Robb Johnson
This autumn sees the release of Robb’s latest album The Optimist Hotel. The songs on the album “are all linked by hopefulness,” says Robb. “Not everybody lives happily ever after in them, but these songs are about people who are hopeful, & who refuse to relinquish that hope.”
In the Optimist Hotel, there’s a man who makes roses out of paper napkins, a boy growing up in the 1960s, a man who didn’t teach Keith Richards how to play guitar, some soldiers who fought back at Bamber Bridge, a girl looking for her cat in Jenin, a woman who feeds the foxes, a woman who sells the Big Issue, the woman responsible for Animal Farm, & a couple sheltering from the rain.
The album will be available as an LP & a CD, which features a bonustrack ‘Mutualade’. The Optimist Hotel will not be available as a download.
Robb’s widely recognised as one of the UK’s finest songwriters.
“A national treasure” (Mike Harding)… “one of this country’s most important songwriters (no argument!)” (fROOTS).
“in my view one of the best songwriters this country has produced in many a year… the appellation National Treasure is often over-used, but in Robb’s case it is entirely appropriate" (St Edith’s Folk)
“One of Britain’s finest songwriters, a genuine folk legend”(Twickfolk)
Maggie Holland
Maggie Holland grew up in Hampshire and lived in the south of England until she migrated to Scotland in 1993, since when she has lived in Edinburgh. She has been playing music and singing songs for over 50 years, as part of Hot Vultures, the English Country Blues Band, Tiger Moth, Maggie’s Farm, Maggie Holland & Chris Coe and the Broonzies, but latterly solo. She received the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award "Best Song of 1999" for her song "A Place Called England”, covered by June Tabor and The Young ‘Uns amongst others.
“A celebration of songcraft” Ken Hunt, Rock N Reel magazine
“An extraordinary musician” Cerys Matthews
“A folkie with a hectoring tone” Tony Augarde
“Highly recommended” Linda Thompson
