Fred Hills is a drummer, composer & collaborator based in Brighton, UK. Taking inspiration from a wide range of genres, Hills' music is a captivating blend of contemporary jazz, alt-folk & progressive indie. His debut EP, ‘Incerto’, released via Ninja Tune, is ‘a tapestry of delicate and expressive guitars, eloquent strings and colourful rhythms’, as described by Indie Band Guru. Pivotal release 'The Ground', is a fine example of Fred's ability to diversify his sound, trading his folk sensibilities for dynamic lyricism, expansive production and punchy drum grooves. Fred regularly performs with his trio, which consists of multi-instrumentalist & arranger Andrew Stuart-Buttle (Lucy Rose, Bess Atwell, Samanatha Crain) and double bassist Alfie Weedon.

FFO: The Cinematic Orchestra, Jono McCleery, Fink, White Denim, Wilco.

SE Storytellers is a spoken word open mic which takes place at the Tavern on the last Monday of every month. The evening is brought to you by local independent bookshop Crofton Books and co-hosted by shop owner Jase Shelley and his pal Doug Cheeseman.

Jase and Doug are joined at the cultural hip, sharing, as they do, a love for literature, existentialism and snooker. This is due in no small part to their shared Essex upbringing. They grew up just a few miles apart, in Hadleigh and South Benfleet respectively, and their biorhythms are therefore locked to the ebb and flow of the Thames Estuary.

It’s no surprise then, that our affable hosts should have gravitated upstream to London. Here in Lewisham they were reunited like lovers colliding as they chase autumnal leaves across Ladywell Fields. Well, you get the gist…

The idea for SE Storytellers crystallised in the minds of our poetic pair in 2024 with the first two nights taking place at the Crofton Books shop in Brockley. There was a decent turn out and a positive response so the event moved to The Ladywell Tavern at the start of 2025.

Whether you’re a DIY poet, aspiring novelist, rapper, bad dad joke teller - or just want to listen to others trying to be… come along, all welcome, no experience required.

Don’t forget Storytellers is brought to you in association with local independent book shop Crofton Books. Please support local shops, venues and creative people!

Ava has been writing music since she was 14. Her songs are a blend of Jazz, folk and soul with bossa influences. They tend to be about a person, idea or experience. Her songs (although performed acoustic) are driven percussively and incorporate a range of different music styles. People have also described her melody’s as surprising and unexpected. You can find her music at @avaralph_music. 

Moondusty’ is a new band led by "Cess" aka Daniel Orcese, a London-based singer-songwriter blessed with decades-long experience of making magical music.  He’s toured with Pete Doherty, made an album with critically acclaimed Jazz pianist Greg Foat and has contributed backing vocals for a Paul Weller track.

Back in the noughties, Dan co-owned The Gladstone Arms in Borough, a legendary South-East London music pub. During his tenure in charge of the pub, in between pouring pints, he founded the Moon Music Orchestra, for which he starred as co-lead songwriter and vocalist. The “MMO” were an  infamous house band at the Gladstone playing monthly shows and recording an album above the pub using a 4-Track “The Gladstone Cassettes.” An album of solo material recorded at Marco Nelson’s Magnetic Studios 2011  “Random Acts of Fate” under the name Borough Lovers soon followed,  both albums released under the pub’s Superglad label.

The eponymous Moondusty#1 is Danel’s first release after an eight-year hiatus, packed with a rejuvenated sense of purpose. This first song hints at his past work while offering a fresh take on his favourite influences:  Pink label early Island Records, Ronnie Lane and The Band to name but a few.    .  

Moondusty Takes Off 

On a Tuesday evening in late November 2021, Dan took his guitar to Deptford’s Matchstick Piehouse: a buzzing and intimate live music, cabaret, and theatre venue hidden in a railway arch. There, to a capacity crowd in high post-lockdown and pre-festive-period spirits, he met up with a cluster of old bandmates, and together they performed a set of songs conceived during the pandemic-induced isolation. After years away from the stage, Dan didn’t know what to expect.

The reception was simply rapturous. Propelled by the singular rush of performing live, the experience of re-connecting with an audience, and the many requests for recorded material, Dan resolved to capture the energy and spontaneity of the evening, he had re-found his musical voice. 

“The experience of preparing for the set, and the joy in sharing ideas and playing in concert gave rise to the band’s unique sound,” says Dan, which he describes as “cosmic, acoustic folk-rock”.

If you are wondering from where the name ‘Moondusty’ originates, Dan offers a beautiful – if teasingly enigmatic – explanation:

 “It’s about waking up from a dream somewhere long ago and coming to – in a place that had become a bit ‘settled’,” he says, a wolfish grin curling on his lips. “It’s a reawakening, if you like. When I played the song Moondusty#1 to close the set, with my old friends I hadn’t expected to be the beneficiary of so much positivity.‘Moondusty’ seemed to fit the bill just perfectly.”

Ladywell’s finest open mic host will be entertaining us with a selection of original songs, joined on stage by Katie Arnold and from the bar Jamie Clarke!

This gig has been hand picked by the Guvnor himself, definitely one, not to be missed!

Leonie Evans is a multi instrumentalist, singer songwriter. Rather than embarking on a conventionally "successful" album/tour/album/tour/... career as someone with such a rare voice, writing talent and stage presence so effortlessly could, Leonie Evans has chosen to do something much more interesting and fun.​

Her output to date has included two exquisite albums of dreamy, jazzy, unclassifiable song craft as part of the Bristol-based quartet Rae, plus a handful of small runs of homemade CDs she's sold along the way of her endless, meandering tour of everywhere (in recent years, she's been engaged in something like a micro scale version of Bob Dylan's "Never Ending Tour", travelling around Britain and Europe with occasional excursions to Japan and the USA).

Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist Adam Beattie has become a celebrated musician of the London scene. He has been active since 2003 and has released 5 albums of his own songs. Having roots in Scottish folk music, as well as a lifelong interest in old time jazz, blues and other folk styles, his music spans many genres, but is all held together by Adam's distinctive voice and narrative lyrics.

Beattie has recently released his brand new solo album 'Somewhere Round The Bend' on 12" and CD which has received praise from the likes of Mojo Magazine describing it as "Uplifting reveries of love and loss through smoky jazz and romantic balladry", Line Of Best Fit calling it "Stirring Folk Balladry" and Loud And Quiet Magazine awarding it 8/10 and claiming "The album is mesmeric". The album was also championed by BBC Radio Scotland presenter Roddy Hart, who featured it as his 'Record Of Note' and invited Adam to speak on the show and curate a selection of songs as his 'Me-In-3' guest.

Singer Songwriter genre, originaI songs that are easy to Iisten to, yet have a unique quaIity.

Guitarist Christopher NewIand brings the breadth and depth of his Iife Iong guitar

pIaying experience to each song. EIements of bIues, jazz and foIk sErred into the

arrangements, making their music undefinabIe, yet accessibIe.

Cavalo55 is the musical project of Simone Carugati, a multi-instrumentalist and folk singer-songwriter. Growing up in Northern Italy, Simone soon hit the road and travelled across Europe, Australia, Indonesia and the United States, where he mingled with anarchists and jammed with New Orleans’ music-loving crust punks. During those days of busking and train-hopping, he dug deep into the great legacy of old-time folk guitar music, absorbing the Delta blues of Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson’s slide guitar, and picking up the Appalachian banjo.

Cavolo55 will be accompanied by Adam Johnson (drums) and Joe Woodham (bass) on a run of gigs in the UK this September.