshake thanks to her investment in a £60 webcam. Needless to say, the story goes a little deeper than that.
Sandi Thom has spent half a lifetime writing songs and performing gigs. She actually began learning piano at the age of three. Sandi was born in a small fishing village called Banff on the North East coast of Scotland. Both her mother and father came from musical backgrounds. Her father, a fisherman who became a helicopter pilot, used to sing and play the guitar to Sandi every day.
“The first thing I remember was listening to my Dad’s records when I was little, on vinyl,” Sandi says. “I grew up on Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac and many more. I’ve always been influenced by the Blues and Rock along with singer-songwriters, like Dylan, Carole King and Buffy Saint Marie. It was a funny mixture that certainly influenced the way I sing and play.”
Sandi has gone on to make her mark on the International music scene, playing live to sell-out crowds across the world, including, being No.1 in the Australian charts for an impressive 12 weeks, the current world record for any artist in that country. She accumulated 7 no.1 positions throughout the world and sold in excess of 2 million records with her first album Smile…it confuses people and her second album Pink and the Lily.
Having appeared on the same stage as the King of the Blues himself, BB.King, and being invited to tour Europe with the biggest thing in Blues today, Guitar virtuoso Joe Bonamassa. Joe liked Sandi’s style so much, he guest appeared on her album.
In August 2012 Sandi recorded and released her 4th studio album with The Black Crowes band produced by Rich Robinson in Nashville. With performances by Rich himself, Buffy Saint Marie and the late Bobby Keys. Followed swiftly by the critically acclaimed Covers Collection featuring a cover of Guns n Roses November Rain, the video of which is about to exceed over 1,000,000 youtube views.
Sandi’s life took a wonderful turn when she fell pregnant with her first child in 2014 and since then Sandi has dedicated her life to raising her son Logan, moving to Bahrain in 2017.
Sandi is once again appearing on stages worldwide performing songs from her own vast back catalogue along with a whole host of Blues, Soul and Jazz classics. Sandi says “I am so excited to once again perform on a weekly basis and what better way to relaunch myself than to be performing on a local stage playing the songs that I grew up with and such a huge influence on me.”
SUPPORT – MATTHEW FREDERICK
Matthew Frederick fuses an early love of classic singer-songwriters with more recent influences to create a distinctive and timeless blend of Misery Folk, ballads and blues, plus a touch of Cymrucana and contemporary classical thrown in for good measure.
With headline shows in the UK, Europe and US under his belt, as well as fronting BBC Introducing favourites Climbing Trees and indie-folk duo Hazel & Grey, the Rhondda Valley musician has released five albums, one mini-album, two EPs and sixteen singles to date across a number of projects since his 2012 debut solo EP Venus & Mars, with tracks being picked up by the likes of Netflix, Sky and ITV along the way.
Alongside numerous festival (Green Man, The Hay Festival) television (BBC, S4C) and radio (BBC Radio 1, 6 Music) appearances, Frederick has also recorded at London’s iconic Maida Vale Studios, performed with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and was shortlisted for the Welsh Music Prize following the release of the Trees’ much-anticipated and critically-acclaimed Borders.
Book a table for pre-concert dining
Acapela Studio provides pre-concert dining between 6.00pm and 7.30pm from our pizza oven. To view the current menu visit here.
Please purchase your concert tickets first before booking a table. We will not accept any table bookings that do not have a corresponding ticket purchase.
Then return to the event page to book your table, by selecting the date of your event, number of diners and time you require table. The times shown are the only vacancies left. Please complete your email and phone number as this is required to ensure your table is allocated. You will receive confirmation of your booking by email and text.
If on the date you have chosen no tables are available - no times will be shown and the booking system will revert you back to todays date - PLEASE ENSURE YOU BOOK THE CORRECT DATE!
PLEASE NOTE THE VENUE RELIES ON THE INCOME FROM DINING TO ENSURE WE CAN BOOK ALL THE GREAT ACTS PERFORMING.
Income from the provision of pizzas is very important to the venue and if you have booked a table it is a requirement that all people sat at tables order food - a salad alternative is available to pizzas. Please do ensure that all individuals will be ordering on your table - if this is not the case please cancel your table so others who are looking to dine can do so. Our apologies to raise this but recently we have had many tables (some very large) where less than 50% of those sat at tables have ordered food. Financially this is a real problem to the sustainability of the venue.
- All seating at tables must purchase a pizza - so please do not book a table if everyone is not eating.
- Please ensure that you arrive 10 minutes before the time slot allocated to order your pizzas prior to your booking time.
- Tables not seated within 15 minutes of the allocated time may be lost and allocated to other audience members wishing to order pizzas.
- If you wish to book a table for 6 or more please email info@acapela.co.uk
Please note that all of our pizzas are made fresh to order and cooked in an authentic wood-fired oven. It may take up to 45 minutes to be served during busy periods.
IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO BOOK A TABLE YOU CAN STILL ORDER PIZZAS ON THE NIGHT (USUALLY ON BUSY NIGHTS NO LATER THAN 7.15PM) AND WE WILL SERVE THEM TO YOU WHEREVER YOU ARE SAT IN THE VENUE - IN A PIZZA BOX.