Rob Clamp & The Ashmen With special guest, Joel Gardner

Rob Clamp
brings his full band, The Ashmen to Southampton’s, Hangar Farm for what will be
a truly special night rounding off what will have been an incredible year
following; sell out shows across the continent, supporting Richard Thompson and
gracing the stages at major festivals like; Glastonbury and The Isle Of Wight
Festival.

Having previously
supported the likes of; Frank Turner, James Walsh (Starsailor) and The
Bluetones, Rob Clamp is making a name for himself as a dynamic and captivating
performer. 'It’s not often you come across a voice with such controlled power:
even at the emotional heights and depths of the songs, Rob’s voice retains a
purity and focus that is all too rare. Wherever his songwriting leads him, his
voice adapts to the genre, from pop through folk and roots. A classic voice for
classic music.' Hailing from Southampton, Rob has been featured on BBC
introducing, has won the highly regarded ‘Purbeck Rising 2022’ imprinting
himself onto the UK folk scene, and won the ‘Sofia International Singer
Songwriter Festival 2022’ in Bulgaria.​Heavily
influenced by the likes of; Ben Howard, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and
Bruce Springsteen – Rob’s music is filled with real life
experiences, performed in his own compelling storytelling style, with acoustic
guitar accompanied by a variation of foot percussion.

Recent years
have been eventful for Rob, selling out numerous shows across the South of
England and mainland Europe. His debut album ‘Lost Soul’ was released in Spring
2024 featuring his longstanding supporting band, ‘The Ashmen’. The band
consists of; Sam Weeks (drums & banjo), Ben Reid (piano, guitar and
mandolin), Ed Bentley (bass) and Dave Elliott (violin & harmonica). The
group have become synonymous with dynamic and powerful performances and have
been touted as having a sound big enough to work well in front of several
thousand people.

With special
guest, Joel Gardner;

With one
hand placed firmly in Pop, Rock and Groove and the other in Trad, Roots and
Folk, Joel’s music is built on infectious melodies, introspective lyrics and
intricate guitar playing. His songwriting style and sound is often compared to
the likes of Paul Simon and Frank Turner while drawing on influences from
guitar virtuosos such as Andy McKee, John Gomm and John Butler.

Joel’s music
celebrates the simplicity of one man and a guitar. Despite its stripped back
instrumentation, Joel throws out an enormous sound for a one man operation
using only a kick drum and percussive guitar playing. Performing live, his
shows are an explosion of positive energy, charisma and showmanship honed from
relentless gigging; singing self penned songs that are sometimes quirky,
sometimes sad and often energetic, heartwarming and poignant.

Joel has
supported US Chart topping band ‘The Revivalists’, James Gillespie and Axel
Flovent amongst many others. Over the years Joel’s music has won him an array
of awards including the ‘Danny Kyle Award’ at Celtic Connections, Wath
Festival’s ‘Young Performer Of The Year Award’ and ‘Manchester’s Got Busker
Talent.’

God &
Star Signs, his most recent release is an anthemic yet bittersweet folk rock
song exploring themes of dementia and lost love underpinned by Joel’s signature
intricate guitar playing. God & Star Signs was self produced and released
independently and the music video was filmed by Joel himself in a Welsh seaside
village telling the story of an elderly care home resident escaping to revisit
the beach where he and his wife fell in love.