LOUIS COUPE: Fashion together classic piano-led songwriting from the 70s, with a “contemporary-E-Street-kind-of-indie-groove” and you’re somewhere in Louis Coupe’s ballpark. From his beginnings as the outcast in the music class, Louis has forged his own path through a sheer passion and love for music making.
It was a surprise ticket to see Elton John that saw a then 12-year-old instantly obsessed with the pioneering greats – The Beatles, Billy Joel, ELO. Sat for hours searching for internet video tutorials, Louis set about teaching himself any instrument he could find – “I didn’t care for technique or doing it correctly, I just wanted to be able to play songs”. Such was his unorthodox approach; a brief stint of jazz piano lessons was stopped abruptly when his tutor told him the school was “ashamed” to be associated with his eccentric style.
Undeterred, the next decade saw Louis notch up over a thousand live shows, honing his craft the old fashioned way; often performing rowdy piano bar marathons anywhere that would take him – anything from the smallest of clubs and pubs, to cruise ships, house parties, even an ice rink. His extensive time cutting his teeth out on the road gave him the perfect preparation for recent performances at the Royal Albert Hall and BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2020, as well as a number of UK and EU tours.
Contrasting his confident and dynamic live show, Louis’ carefully crafted writing tells stories about growing up in the quiet hills of Shropshire, his grandparents 65 years together, as well as frank conversations on relationships and life as a young man. Louis Coupe’s music is proudly personal while boldly nostalgic.
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SUPPORT FROM ASH BATES: Ash Bates is an alternative folk artist from Shropshire. His songwriting explores the self, the challenges we face as humans and the transmutation of those into new rites of passage. Finding inspiration within artists such as Blake Mills, Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen, the music evokes a similar but individual, somewhat electronic style.
Written and recorded in Ash’s small studio above a stable barn in rural Shropshire, the soundscape he creates has a modern electronic resonance blended with seemingly aged and familiar, crackled tones. There is a feeling of space created in his writing, a space where all can quietly go and feel free to express. His music is a study of who we are and how we fit in to this modern world, and he cleverly narrates the stories he has experienced in himself and others.
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Doors open 7.30pm. Music starts 8pm. The venue is mixed seated and standing. Tables are limited, and available on a first come first served basis, so if you’d like a seat, we recommend arriving early!
