Sarah Gillespie

Sarah was born in London, to an American mother and British father, Her mother was from Minneapolis and she spent a lot of time in the USA, where she soaked up the sounds of Bessie Smith, Bob Dylan, Cole Porter and early blues and jazz. From the age of 18, she lived for a time in the US, busking and playing gigs.

Back in Britain she gained a first in Film and Literature at the University of Greenwich and MA in Politics and Philosophy at Goldsmith College, while writing and performing around the London scene. Supporting Ian Dury’s band The Blockheads at Ronnie Scott’s one night, she met Gilad Atzamon., who went on to produce her first, critically acclaimed album Stalking Juliet.

Since then Sarah has performed live on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, played many festivals (including Swanage), jazz clubs, arts centres and other venues across Britain and Europe. Her band features Gilad, who plays some brilliant solos, while mainly supporting Sarah’s voice, and the young but very accomplished rhythm team of Josh Blackmore and Ben Bastin..

John Fordham (The Guardian) described Sarah “an incandescent new presence who matches her imposing delivery with superior lyrics…. Gillespie, who joins Bob Dylan’s lyrical bite and languid delivery to the forthrightness of Joni Mitchell, with a little rap-like percussiveness thrown in, is an original … an incisive guitarist as well as an expressive singer, she’s unquestioningly going places.”