Darwin Song Project
Thursday, April 02, 2009
^ 2009 marks the bi-centennial of the birth of Charles Darwin, Shrewsbury's most famous son. Amongst the celebrations that are taking place around the world, the Shrewsbury Folk Festival has organised the Darwin Song Project, a songwriting retreat in rural Shropshire.
We invited 8 artists from the UK and US to come together for a week to write songs that have a resonance and relevance to the life of Darwin. The 8 Darwin artists are Chris Wood, Karine Polwart, Mark Erelli, Rachael McShane, Jez Lowe, Stu Hanna, Krista Detor and Emily Smith. The retreat started on March 13th, and there was a sold-out concert premiere in the brand new Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury on March 19th.
The concert was recorded for an upcoming CD release, and the artists will get together again at the end of August for a performance at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival.
The Mike Harding Show on BBC Radio 2 will broadcast a special program on The Darwin Songhouse, one of several BBC programs on this unique project. Stay tuned for details with the exact time for this broadcast, or visit BBC Radio 2. ^
