SunJay @ Katie Fitzgerald's

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Thu 02 Nov 2017

Midland folk and blues singer Sunjay begins a UK tour in his home town of Stourbridge on November 2, 2017. The 24-year-old will perform at Katy Fitzgerald's in Enville St at the start of a tour that includes dates in Carlisle, Walsall and Hartlebury.



It has been a busy year for Sunjay, who stopped using his surname, 'Brain', in 2013. He has been playing the lead role of Buddy Holly in Simon Fielder's travelling theatre show, Buddy Holly & The Cricketers , a job he was offered when he went for an audition in London for a backing singer and guitarist.

Ironically, one of his earliest memories is, as a four-year-old, learning Buddy Holly songs from his dad. The show's producers were very impressed with Sunjay's singing and playing, as well as his familiarity with Buddy's repertoire. The fact that he is skinny and wears Buddy Holly-style glasses was a bonus!

''My dad taught me Buddy Holly songs when I first started playing guitar,'' says Sunjay. ''Pretty soon I realised that finger-picking the guitar looked much better than strumming. That was my introduction to the blues, although I don't think I would have been able to define 'Blues music' at the time. There was something about that kind of music that intrigued me. It's funny to look back now and to realise that I knew very little about the content of the song!"

Sunjay clocked over 100 tour dates in 2013, supporting the likes of Steeleye Span, Martin Simpson, Passenger and Terry Reid. He has four albums to his name - Seems So Real (2011), One Night Only (2013), Sunjay (2014) and Black & Blues (2015). A new record, Sunjay Sings Buddy, will be launched at St Georges Hall, Bewdley, on December 15, with another original album due for release next year. His shows feature blues, country and folk, and the occasional Buddy Holly song.



There has also been a clutch of award nominations, including winning the Wath Festival Young Performers Award. Sunjay made the final selection for the BBC's Young Folk Award in 2012, had three nominations at the Exposure Music Awards 2014 and was recognised by the 2014 British Blues Awards.



**Sunjay 2017 UK tour dates:

Nov 2: Katy Fitzgerald's, Stourbridge;
Nov 4: Chaffcombe Village Hall, Somerset;
Nov 9: Swallow Theatre, Dumfries and Galloway;
Nov 10: Carlisle Folk Club;
Nov 14: Quarter Acoustic Music Club, Hamilton;
Nov 15: Pot & Glass Folk Club, Egglescliffe Village;
Nov 16: Common Folk Club, Walsall;
Nov 17: St Edith Folk, Kent;
Nov 23: Hungry Horse Folk Club, Wirral;
Nov 24: Queens Head, Belper;
Nov 25: Hartlebury Village Hall;
Nov 28: Ringwood Folk Club, Ringwood;
Dec 15: St Georges Hall, Bewdley;
Dec 16: Newnham Club.**

#west_midlands
#shows
#pop_culture
#near_birmingham
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#folk_blues_music
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#bands
#november
!date 02/11/2017 -- 02/11/2017
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