Thank you to the supporters who turned up to see myself and poet Helen Gregory perform our poetry/song set last night at Halo in Bristol. Thank you also to the Acoustic Night team who booked us. It was a great evening and very lovely to see you all. I’m looking forward to hearing the recording

Some of you may have missed the live show last night with BCFM’s Dave Miles. All is not lost! You can listen to it with the following link, at your leisure. I occupy the first half hour-ish with  a bit of chat and three new songs.

http://bcfm.org.uk/wp-content/Podcasts/20111128220001.mp3
Bj

For anyone who’s out there on the web via any of the following sites, it may be useful to know you can also connect with me here:

http://www.myspace.com/benitajohnson

http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/benita-johnson/21/308/251

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=758567891

http://soundcloud.com/benitajohnson/album-medley-mix-you-should

http://www.last.fm/music/Benita+Johnson

http://www.bandwagongigs.com/epk/BENITAJOHNSON

http://twitter.com/#!/benthirteen

Just copy the links, paste them into your browser and go!

I’ve recently been in touch with the gang at The Lansdown Hall (used to be “The Space”) in Stroud, and it turns out they’re having a fundraising event this Saturday 12th Nov. Lansdown Hall is a charity-run venue and multi-fundtional arts space right in the centre of the community, for the community and in order to put on events, host workshops and classes etc at an affordable rate, they need to raise income from fundraising wherever possible. So I’ve lent my services as a volunteer and will be doing some impromptu acoustic sets in the cafe area on Saturday afternoon between 2 – 5pm. If you feel like catching some of my original tunage during daylight hours – perhaps after a wander round the farmers market that shuts up around then – it would be great to see you. There’ll be other activities going on at the venue too, of course. Full details can be found here:

http://lansdownhall.org/home.html

And may I say Thank You for extending such a warm welcome so far it’s great to be here. Finally, the post-move dust is settling and I’m starting to get my bearings and soaking up the ambience of my new local music scene. In a little while I’m sure to be gigging amongst you. Meanwhile, though, you can get to know me – and help me get to know you – by taking advantage of this pre-Xmas offer. (Apologies for using the X-word and it isn’t even Halloween yet, but lets face it you’ve started thinking about it already haven’t you?).

So who’s up for this?

I’LL PLAY A FREE ACOUSTIC GIG AT YOUR PLACE (OR YOUR MATES HOUSE, OR YOUR LOCAL) FOR NOTHING, FOR FREE, (SO LONG AS THE VENUE IS IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE)… just provide the sofa, the audience and beverages and I’ll sing my little heart out for an hour.

I’ve done a few of these “House-Gigs” before, in Bristol, and they were brilliant. It can be an especially good idea for folks who find it hard getting out and about for one reason or another but who really appreciate catching some live music.

Don’t forget, you can listen to a few free downloads of my tunes on the FREE STUFF page of this site, and there are more on my MySpace (www.myspace.com/benitajohnson) and my Soundcloud (www.soundcloud.com/benitajohnson) and my Last FM (www.last.fm/music/Benita+Johnson). I recommend you check them out so you get an idea.

I’m also running Vocal Coaching sessions locally, so if you’re interested in this why not message me here on the Contact page.

…speaking of which…. gotta go – hope to see you around!  xB

Woosh! Now that Glastonbury and Larmer Tree Festivals are becoming memory I have time to reflect and enjoy them 2nd time round…

It was a real privelage to be part of the show on the Poetry & Words stage at Glasto. My sets went down really well so my thanks to the audiences for playing their part in helping me warm up the stage for the poets each day. Thanks also to the audience, musicians and organisers at the Fluffy Rock (you know who you are!) for graciously allowing me to prance about and muddy your stage too. I had a great time. A very special acknowledgement also goes out to the guy who sold me the hat those live pics just wouldn’t have been the same without it!!

Fond memories of Larmer Tree festival are now lodging themselves in my grey matter too. New friends. Some incredible and inspiring poetry experiences I hadn’t thought possible. Well received performances at The Social and the lyrical Lostwoods stage. Dancing in the rain to the music on the main stage… And the Social audience members each and every one who shook off their friday fatigue and lent their voices to me on request – I salute you. Thank you.

Fantastic! Heading to Glastonbury with the early-birds this weekend and not a cloud in the sky! Not-a-one! Yea verily
Should you know anyone who’s going be sure to let them know to look out for some impromptu sets from me at various caf’s about the place… I’ll also be warming up the stage for the poets at the Poetry&Words stage in Theatre and Circus ffi: http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/areas/theatre-and-circus/poetryandwords
It’s all on the Gigs page anyways…
Oh and come and say hi if you see me
bye for now

Firstly, thanks to all concerned for such a positive response at my recent gigs – feels great to be back on the circuit again. Your support is much appreciated.

If you’re not on my Mailing List, check the Gigs page regularly to see where I’m playing next. If you want to join my List just get in touch with your email via the Contact page and I’ll add you on!

Highlights for me this summer will be my performance on the Social stage at Larmer Tree Festival in July and also my daily opener at the Poetry & Words stage at Glastonbury festival in June. If you don’t happen to be going to either of those, not to worry, I’ll still be doing more standard gigs too though these will have to be worked around moving house as well, … so catch me when you can And don’t forget to pick up a copy of the album if you haven’t already!

Behind scenes I’m working on a couple of writing collaborations and recording projects, as well as workshops and lessons – so there’s plenty going on to get my creative teeth into. If anyone wants to know more about these, full details will be made available (after the house move!) sometime soon, though until then you’re welcome to message me here.

That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by

The mailbox on this site has now been fixed. Apologies to anyone this has inconvenienced. I will now get your emails without issue.