Hanna Haas
From Portland, Oregon. Leaving aside Hanna’s obvious talent for a beautiful line and heart-rending melody, you can often tell a person by the company they keep and the whispers you hear from their circle. Therefore when Chris Lynch (fiddle-demon of Marty O’Reilly & The Old Soul Orchestra) tells you to check someone out, you do.

Naturally radiant and redolent of the classic American Folk tradition, everything about Hanna and her songs oozes effortless quality and while she makes it look easy, that’s what the best ones always do. With just the one EP ‘Unstruck’ released so far this is a fledgling career, so let’s help her spread those wings.

KEVIN PEARCE

A veteran of Latitude and Wilderness Festivals as well as tours with Ian McCulloch (Echo and the Bunnymen) & Turin Brakes, Essex-based Kevin Pearce has been quietly chipping away at his career and now has a fine new album, ‘So On’.

Dreamy, open soundscapes are topped off with a keening, really quite beautiful voice, accompanied live by a fluent and fluid acoustic guitar style.