Newsletter 10.0 - Conversation with Shame
Next Event - June 7th - Movement in Sound with Tengger + Seaming To + Innerkey
It’s been a remarkable run of hot, spring sunshine, a rare streak of fine weather to round off what’s been a pretty miserable football season… if, like me, you’re unfortunate enough to be a Southampton (Saints) fan. No wonder I’ve had my battles with depression since childhood!
But hey — this isn’t a football zine, so let’s move on quickly...
The clouds, as if on cue, rolled in just in time to dampen the half-term break, bringing some much-needed rain. So here I am, sat beneath some periodic moody slate grey skies, reflecting on the past few months since my last note to you.
St Chad’s ,The Quarry, Shrewsbury
The headlines:
I’m holding steady at a healthy 7/10 on the depression front;
Nature continues to help and lift me;
The first strawberries have ripened and I’m fighting the slugs for them;
The next gig is close and there are lots of ideas developing;
I’m sharing some love for friends with fascinating musical tastes.
For those of you new to the SY.Gigs newsletter, welcome.
These emails are rare, usually just one before a show, and they’re intended to be both purposeful and personal. Nature, health and music will always remain at the core.
Magic Pills to Hide the Shame
It seems that, as a society, we’re conditioned to seek quick fixes for our health, solutions that patch over the visible symptoms with minimal effort, rather than addressing the deeper, underlying causes, that take time and effort.
When I fully accepted my depressive tendencies in the 1990s, I felt lost, embarrassed, and guilty, especially towards those close to me. I didn’t seek help straight away, and as a result, I suffered. Worse still, I projected that suffering onto others. While I felt like the broken one, it was selfish, albeit unintentionally, not to have looked for support sooner.
I was fortunate. An excellent GP provided a fast and clear pathway to begin talking, to start exploring why I was experiencing such deep and regular melancholy. Once that connection was made, things began to change, albeit slowly. It immediately offered hope. It allowed a little light to emerge from what seemed a solitary dark space.
While I ultimately needed medication to help manage my condition, and still do, I’ve continued with talking therapy and added other tools that remain essential to my well-being, not just for myself, but to protect those important people.
We are all different, and no single solution works the same for everyone. But what’s crucial is resisting the lure of ‘quick fixes.’ Like many of those cheap marketing deals that seem too good to be true, they often cost us more in the long run. When it comes to our health we need to invest in change, for long term benefit.
My advice for what it may be worth? Be bold if you’re struggling. Start by seeking out those friends and family with an emotional compass, the ones who will listen, and can empathise, without judgement. Society tends to recognise and make space for physical disabilities, but mental health still too often gets stigmatised. The more we all talk about it the more likely it becomes a natural ‘conversation without shame’.
If we don’t tell people how we feel, and if we don’t take time to ask others how they are, then we risk letting suffering continue in silence.
Postive pollination
Foxgloves at Earls Hill, Pontesbury, Shrewsbury
With the settled weather, I’ve had time to catch up on the allotment. A few things are planted or growing in the greenhouse, and fruit pollination is now in full throttle. I suspect it’ll be a good season for those with apiaries. Our local beekeeper has moved his hives away, but that hasn’t made a dent in the number of honeybees and bumblebees visiting the allotment, they’re out in force which is a good sign.
The bees aren’t the only ones thriving in the sunshine, though. Some pests have taken full advantage of the fair conditions too including the Asian Box Moth Caterpillar. It’s become a daily task to pick off the plague of larvae and eggs by hand. I’m experimenting with spraying nematodes (at weekly intervals), hoping they’ll have some effect. If not, It may need to be a new hedge. That’s the life of a garden. Ever cyclic and never constant. Expect disruption and challenges, a little like our own lives.
New Spaces to explore
As I mentioned in the last newsletter, I’m planning to host a couple of concerts in new spaces this year. One of these will need a bit of piloting. It is a beautiful building with lots of potential, but we’ll need to run a trial event to see how best to set it up and occupy.
The date to hold is September 28th.
Capacity will be limited to just 65 people, and it will be a matinee show starting at around 3pm.
I will offer out the initial tickets direct to Newsletter subscribers before they go general sale.
Gigs Before..
Lluis, Johanna, Marysia, and Rebecca (Plumm out of picture) - Credit Jonny Mo
Event 3.0 - Exploration of Piano and Harp - Marysia Osu + Hanakiv
Back on March 28th, we were fortunate to host two immensely talented artists, and their collaborators, at the Unitarian Church. The evening surpassed all my expectations, many of which had been forming over the past few years since I first explored the idea for this Piano and Harp show with both artists.
Marysia and Johanna (Hanakiv) embodied everything SY.Gigs has always aimed to be: a deeply personal exploration of sound and emotion. Their performances were intimate, honest, and captivating. The highlight was a collaboration with all of the artists. A first!
The stage set added an extra layer of atmosphere and was a significant reward for the hard work of Emma Williams, thank you, Emma, for bringing that vision to life.
Once again, the performance was beautifully documented by SY.Gigs friend and jazz critic Ian Mann, you can read his review here.
There is also a lovely edited short social media video created by the very talented friend of SY - Ben Horton.
If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at reviewing, publishing, I’d love to hear from you?
Just as we’ve built a community of photographers, I’d love to do the same for reviewers and also poster art. If you have a passion for creating a poster for SY please DM me.
Community Promoters - We Need You!
I’m looking for some Community Promoters to help SY.Gigs.
Can you help me spread the word about upcoming events in your local community around Shropshire and beyond? Can you display posters and share flyers?
✨ The Request:
Pick up & place flyers/posters in high-traffic spots (cafés, shops, bars, community halls);
Promote SY.Gigs through word of mouth and social media to generate sales;
Share periodic updates on your progress.
🎁 The Benefits:
2 FREE tickets to a gig of your choice each season;
25% off any other gig tickets this Season (upto 2 tickets per gig);
Positive community recognition for helping and supporting.
✨If you would like to help me? - SIGN UP HERE
Plenty Wenlock
Plenty Wenlock is a tiny record label and publisher from the Powys-Shropshire borderlands (UK), run by Eric Loveland Heath and Victoria Clinton. It concentrates mainly on small runs of hand made individual physical and digital releases, alongside publishing wavering guidebooks to local lore. Its releases have featured on BBC Radio 3, in The Fortean Times and Electronic Sound Magazine who named them as one of their 25 'most ambitious independent labels in the UK' for 2025.
Recent releases include Tuange's 'Discovering Tong', Heath's own 'Fragments (Volume 1)' and Wildly's 'Solstice EP, with a second and "Further Guide to the Lore of Plenty Wenlock" book by Heath now available to pre-order.
Caroline True Records
My dear friend John Kertland started Caroline True Records back in 2005, as a natural extension of his long-time work as a music promoter, talent scout, and DJ. The 1980s and early ’90s were his heyday, which have continued to be a rich source of creative fuel ever since.
John now lives a quiet and simple life in western France, doing a variety of things, including producing new music and curating releases for CTR.
John said “Being close to nature gives me a creative energy I never had in the town or city,” something that aligns perfectly with SY.
John is something of a musical excavator, and a re-presenter, with a catalogue that spans ambient, post-punk, electronic, and even folk (including two compilations with another SY friend, local artist Matt Sewell). His work has earned six BBC 6 Music “Record of the Week” accolades and continues to involve a wide network of talented DJs, writers, artists, and designers.
As a gesture to the SY community, John’s kindly offering 10% off all orders from the Caroline True Records website — all shipped from the UK. Just use the code:
RESDP6QJE56C
(at checkout)
Gigs Next…
June 7th Event 4.0 - Season 3.0 ‘Movement in Sound’ - Tennger + Seaming To + Innerkey
Movement in Sound promises an extraordinary evening of celestial, exploratory music in the beautifully resonant setting of St Alkmund’s Church. This event forms part of the annual Belle Vue Arts Festival in the town.
This will be an early gig with Doors opening at 6:30pm with Seaming To performing from 7pm. Please try and get in early!
The night will feature:
Tengger who visit us on their ever revolving world tour. Tengger are a pan-Asian, new-age drone psychedelic family band weaving hypnotic sonic journeys.
To listen and watch click here for a taster.
Seaming To is an Avant-garde multi-instrumentalist and experimental sound explorer. She has collaborated with many artists including Mr Scruff and Graham Massey of 808 State. She will be bringing her own family band for what should be an unforgettable live set.
Click here for a taster.
Innerkey is the pseudonym of friend and local DJ, curator and selector Rob Griffiths, who will be stitching the evening together with some ambient and experimental tunes. I recently participated in Rob’s periodic Clarity of Mind series. To listen back click here.
Tickets for the 7th June are available via Skiddle or via partner outlets that include:
@housecoffeeco | @condor.shrewsbury | @glougloushrewsbury
We will be launching some delicious edible merch on the night to take away. Through a collaboration with @_thehungryguy and @shrewsfoodhub you’ll be able to pick up some tasty nibbles so don’t forget to bring a tote bag with you!
Upcoming Gigs
Aug 16th - Walt McClements + Lucy Sissy Miller
Full details and links to listen on the website.
Tickets available via the website, Glou Glou and The Condor.
3 music recommendations I’ve been listening to recently:
Sea Oleena - Weaving a Basket. A deeply ethereal album that has accompanied me into dreamland for many weeks.
Surprise Chef - Superb. The Melbourne experimenters deliver a spell binding hypnotic soulful infused masterclass.
Enji - Sonor. A beautiful collection of Mongolian jazz that sits between two worlds. Thanks to Grace Pitkin at Serious, for bringing this artist to my attention.
Please always send me feedback on recommendations of your own, gigs, music, blogs and contents here. I need to know if it is what you want to read!
Keep on Keeping on!
Cx
Very thoughtful read as always. I feel honoured and proud of being a small part of this ever growing musical community. Happy to hear that you're doing well regarding your mental health issue. Thanks for the wonderful musical recommandations and I can't wait for the next gig at the St Alkmunds Church.