FOUR songwriters will be sharing the secrets of their craft at the St Ives September Festival.

Ben Bentley, Johanna Suheyla, Zoe McGowan and Jude Johnson will perform their original music and provide insights into the origins during In Conversation with Songwriters at the Western Hotel on Sunday, September 14 (2pm).

The afternoon, hosted by Toni Edwards, who runs the Thursday night Alternative Indie Folk Night at the Western’s Kettle and Wink bar, will “delve deep into the poetic heart of songwriting.”

Toni described it as: “an intimate and engaging event for fans of authentic, lyrically strong music, and for anyone curious about the art and craft of a great song.”

St Ives-based singer-songwriter Ben Bentley has had record releases on Rough Trade and Cherry Red Records, and songwriting publishing with BMG Music.

Now writing and performing solely for his own therapeutic reasons, he believes that better songs can often come when free from constraints and expectations.

Song-sharing leader Johanna Suheyla was one fifth of Irish-based Jukebox Gypsy, one fourth of former Cornwall folk favourites Foxes Fair and, is now half of Grace and Johanna, a Penzance-based old-time/folk duo partial to a murder ballad and other tales of the macabre.

With a life-long love of stories, folk and fairy tales, on open tuned guitar and 5-string banjo, she writes honest and sometimes personal songs plucked out of life around her.

Zoe McGowa, with a deep love for music and a sound shaped by folk and Americana influences, writes songs rooted in honest storytelling, offering a gentle blend of melody and emotion.

After a series of early releases on SoundCloud and a Christmas cover shared on Spotify last year, she is now preparing to record an EP in St Ives.

Jude Johnson is an alt-pop artist with bitter-sweet, personal, and humorous takes on love, loss, and life lived through music. He is currently works on a series of upcoming singles.

His lyrical tales and emotive vocals have the introspection of artists like Sam Fender and Badly Drawn Boy, while his use of piano and unconventional song structures nods to legends like Elton John, Bowie, and The Beatles.

The following Sunday, September 21, Meor Voices, the St Ives female choir formed in 2023 by Toni Edwards, will have their own show upstairs at The Western.

They include alternative, indie and folk songs by Björk, Aurora, Portishead, The Staves and more alongside their latest ensemble arrangements, as well as solo and small group performances from some of the choir members. 

Book at www.stivesseptemberfestival.co.uk