A carefully curated and welcoming hostel for the most vital pilgrims on the solitary guitar scene, with its doors open to people from different spaces and times such as Nina Garcia, Bill Orcutt, Sir Richard Bishop, Gwenifer Raymonde, and Hayden Pedigo, ZDB is the home for James Blackshaw’s long-awaited return to Portugal. A celebrated name in fingerpicking, Blackshaw appeared more than two decades ago in the midst of the New Weird America era, of CDRs, impromptu encounters, and a wandering existence that was enchanting new stories to Fahey’s American Primitive through names such as Ben Chasny, Glenn Jones, and Jack Rose (RIP), revealing in that momentum a sensitivity all his own. Born in London, Blackshaw never sought to emulate the wide open spaces of the American West or the inspiration of ragga, instead tuning into the legacy of Takoma with the minimalism of Tony Conrad or Steve Reich, chamber music, and the European compositions of Debussy or Satie for his 12-string guitar.

Despite the undeniable virtuosity intrinsic to the many compositions he has been revealing, Blackshaw never lets himself be carried away by technical pizzazz, taking refuge in a sensitive sphere, full of intuition and detail. Meticulous journeys through the harmonic fabric, yet pulsating with life, in a hypnotic flow that has left blessed traces on albums for cosmically aligned labels such as Digitalis, Tompkins Square, Young God, and Important. In 2015, after the release of ‘Summoning Suns’, a luminous album that embraced his voice and true songs inspired by the songwriting and folk/pop arrangements of the 60s and 70s – strings, piano, pedal steel, and that breeze – he entered a hiatus of almost 10 years, broken in 2024 with ‘Unraveling In Your Hands’ and continued with ‘Fractures On The Horizon’. He also returns to his more hypnotic sphere, discarding the song and the more sumptuous arrangements to take on the guitar as a primary element, with space for more droney moments for organ and wind instruments, in long tours that break with the linearity of time and instinctively carry themselves to their conclusion. A welcome return.
BS

Cavalo55 is a multi-instrumentalist, folk singer-songwriter with a heavy americana influence and sound that has drawn comparisons with artists and contemporaries such as Kevin Morby, Lord Huron, and Gregory Alan Isakov. With his songs that are often delivered with a tinge of melancholy and heart on your sleeve sentiment, he was rightly hailed as such by Atwood Magazine (for ‘Espresso Martini’) – “With his soulful, aching voice resounding against a backdrop that rises and falls in waves of explosive emotion, Cavalo55 ensures we feel the pain, the passion, the weariness, and longing, and everything else that was poured from his heart and soul into this four-and-a-half minute memory.”

He embarked on trips to Australia, Indonesia, Scotland, and the United States as soon as he got the chance. There 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. Soon after making his way to Lisbon, Portugal, he immediately started playing and collaborating with countless local artists, bolstering his reputation and songwriting in the process. This led to him releasing his debut EP ‘Late Harvest’ and its live companion EP ‘Live Harvest’, and songs from these EP’s being picked up by sites such as Folk Radio UK, Americana UK, Glide Magazine, GemsOnVHS, Bandcamp’s New and Notable, and inclusions in editorial playlists such as ‘Cena Indie’, ‘Rock Português’, and ‘New Music Friday Portugal’ on Spotify, and ‘New in Singer-Songwriter’ on Apple Music.

Since landing a slot supporting Myriam Gendron, he has shared a bill with members of Mashed Potato Records, as well as playing his first UK dates with a run of London shows.