GYPSY JAZZ, PUPPETS, WORLD-FAMOUS GUITARIST ALL AT AMC @ ST BRIDE'S

AMC @ ST BRIDE’S: MEDIA ACTS ADVISORY:
EDITION 1: 26.7.2011

ALEX YELLOWLEES: By day Alex is a psychiatrist and a medical director of the Priory, Glasgow. By night the Perthshire-based musician celebrates Grappelli and Django and the gypsy in all of us at his Fringe gig.
MICK AND MICHAEL GROVES: Father and son at the Festival. Mick Groves – Still Spinning. His band, The Spinners, received a lifetime achievement award at last weekend’s Acoustic Music Festival of Great Britain. Michael, his son, who is based in Edinburgh, is producing a show at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival. SING IN THE CITY: None of the choir are professional singers, they are parents, grandparents, procurator fiscals, debt managers, hairdressers etc. Most are based in Edinburgh and they joined SitC for multiple reasons, to see if they could sing, to help with depression, to take their mind of bereavements. The majority used to attend council organised singing for fun classes. They have done two sell-out own shows and a corporate performance for British Gas to launch their solar panels. PRESTON REED: Scottish-based Preston (he lives in Girvan) is working with a Scottish based luthier using reclaimed woods for his new signature guitar. The world-famous guitarist also loves to cook and is becoming an avid photographer. Contact: scarycath@gmail.com
COLIN CLYNE: Originally from Stonehaven, Colin was recently nominated in the San Diego, California, music awards for acoustic music. He is on a Scottish tour including Glasgow, Edinburgh (AMC @ St Bride’s, August 13 @ 6pm), Isle of Skye, Inverness and Aberdeen.
PUPPETS: Nearly 30 years ago, Victor Torre and Maria José de la Rosa decided to start the company Theatre and Puppets Sol y Tierra dedicated to work with educational values for children. They have toured in Mexico, Sweden, Austria, San Salvador, Portugal, France, Venezuela, Taiwan, Marrakech from their base is in Madrid, Spain.
Their show The Princess and The Dragon is accessible to children of all ages from '5 to 95', people with special needs and retirement age people.

LOCAL SHOWS TOP AMC CHARTS IN FRINGE BUILD-UP

LOCAL shows top the sales charts at the Acoustic Music Centre @ St Bride’s in the build-up to next month’s Fringe.
Sing In The City have sold out one of their four shows already and the AMC @ St Bride’s doesn't open until Monday, August 8.
They appear in the 250-seat Big Room and the top five sellers there are all local/Edinburgh-based shows apart from Dundonian Michael Marra.
In the 50-seat Back Room, eight of the top 12 are Edinburgh-based, or nearby.
Ragged Glory come from Lasswade, Midlothian, with two Borders-based acts also doing well, Mike Whellans from Lauder and Kirsty Law from Heriot.
Canadian trio with an Edinburgh connection What's In The Water are also selling well.

AMC AT ST BRIDE'S AHEAD OF TARGET

BOSSES at The Acoustic Music Centre at St Bride’s report a rush to the box-office.
Sales for the venue are nearly 24 per cent ahead of the equivalent date last summer.
John Barrow, the organiser, said: “This is a significant figure given that we are in the grips of a recession.”
The AMC at St Bride’s presents nearly 70 acts over the three week Festival from Monday, August 8.
Among the top names are Benny Gallagher, formerly of Gallagher and Lyle, and world-famous guitarist, Preston Reed.
International acts include those from Hong Kong, Spain and Slovenia.
Mr Barrow added: “We are pleased to report that a number of the bookings are repeat customers from previous years.
“They like what they see and are confident in coming back for more.”