What an incredible few days I had at Monnow Valley Studios near Monmouth!  We got so much done!  Not sure how that happened as we spent half our time laughing (mainly at Pete) :-)  The setting over there is stunning - it's a farmhouse, right by a river and with various fluffy chickens clucking about the place.  The studio is fantastic - we had two really skilled and speedy engineers to help us with everything and unbelievably we got everything we'd planned done!  The lovely Kate Southall came to join us for a bit to take some fabulous photos, some of which are already loaded on my gallery page, but plenty more to come :-) there are also loads on my Facebook Page 'Hattie Briggs Music' for you to check out, and I'll be tweeting stuff at regular intervals.  It's all starting to sound really good (though I do say so myself) and I'm soooo excited about getting the rest of it done!  "Fields of Gold" is going to be a real cracker!  We recorded the whole thing in one take, just me and two cellos in a room, magical!  Don't forget that the album is available to preorder along with loads of other cool stuff on my 'New Album' page.
Here’s a reminder what you’ll get if you donate: 
1) £7.99 - a digital download of the full album. 
2) £12.99 - a hard copy of the album, sent to you before the official release date.  
3) £15 - a signed hard copy of the album, sent to you before the official release date.
4) £30 - option 3 + a handwritten thank you note and a YouTube video of a song (cover) of your choice.
5) £50 - option 3 + a handwritten thank you note + a full digital download + a ticket to the album launch gig.
6) £100 - option 3 + a handwritten thank you note + a full digital download + 2 tickets to the album launch gig + entry to the after party.
7) £150 - option 3 + a handwritten thank you note + a full digital download + an hour long solo gig at your home (depending on where you live) + 2 tickets to the album launch gig + entry to the after party. 
8) £995 - option 3 + an evening with Hattie and her band at your home (3 piece band minimum), including two 45 minutes sets, full PA and sound engineer + 4 tickets to the album launch gig + entry to the after party. 

By ordering any of these you will be helping me to kick start the album, so thank you in advance, it really makes a difference!

Don't forget that I've got some really awesome gigs coming up!  On May 31st at 1pm I'm on the BBC introducing stage at Wychwood Festival, Cheltenham :-) it's my first BBC introducing stage so I'm very excited about that one AND apparently the sun will be out on Saturday!  Then on June 2nd I'm off up to Harrogate in Yorkshire to play at Harrogate Festival at 12:30pm.  And there's more!  You can celebrate if you're local to Stroud because I'll be performing as a trio with Henry and Asha at the STROUD SUBROOMS on June 20th at 8pm :-)  I suggest you book tickets for that one as they are going pretty fast - head to my events page for the link!  Don't be afraid to come and have a chat if you come to a gig!

Keep checking my gallery page and Facebook for more photos.
See you soon I'm sure.
Hattie x

Recording at Monnow Valley starts on May 25th and we are now tantalisingly close to reaching £1000 in album preorders, thank you so much!  If you haven't bought a copy yet and you are planning on getting it at some stage, please order it now as you'll really help in the production of the whole thing :)  Head to my 'New Album' page for all the details.

On Friday evening I headed down to Southampton to see James Hickman and Dan Cassidy perform an intimate folk club gig.  What an incredible evening!  Their performance was brilliant and hilarious (great stage banter), I got to hang out with them when they weren't on stage, and I even played a few tunes myself before they went on :)  Best of all was getting to perform 'Fields of Gold' with Dan on violin, which, as you probably know by now, will be on the album!!  Still can't quite believe it!  After the show I spent an incredibly relaxing and cake filled weekend with Tilly (of Tilly's song) and family, so life is pretty peachy!

Big News!! I have been booked to play on the BBC stage at Wychwood Festival on May 31st, yehaaaaa!  I'm on at 1pm for a half hour slot, so make sure you don't miss me.  Also on the BBC stage that day are some pretty big names - Hot Feet, Emily Barker and Young Cato but to name a few.  Then on June 2nd I'm performing at Harrogate festival in Yorkshire :)

Don't forget to get your tickets booked for my Subrooms gig on June 20th as it's gonna be a really good one and over half of the tickets have already sold!  Head to my events page for more details :)

That's all for now.  Keep eating the avocados.

Hattie xx

Fields of Gold will be on my new album AND I am lucky enough to have none other than DAN CASSIDY on fiddle and production of the track.  It doesn't get much better than that! :)

Hi All,

First of all, a massive thank you to all those wonderful people who have preordered the album and various extra goodies so far, it really makes a big difference and will hopefully mean that when the album is finished we are all really proud of it :)  If you haven't yet preordered and would like to, you can find all the details on the 'New Album' page of this website.

Preproduction finished yesterday :( and was really successful :) - I had so much fun that I really didn't want to leave.  We stayed and worked at my Granny's place in Buckinghamshire, and went through all the tracks that will be on the album, working out what instruments will be used in the production of each song, the arrangements and even the individual parts that we'll all play on the day :)  My Granny has a big sitting room with a grand piano (you may have seen it from the pictures I've put up - many more of those to follow - keep an eye on Facebook, Twitter and this website Gallery page), so we spent most of our time in there laughing and having a great time - I'm surprised we got everything done so quickly actually.  Pete and I were so sad when everyone left that we moped around all evening.  By everyone I mean Asha, Jasmine, Barney and Stuart - 3 cellists/multi-instrumentalists and a drummer (you can probably tell that we really like cellos).  There will be lots of other instruments on the album as well, but this is a great start!  I felt so spoilt being able to play songs like 'Share Your Heart' on a grand piano with the whole team joining in!  It all sounds so good, though I do say so myself!  Can't wait for you all to hear it!  In between musical sessions we ate a lot - my Mum and I went a bit overboard on the whole food situation, played frisbee and cuddled my granny's two Irish Terriers, Saphie and Ivo :)  It was pretty much my idea of heaven, so can't wait to get to Monnow Valley and do the whole thing (but a bit more seriously) all over again.  As well as the photos, I'll also put up some short video clips of us rehearsing as a taster of what's to come :)

As far as gigs go, I'm playing at Winchcombe Festival on May 24th, Harrogate Festival on 2nd June, and at the Stroud Subrooms on the 20th.  Tickets for all of these are on sale now - head to my events page for more details and hopefully I'll see you soon!

That's all for now.  Adios amigos! H x

It's May and the album is on the way! You'll notice that there is a 'New Album' page on the website :) Please have a read of it as it explains what's going on with the preproduction and recording,  and how you can get involved in the process by preordering a copy now to help with funding.  There are loads of exciting goodies on offer, from signed copies of the album, to tickets to the launch gig and after party, to full house gigs, so it's well worth taking a look!

Two gigs tomorrow - Dumbfest and Teddy Hall Ball, then Bristol Folk Festival on Sunday :) It's going to be a busy weekend!!

H x