info
Jon Fletcher - biography
Jon Fletcher is a musician, singer and songwriter with a growing reputation as an engaging and inspiring performer. Dedicated to making "music with roots and soul", Jon combines a wealth of experience in traditional styles with intelligent songs aimed straight at the heart.
Growing up in a musical family in Reading, Jon sang from an early age, learning to hold a harmony part during long journeys in the back of the (radio-less) family Morris Minor. After teaching himself guitar he began to write songs and spent his teenage years playing in various rock, jazz and acoustic bands. A spell at college in York followed, where mindful not to let his studies interfere with his education, he learnt 5-string banjo, played in the Surf-Olas, York's premier (indeed only) accordion-led surf instrumental combo, and just about managed to write a dissertation on "Recurrent Themes and Imagery in British Ballads."
Jon's musical career began in earnest when Jon, siblings Kate & Colin, and fiddler/singer Nancy Kerr, formed roots-pop group Epona, Touring the folk and festival circuit in the UK and Germany ensued and in 1997 they released a highly acclaimed album Shine Again. Following years saw Jon become involved in a number of ventures on and off-stage, promoting live music, working for leading independent label Park Records, and playing for various singers and bands, while developing his own craft in folk and acoustic clubs and during a year-long residency at Slough's (in)famous Herschel Arms.
In 2000, Jon moved to Oxford, where he soon found himself in demand performing, recording, teaching and running music projects for young people. He has worked with a number of other Oxford-based artists, including Sharron Kraus and Matt Sage, currently plays with Australian singer/songwriter Lisa Fitzgibbon and is also a member of long-established traditional English folk group Magpie Lane. Meanwhile he has slowly but surely built a reputation as an engaging and inspiring performer and songwriter in his own right.
In 2003 Jon began work on his debut album, having been offered studio time by the manager of Gateway Studio in Kingston. Jon recorded 7 complete tracks in only two days, returning later to add a string section on three songs. Together with self-produced tracks recorded in Oxford, the result was 2004's A Month in the Summer, originally a limited-edition CD sold at gigs. An assured debut, the album covers a musical spectrum from atmospheric folk to swinging jazz and acoustic pop. With a fine cast of supporting musicians contributing to the sophisticated arrangements, the emhasis is on the songs, with Jon's gently soulful vocals and intricate guitar taking centre stage.
2005 was to prove a fruitful year in other ways when Jon became the father of twins Lucy & Jay. Priorities changed, and Jon limited his live appearances. However, interest in his work continued to grow, with Abbie Lathe covering the song Swallows on her album Low Summer, and a version of Willow Song appearing on the Small World Solar Stage vol II live CD (alongside tracks from artists such as Nizlopi and Hush the Many). 2006 sees the release proper of the album on Jon's own label Swallowstail Records and further gigs, both solo and as a trio with Colin Fletcher on double bass and fiddler, Jane Griffiths.
For further info contact info@jonfletcher.co.uk