DWM will be supporting the Carolina Chocolate Drops on their forthcoming UK dates at Shepherds Bush Empire, London; City Varieties, Leeds; The Sage Gateshead as well as playing their own headline show at The Slaughtered Lamb, London on the 11th Oct.

400 hundred years in the making, no less! Cara Dillon’s singing possibly one of the world’s most famous poems, "Shall I Compare Thee To A Summers Day" (Sonnet 18), on a new album featuring 11 of Shakespeare's Sonnets that have been set to music in a groundbreaking new project set to be released on April 23rd (Shakespeare's birthday) and as part of the Cultural Olympiad 2012.

In tribute to Shakespeare's time, all the instruments used on the album are authentic instruments from early 17th century. These include the Lirone, Theorbo, Viol, Cornett, Sackbut, Curtal, Shawm, Lute, Harpsichord, Virginals, Dulcimer and early Trumpet. However, all the musical arrangements are of a very contemporary nature and are really quite breathtaking. There'll be more info to follow this as the album to be released by Double Mono/Island Records gathers pace.

Cara Dillon and Sam Lakeman were thrilled to have been invited to record a brand new song to form part of a new spectacular show to mark the 20th Anniversary of Disneyland Paris in April 2012.

They went to the legendary Abbey Road Studios back in January to record the song with a 96 piece orchestra and to listen to the rest of the music being recorded for the show. Joel McNeely, who composed the music for Tinkerbell 3, wrote the beautiful new song and conducted the orchestral sessions.

Here's a little more about the show:

From 1st April 2012, Disneyland Paris celebrates its 20th Anniversary with a whole year of special events. The park will stay open later for longer throughout the year with Extended Hours, in preparation for the main event of the whole year: Disney Dreams! — a magical, immersive new nighttime spectacular show. This world premiere nighttime show will feature state-of-the-art HD projections, fountains, fire, lasers, pyrotechnics and numerous other special effects to completely immerse guests in a magical tale that takes you from the Second Star to the Right through some of the greatest Disney stories ever told! It’s the biggest spectacle ever witnessed at Disneyland Paris and, in an exciting move, will be performed every single night of the year as the park’s landmark entertainment event.

Cara Dillon and Sam Lakeman will be performing in a special concert to celebrate 150 years of musical excellence in Belfast's legendary venue The Ulster Hall on May 22nd.

The Ulster Hall is the home of the Ulster Orchestra and the BBC have decided to stage a concert with some of Northern Irelands top artists taking turns to not only perform one of their own songs but also to perform a song chosen by the public with the Ulster Orchestra.

From Friday 16th March music fans can log on to BBC Radio Ulster to vote for their favourite song. The public vote will run for two weeks until Friday, March 30. A total of 32 songs by Northern Irish artists have been shortlisted by BBC Radio Ulster’s specialist music presenters. Included in the list is Cara's original song "The Hill Of Thieves".

We've had a busy few months and would like to announce 3 new additions to the Unique Gravity roster.  Eliza Gilkyson who will be touring October in support of her album Roses at the End of Time and Oh Susanna who will be over in November/December in support of her album Soon The Birds. Also joining Unique Gravity is Heidi Talbot who is scheduled to tour in February 2013 in support of a new album release next year.

The 2011 Grammy Award Nominees were recently announced and included nominations for Gary Paczosa and Brendon Bell (engineers) and Sunny Nam and Doug Sax (mastering) for their work on Sarah's album Follow Me Down - the Grammy Award Show airs February 12th on CBS.

The nominees for the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2012 were announced recently on the Mike Harding show and we are delighted to let you know that Emily has been nominated in two categories! The first is for the prestigious title of 'Folk Singer of the Year' and the second is 'Best Traditional Track' for her song 'Sweet Lover of Mine' as featured on her album 'Traiveller's Joy' released earlier this year. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Salford on 8th February 2012.

Sarah Jarosz is set to return to the UK & Europe in May/June 2012 in support of her recently released album 'Follow Me Down' on Sugar Hill Records. There's also a possibility of a return in August to play a few festivals.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops will bring their unmissable live show back to the UK next year with a date at London’s Cecil Sharp House on January 23. The band is currently working on the follow up to their Grammy Award-winning Nonesuch Records debut Genuine Negro Jig, which was released to wide acclaim in January last year.  2010 also saw the Carolina Chocolate Drops play to sell-out audiences and festival crowds across the UK.  As The  Times remarked in one live review, 'In the end, a standing ovation was the only possible response. Anything, you sense, is possible now'.  The band’s as-yet-untitled new album is due for release in early 2012.

We're pleased to announce representation of Fay Hield who is to release her new album on Topic Records in 2012. Fay & the Hurricane Party will be supporting the album with a run of summer festivals & a 10 date in October 2012. The band will be drawn from a pool of musicians - Jon Boden, Sam Sweeney, Andy Cutting and Rob Harbron etc.