daisyb

It is difficult for me to pick an act from the plethora of great
talents we have selected for this years festival without hurting
professional prides-but I have to make my choice!

I have been eagerly watching and booking comedy and music acts for
over 15 years and I still love getting goose pimples when I stumble
upon a rare talent. daisyb is such a talent. Singer and songwriter,
her music and live performances are natural, honest and beautiful.
I am looking forward to seeing her support Newton Faulkner and
receiving the attention of a wider audience. - Richard Lett - Festival Organiser

Too often people with mediocre talent are prematurely labelled the ‘next big thing’, and yet manage to gain undeserved media attention. Daisyb is here to remind us all what good music sounds like, and how that makes us feel. This brilliant young artist emotes a sweet idealism we all once carried and may have forgotten.

Daisyb is a London based 24-year-old singer/songwriter from Derby who has gained a reputation for being the best live act In the Midlands. Recently she has done a nationwide tour supporting artists such as Liam Frost, The Howling Bells and Dawn Kinnard.

Daisy began her career busking on the underground, moving on to playing showcases in venues around Covent Garden, Notting Hill and Hoxton. Armed with her loop station and guitar she seems to be charming the difficult London crowd. Her lyrics are perceptive and perfectly delivered with emotion, raw vocals that move over a superfluous beat.

Her melodic tone is the perfect, genuine companion to honest lyrics. Disarming us with her music this girl and her guitar offer moving insight into the human experience with a wisdom that permeates beyond her years.

She’s had great success with her first two EP’s ‘Obsession’ and ‘Case of You’. Her newest EP ‘Sympathy’ is generating growing excitement and well-deserved attention. In a generation where music has been damaged by corporate greed resulting in contrived over produced images and sound – the purity of Daisyb’s music gives us hope and lots of delight. - Raechelle Dias

Daisy identifies with the mixed emotions of deflation and elation that come with being a jobbing musician waiting for the big break.

The Derby-based singer-songwriter, who has just released her debut EP, has performed on the same bill as Morrison many times and now he has moved from mate to mentor.

"James's story is really inspiring," she says.

"He suffered so much rejection in his early days, no-one in Derby would give him a gig, but he dealt with it and kept plugging away.

"It can be soul-destroying to perform in a bar to a handful of people who aren't really listening. But then someone will collar you and tell you that they love what you're doing and that reignites your passion."

Derby radio station RamFM has been championing Daisy's EP, Sympathy, with prime-time airplay and regular plugs on its Internet-based show Upload, which showcases music from up-and-coming Derby performers.

Daisy combines a rhythmic guitar style with bluesy vocals, harmonica breaks and innovative percussive loops.

Born in Norfolk to a potter and a singer-turned-teacher, Daisy studied pop music, marketing and career management at the University of Derby.

"The idea was to write and perform, promote myself and manage my own career," says the 25-year-old.

"But, if you're serious about being an artist, you have to focus on the creative process and hope that other people believe in you enough to help with the other aspects.

"I dropped off a copy of my CD at a Leicester bar a while ago and within hours I'd had a call from someone who said they'd listen to the first minute of the first song and they wanted to get involved. He's now my manager."

A regular on the Derby music scene for a few years, Daisy has been drawn to the bright lights of the big city in recent months and knows she has to build up her profile in London if she is to realise her dream of a successful recording career.

With a guitar on her back, rucksack on her shoulder and mobile PA system in her arms, she's trawling the pubs, clubs and tube stations of the capital.

"Busking can be fun," she insists. "I use it as rehearsal time for my gigs and you meet lots of interesting characters. Last week, one woman dropped two walnuts into my guitar case and returned the next day to throw in a packet of mints."

Legendary American artists Bob Dylan and India Arie are her major musical influences, although Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall's emergence from the Fife pub gig scene to international acclaim has struck a chord with Daisy, as has Morrison's emergence from Ryans Bar to Royal Variety Performance in a matter of months.

"I saw James in concert a few days before his album hit number one," recalls Daisy.

"He was mobbed as he left the stage and, grateful to spot a familiar face, came over to chat for a while.

"He just said that nothing had prepared him for what had happened, that it was crazy but, if it didn't work out long-term, he'd be happy to move to the coast and spend his days strumming his guitar in a bar. He's so level-headed and unassuming about his massive talent and, for him, it is about the music not the money.

"Of course, it's the same as any other job - you need an income. But, for me, a record contract would be about support and investment. It would be the start, not an end result."

- DAMON PARKIN -Derby Evening Telegraph