Preview: Norwich full gig guide April 20-26

CHARLENE SORAIA

Open, April 22

Straddled with a guitar and an impressive repertoire; jazz leanings, beautiful runs and rich flurries with reverb — Charlene Soraia is best known for her spacey cover of Wherever You Will Go by The Calling, which was used in an advert for tea-makers Twinings.

She is another artist off the Brit School production line, she attended alongside future stars Adele and Kate Nash, but she's more interesting then that suggests. For a start her music veers more towards alternative folk rather than pop, probably because she developed a love of prog rock bands like King Crimson from her guitarist father.

From 2006 to 2009, she released several stripped-down solo EPs, including Lemonade, Postcards from iO, Daffodils & Other Idylls (and One of the Sun.

Her cover of Wherever You Will Go, with help from that advert, reached the Top 5 and her debut album Moonchild was released in November to positive reviews.

Underneath the cheery disposition of her success however lies self-doubt as complex as her intricate finger picking. She suffers from cyclothymic, a less severe form of bipolar disorder and synthaesthesia, which causes her to see music as colours. 'Everything I write has a different hue or mood harmonically and lyrically,' she explains.

Support for this Norwich gig comes from Kamilla Lovett.

t Further listening: www.charlenesoraia.com

DELILAH

Waterfront, April 22

Known principally as the guest vocalist on Chase And Status's Time, pop star-with-a-club-edge Delilah aims to make it big in 2012. Her debut single solo Go went on to see 130,000 copies and she repeated the trick with follow-up single Love You So.

She arrives in Norwich ahead of the release of her latest single Breathe. Shje also recently recently unveiled a free downloadable mixtape entitled 2-4am on her website featuring eight tracks, including Joe Goddard's fantastic remix of Love You So, giving fans an early taste of what can be expected from her forthcoming debut album, From the Roots Up, which is coming this summer.

The album, recorded alongside producers Balistiq Beats and Hyperdub's LV crew, has been a work in progress for over a year. Her meticulous and unhurried approach means there are something like 150 songs to choose from.

Her music draw on her love for dubstep and jazz, soul, breakbeat and bass. She says he grew up in a home full of music including her mum's Latin records, Sade, Portishead, drum n bass 12s on Metalheadz and LTJ Bukem mixes as well as Nirvana and Radiohead. 'Oh, I had the Spice Girls in there too,' she says. 'I was always Mel B in school thanks to my hair.'

Support comes from The Good Natured.

t Further listening: www.delilahofficial.co.uk

MARCUS BONFANTI

Norwich Arts Centre, April 24

The couple of years has seen some kind of natural, unforced British blues revival and, like our own Oli Brown, Marcus Bonfanti was been front and centre of it.

Fast building a reputation as one of the most exciting acts on the UK live circuit thanks to fierce live performances, he earned two nominations in the 2011 British Blues Awards, Best Male Vocals and Best Guitarist, to go with his pair of nominations the previous year.

His second album What Good Am I To You won great acclaimed.

His music references a cool range of influences from Tony Joe White, through Tom Waits to Led Zeppelin. But ultimately he has his own style — the sound of North London blues.

The 29-year-old was born and raised in a tiny flat to an English mother and a 'dangerously Italian' father. He picked up the guitar for the first time at the age of 16 after hearing Led Zep's Black Dog and has already packed in plenty, having worked as a sideman for artists such as PP Arnold, Joe Lewis Walker, Earl Thomas, and Findlay Brown. He's also opened for the likes of Chuck Berry, Robert Cray, John Mayall, Paul Jones and Jeff Lang.

He will be supported by Norfolk blues duo Dove and Boweevil — aka Lauren Dove and Mark Howes.

t Further listening: marcusbonfanti.com/doveandboweevil.co.uk

BLOWZABELLA

Norwich Arts Centre, April 25

Blowzabella have been a fixture on the folk scene since the 1980s. With a sound dominated by bagpipes, hurdy-gurdies and an array of acoustic instruments they produce an inimitable, driving, drone-based sound.

Originally formed in 1978 they have played everywhere from the main stage at Glastonbury Festival to the outer reaches of Brazil and West Africa and innumerable places in between. They compose their own music which is influenced by British and European traditional dance music. Many bands across Europe who experiment with the boundaries of folk music cite Blowzabella as a major influence.

Led by Andy Cutting on diatonic accordion, BBC Folk Musician of the Year in 2009 and 2011, the band's line-up includes Jo Freya on clarinet and saxophones; Paul James on bagpipes and sax; hurdy-gurdy player Gregory Jolivet; Dave Shepherd on violin; bassist Barn Stradling and Jon Swayne on bagpipes and sax.

Their last album, 2010's Dance, was a collection of 13 all-time favourite dance tracks recorded live. Don't be surprised if many feature here.

t Further listening: www.blowzabella.com

SOUNDS IN THE CITY

APRIL 20

Monkey Spanner (ska/reggae) — Brickmakers

Dizraeli + more (hip hop) — Carnival

Rezurex + more (punkabilly) — B2

Four Play (blues/rock) — Walnut Tree Shades

The Undecided (rock) — King Edward VII

The Lennerrockers (rock'n'roll) — Arkwrights

The Dirigibles (rock'n'roll) — Brewery Tap

The Music House: feat. Sheri Kershaw Band + more — Wensum Lodge

Honeydripper (rock/blues) — The Farmhouse

Norwich Folk Club — Christ Church Centre

Davie J — Perseverance

Barry Lee — Chapel Break Community Centre

APRIL 21

Twin Atlantic + more (indie/rock) — Waterfront

Sylosis + more (metal) — Arts Centre

The Validators (ska/reggae) — B2

Martin Taylor & Martin Simpson (acoustic) — Assembly House

Mentallica (metal/tribute) — Brickmakers

Feral Mouth (folk) — Coach & Horses (Union St)

Uprising (rock) — Boundary

King Dinosaur (roots) — Coach & Horses (Bethel St)

Thin Ice (rock) — Woolpack

Martha Makes Mistakes + more (acoustic) — Carnival

Primal Intensions & GI Soundsystem — Bedfords

Lou & The Diamonds (60s) — Arkwrights

Johnny Jump Band (rock/blues) — Walnut Tree Shades

Play The Music (acoustic/1pm) — Arts Centre

Steve Moyse — Angel Gardens

Neil Francis — Heartsease

Lisa Marie — Heath House

Tony Cann — Quebec Tavern

APRIL 22

Tribes (indie) — Arts Centre

Charlene Soraia (indie/jazz) — Open

Delilah (urban/dance) — Waterfront

Delaney Davidson (blues/alternative) — Bicycle Shop

Neil Daniels & Dave Morrison (blues/jazz) — Brewery Tap

Elvis On Tour: feat. Gordon Hendricks (tribute) — St Andrew's Hall

Dynamite Horton (rockabilly) — The Gordon

Lee Vasey Big Band (12pm) — Brickmakers

Lee Vasey (4pm) — Lakenham Cock

APRIL 23

The Lemonheads (indie) — Waterfront

The Miserable Rich (indie) — Arts Centre

St George's Day Massacre: feat. Vulcano + more (metal) — Waterfront

Brickie Session (open mic) — Brickmakers

Jazz Jam: feat Rich Buddie — Walnut Tree Shades

Jazz Jam — B2

APRIL 24

Marcus Bonfanti Trio + Dove and Boweevil (folk/alterantive) — Arts Centre

Jo Fooks & Simon Brown Trio (jazz) — Rackheath Green Man

Sheets Of Sound (rock/pop) — Brickmakers

Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart (folk/roots) — Olives

Jam Night — Rumsey Wells

APRIL 25

Deaf Havana (hardcore/indie) — Waterfront

Blowzabella (folk) — Arts Centre

Rebuilding The Digital Age (metal/indie) — B2

Lee Vasey & Friends — Trowel & Hammer

Traditional Irish — The Gatehouse

Pure Acoustic (open mic) — Brickmakers

APRIL 26

Feeder (rock) — Waterfront

Lazy Habits + Killamonjambo + more (indie/funk) — Arts Centre

Lewis Floyd Henry (roots/acoustic) — Bicycle Shop

Aftershock (funk/pop) — Brickmakers

Dumbfoundus (pop) — Belgua

The Planks (soul) — Walnut Tree Shades

Ghostriders Western Club: feat. Mac Bailey & Desperado (country) — TA Centre

Cat Acoustic: feat. Bunkadoos (roots) — Brewery Tap

Johnny Jump Band (rock/blues) — Micawbers Tavern

Albert Cooper's Jazz Night — Rumsey Wells

The Ziggurats — Rose Tavern

Jam Night — King Edward VII

Open Mic — Garden House

Open Mic — Wildman