Since emerging in 2016, Hannah Saunders & Ben Savage have been defying all conventions of style, genre and compartmentalisation. A touch of ‘Americana’, yet quintessentially English. Traditional, yet contemporary, with their individual writing style. Playful and instinctive, they make music with such panache and natural chemistry it makes perfect sense.
Hannah has an alluring mystique and a voice of disarming purity that massages your senses. Ben is a singular guitarist with a sound as distinctive as it is innovative.
Together their harmonies and unique stage presence shimmer with an infectious passion and joy for the connection music offers.
Following their critically acclaimed 2022 release “Ink Of The Rosy Morning” (Topic Records TSCD610) UK-based folk duo Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage return with their 4th full length album “In The Dark We Grow“.
The 2022 release found Hannah & Ben in an introspective mood – just two guitars, two vocals and the chemistry between them. By comparison their new album is a celebration of wider sonic vistas – a return to a joyous spirit of collaboration as they’re joined in the studio by 11 special guests including Jon Thorne (Lamb, James Yorkston), Findlay Napier, Jess Morgan, Jade Rhiannon (The Willows) and Liz Simmons (Low Lily).
The album is dedicated to the late, great Johnny Dickinson – the masterful Northumbrian guitarist and singer-songwriter who left us too early in 2019. “Johnny was one of the great guitarists of our time”, says Ben, “but it was his ability to transcend stylistic conventions in his own writing and his arrangements of traditional song that had such a profound influence on Hannah and I. We’ve learnt so much from the art he left in the world – we wanted to thank him for it on this record.”
First single from the Album, The Youngest Sailor with anthemic vocals, electric guitars, drums & organ to the fore – a nod towards the expanded soundscape the duo had experimented with on their recent tour collaborations with folk rockers Fairport Convention is available for download on 30th Aug.
Tour Dates as follows – (Full Band Shows)
25th October 2024 Bury The Met
29th October 2024 Maidenhead Norden Farm Arts
30th October 2024 Bath Chapel Arts
31st October 2024 Aldershot West End Centre
2nd November 2024 Brecon The Muse
3rd November 2024 Bristol Folk House
4th November 2024 Cambridge The Junction
7th November 2024 Oswestry The Hermon
8th November 2024 Leeds University Of Leeds
9th November 2024 Norwich Theatre Stage II
10th November 2024 Chester St Mary’s Creative Space
6th February 2025 London Kings Place
In The Dark We Grow is out on 20th September on Sungrazing Records Pre order here: www.hannahbenmusic.com/store
