LIVE AT THE BEDFORD

8:00pm JADE LIKE THE STONE

Jade Danielle Williams (aka Jade Like The Stone) was born into a Welsh/Italian family and raised in the one time Welsh Capital, Merthyr Tydfil, in South Wales. A town named, according to legend, in tribute to Tydfil, the daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog; a woman slain by pagans in the 5th Century.

Despite the industrial nature of her working class family, rooted as it was in the coal mining and steel industries of the region, there were artistic influences at hand too. Jade’s Great Grandfather was the noted tenor, William Burke, a world-touring singer and recording artist of the 1920’s, and her pianist grandmother won a scholarship Royal College of Music, (even if she was subsequently dissuaded by the family from taking it up). Jade grew up with that Grandmother and subsequently began learning piano from the age of 5. Such was her skill with the instrument that early aspirations minded towards a career as a classical pianist, until, post puberty, Jade’s voice came to the fore. A remarkable instrument that could tackle Welsh folk, Italian Arias, German Leider, modern pop and more with equal aplomb; a voice which led to her being a finalist in the national Eisteddfod, forerunning, at the age of 15, a full scholarship to the prestigious Wells Cathedral School. A notable career in Opera seemed to beckon until the tragic death of her drowned brother, led to a re-evaluation of her life plans and aspirations, spawning a renewed need to follow her own wants and wills, rather than ceed to the expectations of others.

Moving to London, Jade slowly reunited with music, this time forming the post modern rock band ‘Du Bellows’, a band described by Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page as “by far one of the most interesting and musically adept bands I have seen recently. There is a cosmic counterpoint alive and well here”. As well undertaking sessions for other producers and artists, in 2018 Jade even – albeit semi-seriously – accepted an invitation to appear on TV’s ‘The Voice’ where she gained a place, appropriately enough, on the team of legendary Welsh singer Tom Jones.

But really all this has been a forerunner to Jade’s desire to make music on her own terms as a solo artist, which she is set to do in 2019.

Not only a noted musician and remarkable vocalist, Jade is a poet and lyricist drawing on not just her own very rich personal life experiences but also the Jurassic landscape and scenery of her home town, Welsh folklore, Celtic mysticism, and the strong matriarchal influences of her childhood, underpinned as they are by a strong public school education and general aptitude for literature and language.

Musically the expressionist colours of composers such as Debussy, along with the harmonies and tonal qualities of the Renaissance, have all helped shape Jade’s own ear and songwriting. This plus her musical training in everything from Opera to Folk with, of course, the added influence of many genres of modern music from classic acts like the Doors, Beatles and Neil Young to more contemporary influences such as Jill Scott, Massive Attack and Modest Mouse, to name but a few. A large melting pot indeed which informs and influences her music to unparalleled effect.

All of which points to a unique proposition with a rich tapestry of possibilities. Certainly a voice like no other; a signature voice and a signature style of songwriting, And somehow a very Welsh voice, in every sense of the word, musical and otherwise..
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“You have a superstar voice. Your voice sounds like a logo – like Jennifer Hudson’s voice is a logo, like Beyoncé’s voice is a logo, Kate Bush’s voice is a logo. You have that uniqueness to your voice !” – Will.i.am

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8:30pm MICHAEL LUKES

Michael Lukes is an indie/pop/folk singer-songwriter born in England who lives between Rome & London. Exposed to various music movements at an early age mainly from the UK scene where he began to cultivate his interest in music, performing in various bands. In 2017 he embarked on a solo career releasing a revisited version of ‘The Sound of Silence” and performed in several music festivals. On 24th May 2019 he released his debut EP titled “I AM’, inspired by his multi-cultural background and experiences and contains 4 original songs and 1 bonus track. After the release of the EP he started a UK tour called “I AM TOUR” with over 15 dates mainly in London. Due to Covid-19 the tour was suspended but will resume with new dates at the end of this summer. Right now he is working on new songs that will be released at the end of the year that see an evolution of his sound in Indie pop folk.

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9:30pm ALEXIS COREY

Alexis Corey is a dynamic and powerful vocalist and songwriter from New York City. She currently resides in London and travels the world and country sharing her music as well as hope and awareness to others who have shared suffering from addiction and mental health issues. She has performed music professionally since early childhood, however, at a young age experienced extreme life altering events which caused her to turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with life at a very young age. This led her to a significant amount of demoralization and prevented her from truly being able to pursue her music career.

After years of battling with addiction and mental health issues, Alexis is now able to live her dream of being a traveling artist and helps inspire others to do the same. She creates music, performs regularly with her band, songwrites and advocates for women and men who suffer from mental health issues as well as domestic violence.

What inspires her music today is the healing of her own soul and transmitting the same healing, joy and pure entertainment to other human beings. She is now in the business of creating healing through musical entertainment to transform the hearts and minds of others. The idea that we may transform and live a purposeful, meaningful and impactful life by design, which by default impacts the lives of others, is what drives her to create and evolve. It is pure alchemy. She is able to best share this through the gift of music and songwriting which she is eternally grateful for.
She wants people to connect with their souls through the music. She wants people to know they are not alone. She desires human beings to connect to each other across all different genders, races, sexual preferences, backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses and any other imaginary labels we as a collective humanity have created. The true purpose of music and healing is to foster connection and community to enable all to lead a joyous life filled with abundance and happiness.

Alexis provides an experience of the present moment that is not to be forgotten, warms your heart and inspires you to believe in yourself and the possibilities that are limitless always within your reach!

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