Hey everyone, I’m really excited that my original Christmas single ‘St Benedict’s Christmas Fair’ is now available on iTunes!
The song is a bittersweet acoustic ballad about how hard it is saying goodbye during the festive period. I had the song written for awhile and it’s a really personal one, all the mixture of emotions felt when I was leaving home to embark on a new adventure.It’s the first single that I’ve recorded and played all the guitars, percussion and vocals, and mixed myself which was really fulfilling. I love the magical creative process of layering a track and the song has already earned radio airplay and some lovely reviews:
To download my single please visit https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/st-benedicts-christmas-fair/id931596301
"so sweet and really lovely" Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2
"beautiful stuff" Stephen Foster, BBC Radio Suffolk
'What a lovely tune!! I really like the running guitar riff throughout. Something I would keep humming to myself.' Gene Godfrey, Classic FM USA
"lovely; sad and melancholy but lovely. Very catchy too. I found myself singing along the second time through." Steve Hawthorne, InSuffolk
Christmas video filmed in Norwich
Here’s the music video for the single, filmed around the city centre and of course in St Benedict’s Street!
I’ll also be sharing some live performances of the song so keep a look out on my YouTube Channel.
Upcoming Headline Norwich Show - Bicycle Shop December 10th
To celebrate the release, I will be playing a special headline gig at The Bicycle Shop on Wednesday December 10th. Those attending the gig will also have the chance to get a special Christmas EP which features two originals as well as two Christmas covers!
Tickets and info here.
Latest Column - Covers
I love writing about music and songwriting and write a regular column for excellent website Songwriting Magazine. My latest column is now online and this time I’m discussing the popularity of artists recording cover versions as well as sharing some tips on how to cover a song more creatively, as well as looking at some of the most enduring covers:
http://www.songwritingmagazine.co.uk/interviews/lisa-redford-cover-versions/20508
Free Downloads at SoundCloud
As well as original songs, there are remixes and covers of songs at my SoundCloud page. Some of the songs I've recently recorded or performed live are by Elbow, Ryan Adams, The Supremes, Bastille, The Arctic Monkeys and many more:
https://soundcloud.com/lisaredford
New Video
Doing a live cover of this beautiful classic song ‘Help Me Make It Through The Night’ http://youtu.be/bt2OCaGw2rs
Interview with French music website:
http://www.rocknreviews.net/Interview/Lisa-Redford/Interview.html
All the very latest news is at my Facebook page www.facebook.com/lisaredfordmusic
and Twitter www.twitter.com
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/lisaredfordmusic
Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas!
As some of you know, last year I wrote a fundraising single for Norwich community station Future Radio, This Fine City - a celebration of Norwich and also a message of hope with us all coming together to get through this challenging and unprecedented time. It felt very rewarding that it was received so well, gaining radio airplay and local media coverage - including being featured here in an article I wrote for All Things Norfolk - whilst, more importantly, raising funds to help Future find a new city centre studio.
It’s continued to be a challenging start to the year for us all; for myself, with the lack of gigs and festivals on the horizon, it can be hard to find inspiration. I wanted to start the year on a positive note; be creative, while also doing something good, and felt that I wanted to do something for another local charity. One in the Crowd is a new acoustic song in aid of Safe Rescue for Dogs, whose events I have previously attended. As a huge animal lover and dog walker - mostly to springer spaniel Wesley who was also my co-star in the video for From Afar, a single I wrote and recorded during the first lockdown - I know the joy and unconditional love that they bring into our lives.
In her latest feature for All Things Norfolk, Lisa focuses on the exciting launch of her fundraising single in aid of Future Radio "This Fine City" about Norwich and how we're all coming together znd overcoming this tough time.
"I began volunteering at Future Radio in 2018, regularly hosting the Afternoon Session and also briefly covering NR Sounds which showcases bands and artists from Norwich and the surrounding areas of Norfolk and North Suffolk. It has been so rewarding and enjoyable to be part of the station - certainly been a real buzz broadcasting live to listeners and sharing my passion for music"
The Maids Head Hotel in Tombland, Norwich, one of the oldest hotels in the UK, will emerge from lockdown on Saturday, July 4. It is believed that this is the first time that the hotel has been closed since it started trading as the Murtel Fish Inn during the 13th century.
Christine Malcolm, General Manager said: “We are all looking forward to welcoming guests to the hotel after this three month closure. It will also be very good to see our staff return from furlough. They have been keeping their spirits up with a whole range of activities from a baking competition, to a Zoom lunch and a virtual run between the Maids Head and our sister hotels, The Gonville in Cambridge and The Ship at Brancaster.
We recently delivered a lockdown gift of Norfolk strawberries, clotted cream and chilled rose wine to our 90 staff who live across the county, from Norwich to Wymondham, Reepham and Gorleston. This resulted in some great feedback, Dawn said: 'Lovely surpirise today, thank you Christine and the team, miss you all...' ”
Norwich City footballer Tom Trybull and his wife Anna have donated £5,000 to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), plus a bag of clothes as the charity gears up to reopen five of its shops.
The money comes from sales of children’s book The Story of Tommy T. Tommy T is a pigeon trying to make his name in football. The story is written by Anna, based on the exploits of her husband and encourages young people to follow their dreams.
It will go towards EACH’s fundraising appeal set up at the start of lockdown to address a forecasted income gap of £1.8m over 12 weeks, caused by the cancellation and postponement of fundraising events, and the closure of the charity’s 43 shops.
Following the government announcement that non-essential shops can reopen from Monday (15 June), EACH has decided to open five of its outlets in Norfolk, in a phased reopening plan the good cause hopes will eventually restore the pre-lockdown success of its high street portfolio.
All Things Norfolk business member, singer-songwriter and music tutor Lisa Redford has written and recorded a brand new song at home during the lockdown "From Afar"
Lisa got her inspiration for writing this song when walking in her local area in Norwich and seeing a poster in a window which said "know you are loved from afar" . The song is all about missing loved ones but knowing that we can still love and care from them "From Afar" until we meet again. Once the song was written Lisa then recorded an acoustic version of it from her home studio.
We highly recommend that you take a listen to "From Afar" by visiting https://lisaredford.bandcamp.com/track/from-afar and support this talented local artist by purchasing the song digitally for £1 . You can also view the video by visiting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfnukKmLcqc