It’s the first Kick the Plug of 2009 at the Wilmington Arms!

This time around we present the excellent Rue Royale, and we are very excited to present support from the equally excellent Six Toes and Indie-folk cutey Catriona Irving.

Expect musical brilliance, with culinary treats and badges aplenty, with musical interludes provided by Mark and Tom of Neednowater.

Rue Royale

http://www.myspace.com/rueroyale
Named after a highway running through the Chicago suburbs, Rue Royale’s musical journey has taken in a lot of sights in just two years.

In March 2008 Ruth and Brookln Dekker made the full-time touring band plunge, moving out of their house, in with some friends and selling all their belongings… save for a kick drum, shakers, guitar and a sat nav named Shelley. Straight in at the deep end, a 20-date European tour led to coverage on XFM (topping their weekly “Music Response” ballot) and BBC Six Music (“Introducing with Tom Robinson”) and boasted sold out concerts in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

Rue Royale developed from Ruth and Brookln’s over-the-pond relationship. Influenced by Fleetwood Mac, Sufjan Stevens, Zero 7 and the northern UK soul of Elbow and The Doves, they began writing together and gradually developed the candle-lit Rue Royale sound, honed through acoustic gigs and home-recorded demos.

Brookln grew up in St Louis, to church-music leading parents. He played the coffee-house circuit with God’s Green Earth before moving to Chicago in 1998. Ruth was raised in Midlands county Staffordshire in the UK, a stone’s throw from the historic city of Lichfield with it’s 1,300-year-old cathedral. Teenage years sound-tracked by 90’s Brit-pop and folk-rock, she met Brookln when touring Stateside. They wed in England five years ago and settled in Chicago soon after.

Brookln and Ruth started performing together in March 2006, and have since gigged extensively, clocked up hours of radio play across the US, had one of their tunes on MTV and amassed over 100,000 plays on myspace.

A lovingly illustrated EP, The Search For Where To Go (May 2006), was the first fruit with copies dispatched to intrigued music fans throughout the US, Canada, England, Germany and France.

Rue Royale unveiled their debut long-player at the start of 2008 – following a year that saw them firmly establish themselves on the musical map. The eponymous Rue Royale was recorded in December 2007 and independently released in February.

Not content with playing in all corners of Europe – ranging from the historic Sturmglocke squat site in Hanover to an intimate house show in rural Yorkshire - Rue Royale will leave their Chicago base to set up home in the UK this summer. Their plans for EU domination continue with an intensive tour of the European mainland in September 2008.

Six Toes

http://www.myspace.com/sixtoes1
‘Scruffy, sinister folk rock. Something like Anthony and the Johnsons singing the scariest words of Aleister Crowley. In hell’. - NME

After touring with the Mystery Jets, King Creosote and Jamie T in 2007, SixToes retreated to the deepest darkest fenland backwater town of Ely (Cambridgeshire, England), to build a little home studio sandwiched between the asylum and historic cathedral. As the cold closed in they hightailed it back to their squat in London where they put together the finishing touches to their album. The band consists two vocalists, who trade in wide, off kilter harmonies, cello, violin, double bass and percussion. Their remix of Maps’ ‘Elouise’ was recently released by Mute Records followed with their AA single ‘Four Leaved Clover / Reggae Song. The band have just released their debut album ‘Trick Of The Night’.

“Scruffy, sinister folk rock. Something like Anthony and the Johnsons singing the scariest words of Aleister Crowley. In hell”. – NME

“A slice of edgy, scaffold-side folk and a voice like a schizophrenic eunuch.” - Time Out (Pick Of The Week)

“An intoxicating salvo of touching folk nior” – The Indie Music Magazine

“Their sound is inspiring and individual, which definitely works in their favour” – Daily Music Guide

“As playful as Andrew Bird but with the eccentricities of Tom Waits and the elegance of Shearwater. Marvellous.” - Music Week

Catriona Irving

http://www.myspace.com/catrionairvingmusic
Catriona Irving is an indie-folk star in the making. Grabbing the bull by the horns, her debut release was the self-released ‘Running on Empathy’, followed by the Stitch EP which enjoyed excellent reviews (“DIY music at it’s best”, said FACT, while the Metro called her “an artist to watch out for”). She’s currently working on an album, and in the meantime has been building a reputation for her live show, playing at venues such as 93 feet east, the 12 bar Club and the Borderline, and supporting the Espers, Nic Dawson Kelly and Emilie Simon along the way. Combining clever lyrics and sweet melodies that stick in your head for days, with a sweet and witty live performance, Catriona is making a significant mark on the DIY scene.