Band on the Wall (Copper Bar Stage)
Philippa Zawe vocals, guitar / Alicia Gardener-Trejo flute, bass flute / Lucy Samuels cello / Nathan Bragg bass / Max Tomlinson drums
Zawedde is a Yorkshire-based singer-songwriter of Ugandan heritage, and her songwriting is inspired by the rich stories that are told around her and that lie within her.
Her songs are rooted in the genre of Folk with an infusion of Soul. Her inspirations vary from the likes of Terry Callier to Joan Armatrading, Nick Drake to Laura Marling. Her music has been described as “audio self-care at its finest” (Two Story Melody, 2018).
In September 2017, Zawedde released her debut EP Road of Hope; a tale of loss, grief, and hope found along the way. Shortly after that, in May 2018, Zawe then released a full band EP titled Disadvantaged.
2020, a year of ups and downs, saw Zawedde take listeners on an introspective journey full of hope and contradictions through her releases Dark Am I, Yet Lovely and Lay It All Down.
She has performed across Birmingham (UK) while making a few appearances in Sheffield and London. In 2019, she made her first appearance at Moseley Folk Festival. In 2021, she performed at the 3rd Edition of Musika Na Kipaji in Goma, DRC. In 2022, she graced the performance spaces of Hadisi Urban Festival and co-produced and performed in Les Narratrices at Goma’s L’institut Français.
Would You Lean is the most recent single by Zawedde from her upcoming EP – Shudder Pt. I.
On 23 and 24 March 2023, Zawe produced two EP launch events at Doncaster’s The Point and Birmingham’s MAC on the respective dates.
One audience member from the Doncaster event said: “Great night, very impressed with all performers and was better than other concerts I’ve paid up to £20 for.”
Following on from this, she performed in Birmingham’s prestigious Town Hall, the largest audience she’s performed for. Not only that, but she also opened for one of Zawe’s biggest inspirations, Grammy Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize winner Rhiannon Giddens.
“Zawe’s expressive and eloquent vocals are backed up by a who’s who roster of Birmingham musicians for a result that wows the listener from the first note.” – Glide Magazine, 2022
Date: friday 23 may
Time: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Price: Free
