AN ACCLAIMED folk singer will relaunch the Justice Cafe in West Dorset next month.
Ewan McLennan will perform at Dorset's Shire Hall, the historic crown court along High Street West, Dorchester on Saturday April 18. The show will kick-start a new season of talks and performances that will inform, entertain and engage audiences.
The Scottish folk performer has become known as a troubadour, balladeer and storyteller, cut in the old traditional style. Ewan is a singer that can move audiences with his passion, and a songwriter for whom social justice is a burning issue.
Justice Cafe events organiser Keith Hatch, said: "We are really pleased to invite Ewan to perform at the opening event for this year's Justice Cafe season.
"Over the coming months, we will hold a series of talks and occasional concerts, looking at subjects ranging from human rights to local food, journalism to the Tolpuddle protest."
Ewan has performed at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival, taken part in the Transatlantic Sessions and supported the International Brigade Memorial Trust at events in the UK and Spain.
Ewan signed to Fellside Records in 2010 and recorded his first full album, Rags & Robes. It received critical acclaim, putting him firmly on the folk circuit - and in 2011 won him the prestigious Horizon Award at the BBC Folk Awards.
His 2012 album, The Last Bird To Sing, resulted in awards - including the Alistair Hulett Memorial Prize for Political Songwriting.
The performer's songs are deeply rooted in both traditional songs and the tradition of folk music in the form of social commentary - and he is currently putting together a project regarding the history of political song.
Having learnt from and worked with both Martin Simpson and Dick Gaughan in recent years, it is clear in Ewan’s music that he has absorbed and inherited a great deal from the older generation of folk greats before carving his own path.
The concert will be followed by a question and answer session surrounding the theme of can songs change the world?
Reduced ticket prices are available for Dorchester Arts members.
For more information, contact Dorchester Arts on 01305 266926 or visit dorchesterarts.org.uk
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