The December Flowers + Holly Henderson (Double Bill)
We're delighted to welcome The December Flowers and Holly Henderson to the Sound Lounge for this exclusive and exciting double bill, each with their full bands.
Making their SL debut, the December Flowers bring a soulful, sun-drenched and '60s-inspired folk-rock vibe.
In 2018, Gemma Gray and multi-instrumentalist Joel Robson started recording and performing as a duo on the Sheffield folk circuit. They were joined by Shane Surgey and his Wurlitzer piano after he watched them play songs from their 2019 ‘My Joshua Tree’ EP during that year’s Tramlines Fringe Festival in Sheffield. With the addition of drummer Sam Dougherty and bassist Ian Swift in 2020 the December Flowers bloomed into existence.
The December Flowers have performed extensively around Yorkshire and the surrounding counties supporting both local and international touring artists and recently sold out the renowned live venue The Greystones, Sheffield.
The band's single 'Demons and Doubt' was selected to be discussed at last year’s Americana Music Association conference for their panel on music for TV and film – receiving excellent feedback. Gemma’s vocals have been described as both breathtakingly beautiful and “having gentle vibrato that makes you weak at the knees” – BBC Sheffield.
“The Flowers blend Americana with the folk-tinged spaciousness of California psychedelia, a touch of British music hall pop, 60’s Wurlitzer organ-driven rock, and a hint of Nashville country” (Americana UK)
The band's debut album 'See it Through' was released in February this year and was recorded at Sheffield’s Crystal Ship studios and Balcony Recording Company with Chris Wilkinson (Rhiannon Giddens, T Bone Burnett, Alison Krauss), the Grammy-winning former chief engineer at East of Iris Studios in Nashville. The album features guest musicians such as world-renowned pedal steel guitar player CJ Hillman and Ambient Americana visionary (and fellow Sheffielder) Bobby Lee.
Holly Henderson is a 29-year-old composer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist from Maidstone, Kent. In 2023 she went down a storm at the SL as part of a 'Paul Sexton Presents' bill and again in 2024 when she shared a bill with McDermott and North. In between times, she had the distinction of opening our Folk In The Park 2023 bill.
Holly performs her haunting and gregarious take on baroque pop-rock with an immersive and dynamic band, that both record, and play live together.
Her music lies somewhere between a newly-crafted area of The Beatles and PJ Harvey, if they existed in the charming, flamboyant core of 70's British singer-songwriters. It encompasses her unique persona as an avant-garde virtuoso guitarist, with layers of piano, bells, flutes, harpsichord, Paul McCartney-esque meandering bass lines, Holly’s classic, rich voice along with relentlessly melodic harmonies and whimsical arrangements of original compositions will throw you both back in time, and into the future.
Her album 'The Walls' received critical acclaim, from reviews, playlisting, and accolades from Clash Magazine, BBC London, BBC Introducing, BBC Upload, Frank Skinner/Absolute Radio, Cerys Matthews, What’s On Guide, Vents Magazine, BBC 6’s Fresh On The Net, Shindig Magazine and Prog Magazine.
Holly’s latest single 'Leggy Man' is typically Kentish and whimsical, recorded in the same part of rural England as 'The Walls.' Only this time in an attic with a room of instruments and a wry smile.
Doors 7pm, show 8pm
