The transatlantic duo of Ben Parker and David Berkeley aka Son Of Town Hall will tour the UK in March of 2018. The duo live in a world of Victorian costumes and songs that relate to bygone times. It all seems a little strange at first glance but works quite wonderfully thanks to superior songwriting and glorious harmonies. On the evidence of a recent David Berkeley solo show when Ben Parker got up for a short Son Of Town Hall set they're terrific live, so please try to get along to a show if you can. The full tour dates and a link to their 2016 EP follows:
“It’s part balladry, part performance art, and totally cool... Think Simon & Garfunkel lost at sea, and you get a sense of the mythic world at play here.”
Welcome to the world of Son of Town Hall, the unusual union of Ben Parker of London, England and David Berkeley of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Son of Town Hall was born when the two found themselves side by side aboard a junk raft (“The Son of Town Hall”) crossing the mighty Atlantic in search of new lands, new inspiration, and to recover squandered fortune. The two have sailed their ship back a century or so, and their song and story cycle follows the pair across the open waters and from town to town as they travel the frontier bouncing primarily from one failed endeavour to another. Though they fall for temptation and countless false promises, their belief in humanity and each other never flags.
Parker, a highly sought-after London-based songwriter / producer / multi-instrumentalist, and Berkeley, a celebrated singer / songwriter / author have imagined a world that transcends time and space, complete with Victorian-era outfits, meditations about the sea and songs so pure that they beg you to sing along. But it's their harmonies that truly sets them apart, a vocal blend and arrangements performed with a tenderness that wouldn't be possible had the two not travelled so far together alone on the water. The show is three-parts concert, one-part theatre. It will leave you transformed, with your heart full of laughter and tears, drunk on adventure and the tragic beauty of the human condition.
Son Of Town Hall March 2018 UK Tour Dates
Friday 2nd March - Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham-By-Sea
Saturday 3rd March - The Stables 2, Milton Keynes
Sunday 4th March - The Greystones, Sheffield
Wednesday 7th March - Cecil Sharp House, London
Thursday 8th March - The Old Stables, Haydon Wick
Friday 9th March - The Met, Bury
Saturday 10th March - The Live Room at Caroline Social Club, Shipley