THERE are two opportunities to catch The Coal Porters locally this week as they embark on their 6th British tour with their exciting new line-up additions: Paul Fitzgerald on banjo and Adele’s fiddler Kerenza Peacock sawing the strings.

The Coal Porters started playing acoustic music around 2002 in London when ex-Long Ryder Sid Griffin decided to turn away from electric music. Since then the band’s unique combination of folk/indie/bluegrass/Celtic music has demonstrated the power of fiddle, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar and doghouse bass when matched with sweet harmonies set against strong melodies and they have taken this sound around the world.

The Coal Porters are Sid’s dear friend and band co-founder Neil Robert Herd on guitar and vocals, the aforementioned Paul Fitzgerald on banjo and harmony vocals, Andrew Stafford on doghouse bass, and the classically trained Kerenza Peacock on fiddle and vocals. Herd is a songwriter of note, Paul Fitzgerald invented his own banjo technique copied by many in the UK, Andrew Stafford is music business litigation expert and fiddler Kerenza Peacock has recorded two hit classical CDs, recorded with Paul Weller and Eric Clapton, and has just completed a World Tour in Adele’s band.

Their most recent album, No. 6, is produced by John Wood, the legendary British folk-rock mastermind who recorded the classic albums of Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, Beth Orton and Squeeze. No. 6 is a bit of a departure for the Coal Porters as it pushes their musical boundaries further than ever before…not to be missed!

The Cole Porters are playing:

Saturday 23 September - Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham on Saturday (September 23) at 7.30pm Tickets £14/£13 Tel. 01329 223100 www.hampshireculturaltrust.org.uk/ashcroft-arts-centre

And they play The Square Tower, Old Portsmouth on Thursday (September 28) at 7.45pm Tickets £14 adv/£16 door Tel. 02392 382888 www.squarerootspromotions.co.uk