AWARD-WINNING folk artist Rachel Newton is bringing her beautiful solo tour to Bridport.

Singer, harpist and BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Musician of the Year 2017, Rachel Newton, will visit Bridport Arts Centre to perform tracks from her latest release WEST, alongside new material and favourites from her back catalogue, in May as part of her 2019 solo tour.

Rachel’s fourth solo album WEST, recorded in her late grandparents' old croft house in Achnahaird, Wester Ross, has been met with great critical acclaim.

Audiences can look forward to a stunning live vocal accompanied by acoustic and electro harps to create a memorable and fresh sound which will mesmerise Bridport fans.

Rachel said: “This album was a very personal and intimate project for me, and I can’t wait to tour it and share this music with my fans live. I’m honoured to be playing Bridport Arts Centre for the first time and to let the audience hear what I’ve been working on. I can’t wait to see them all there!”

Rachel’s grandparents' house, where she spent all her school holidays from Edinburgh as a child and the characters who passed through it over the years have had a profound impact on her as a person and a musician.

Always striving to achieve something different with each release, this solo album simply features her voice and acoustic and electro harps, with no guest musicians.

The album was arranged and recorded on a beautifully sunny week in 2018 with trips to the beach and out to sea on Rachel's father's boat in between takes. Rachel's longtime collaborator and sound engineer Mattie Foulds travelled north to record it all, with Somhairle MacDonald joining them to take photographs and create the artwork.

The spectacular views of the landscape from the house have influenced the music, with short improvisations named after the mountains threading their way through the album.

Rachel’s third album Here's My Heart Come Take It was shortlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award 2017. She was awarded Instrumentalist of the Year in the Scots Trad Music Awards 2016 and BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of the Year in 2017.

As well as voice and harp, Rachel also plays fiddle and viola and has worked across a range of performance platforms including theatre and storytelling.

A skilled collaborator in addition to her solo work, Rachel is a member of The Furrow Collective and The Shee as well as projects such as The Lost Words Spell Songs. Her work promoting women in music resulted in her recently curating the festival Trad. Reclaimed: Women in Folk at Kings Place, London.

*Rachel Newton, Bridport Arts Centre, Thursday May 9. Tickets are available to buy now from the box office or online at bridport-arts.com/event/rachel-newton.