Stella Hensley & Chris Newman

Stella Hensley is a powerful singer songwriter. She is often compared to Stevie Nicks and Alison Moyet. She has a smoky, sultry, velvet voice which draws the audience in.
 

She trained at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in Wandsworth, studying Acting, Film and Radio. She has had a few cameo film parts and began singing professionally at 21.

She has worked with Mark Shaw (then Jericho), Ricki Wilde and worked as a session singer.
 

She was the opening artist for Uriah Heep at The Shepherds Bush Empire at the Magicians Birthday Party Tour.
 

Stella has been co-writing songs for many years. Her words are heartfelt, personal and able to move even the coldest of hearts.

Blues, slide, ragtime guitarist Chris Newman has an extensive musical CV having worked with The Climax Blues Band and then going on to form The Mississippi Houndogs with Climax front man Colin Cooper. This band also featured Pick Withers (Dire Straits), Roger Innis (Chaka Khan) and Terry Butters (Sutherland Bros).

Chart success came in the early nineties with The Soul Survivors. Their recording of 'Woolly Bully' featured the infamous Vinnie Jones leading to various TV shows and appearances. Later in the nineties Chris toured with Russell Gilbrook (Uriah Heep) on a Mapex Drum Clinic tour.
 

The recording of An Acoustic Tribute to Rory Gallagher went on to see him performing the length and breadth of Ireland, including at the International Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon. He was then asked to perform at the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival in Philadelphia PA.
 

Chris composes music for Film, TV and Radio and is the UK demonstrater for Collings Guitars and Kudos Mimesis pickups by Mike Vanden.

After being taught to play the piano by his tone-deaf father, Art Toper attended the Royal College of Music and later the Royal Academy of Music in London, studying classical piano.

 

In order to make ends meet as an impoverished student, he started to pick up jazz and function band work. After graduating, he increasingly focussed on funk and fusion, particularly drawing inspiration from the 60s and 70s Herbie Hancock repertoire, but also Bill Evans and Chick Corea.

 

He has performed in venues such as the Royal Festival Hall and the National Theatre, and with musicians such as Orphy Robinson and Cleveland Watkiss. More recently he has been studying the work of Duke Ellington and Teddy Wilson. He now lives just outside Stamford with a Fender Rhodes, a Yamaha piano, and too many keyboards.

In the beginning was the Tenor Saxophone, gleaming, sexy and very very cool... it just needed to be tamed. After 50 plus years Myke thinks he might just be getting the hang of it.

 

He began with the flute at school and quickly progressed to Tenor Sax. Mainly a jazz player, Myke has a very broad interest in many genres of music. He is very proud of his 1954, Selmer Mk6 Tenor sax, very similar to the one Coltrane and many other player of that period played. His main Sax heroes are jazz players such as John Coltrane, Lee Konitz, Michael Brecker, and he really loves the free jazz playing of Evan Parker.

 

Myke has shared the stage and recorded with many well known musicians. He is currently a member of The Barefoot Doctors and is proud of his past and current connections with prog luminaries Tim Bowness and Henry Fool, as well as many others. Myke’s current bands and projects include The Snap Chaps, his own jazz quartet, and Trio Plus, a jazz fusion project featuring Keith Winter of Shakatak.

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He also continues to be a regular main stage compere at the Glastonbury and Cambridge Folk Festival, as well as many others.

Jeff Rich has been playing professionally for over 50 years. He is best known for his time in Status Quo for 16 years, but has also played for The Climax Blues Band, Def Leppard, Judie Tzuke and many other artists.

 

He really enjoys playing with The Barefoot Doctors as he loves the whole vibe of the band.

Jon grew up playing piano, trumpet and listening to classic rock. He took up the bass at age 16 and is mostly self-taught on the instrument.

 

He did spend a year at Leeds College of Music during which he concluded that trying to be a pro musician was not for him. Life eventually took a different turn and he ended up touring the world with UK rock band The Pineapple Thief of which he has been a member since 2003.