Bounce Magazine October 2018

ENTERTAINMENT
OCTOBER 2018 | JULY ISSUE JULY 2014 #72 2014 | | ISSUE | MUSIC ISSUE #21 & #21 ENTERTAINMENT
IN THE SPOTLIGHT...
CLARE FREE
www.clarefree.co.uk
MUSIC
Clare Free is considered by many
to be the finest female blues
guitarist/vocalists in the UK today.
With two internationally acclaimed albums,
numerous international tours, international
press coverage and airplay on stations all over
the world there is good reason why Clare is so
highly regarded.
Multi award nominated in The British Blues
Awards, The People’s Music Awards and winner
of the WRC ‘Best Acoustic Performance’ Clare
is a passionate songwriter.
In the autumn of 2018 Clare returns to the
studio to record her third electric album with
Craig Bacon on Drums (Gloria Gaynor/Avril
Lavigne etc) and Jimmi Clarke on bass (Gloria
Gaynor/ Bjorn Again/Pee Wee Ellis etc.)
Clare served her time with bands including
Misdemeanor (With Matt Schofield, Gini
Hobson, Maurice McElroy and Constance
Redgrave of Spikedriver fame) she guested
with Larry Garner and joined Dana Gillespie
on two trips, one to India and the other to be
the opening act at the Mustique Blues Festival
every night for three weeks. Later Clare joined
the band 99lbs. Then, having finally made the
decision to go it alone, she released her debut
album “Be Who You Are,” in February 2010. The
self-penned mixture of rock, country and blues
propelled her into the limelight with excellent
reviews in the UK and the USA.
In September 2010, she released the live EP
“How It Is,” a four track CD of Clare’s own
songs. It also received rave reviews and the
limited edition copies sold out quickly. All four
tracks from the EP reached the blues top ten
with the international distributor CD Baby in the
same week. One track (Funky Mama’s Kitchen
Blues) reached the final in both the British Blues
Awards (Kevin Thorpe Award for the Best New UK
Blues Song) and the People’s Music Awards (Best
Pop/Rock Song) She won the WRC Award “Best
Acoustic Performance of 2011” and 2012 saw her
nominated for Best Female Vocalist in the British
Blues Awards.
In February 2012, Clare released her second album
“Dust and Bones”, again all tracks were written by
Clare and the album received excellent reviews in
the press in the UK, Europe and the USA. The next
three years saw Clare tour extensively playing up
to 100 dates a year both solo and with her band in
the UK and Northern Europe.
In September 2015 Clare released the single
‘Sniper Fire’ which, again, saw excellent reviews in
the press.Then, in November 2015, Clare and her
husband David, welcomed their third baby. Clare
started gigging again in July 2017 and her gig
diary is very busy once again.
Clare has had her music played on BBC Radio
2 and a host of online radio stations all over the
world play her tracks regularly. She has been
featured in Guitar and Bass Magazine, PlayMusic
Magazine, Gear Magazine, Blues in Britain, Blues
Matters, Classic Rock Blues, Blue Monday Monthly
(USA), Blues News Norway, Guitar International
Magazine and more. On top of this she’s made
countless live radio appearances.
Recently she has was made the patron of a new
venue, The 61, in Lixhe, Belgium. For a more
extensive list of places Clare has played please
click here. Clare is proud to endorse Fret King
Guitars, Cort Acoustic Guitars, Twinstomp Effects,
and Madison and Fifth Mono Guitar cases.
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