Ryan's Gig Guide - March 2019

THE VERDICT BY NICK J. TOWNSEND Hannah Fieldhouse International Women’s Day Special This month we’re presenting a selection of important female musicians in the Bir- mingham andThe Black Country responsible for fashioning the music scene into the titillating happy place it is.There are hundreds of outstanding songwriters and per- formers from the region not included in this list but here’s a few shining stars.Yes, this is the opinion of a man but I’ve seen a lot of ladies so I know exactly what I’m talking about ....that didn’t sound as complimentary as I thought. Vocalist and lead guitarist Hannah Fieldhouse per- forms in the dark melodic Midlands metal band Winter Storm and wears a lot of leather too. A confident and experienced musician who has per- formed at Bloodstock Open Air, HRH, Wizzfest BE, Femme Metal Festival and several other fes- tivals both home and abroad. Winter Storm are working on their third album;Hannah’s guitar play- ing is faultless, her riffs are the stuff that legends are made of and she’s well respected in the music community. Hear her work in Winter Storm on Spotify and iTunes.  www.twitter.com/WinterStormuk1  www.facebook.com/winterstormuk Rebecca Downes Voted ‘Female Blues Vocalist Of The Year’ for good reason; probably could beat Tina Turner in an arm wrestling contest too. Rebecca Downes, who works closely with her co-writer Steve Bir- kett, has an extremely tight 5-piece band behind her performing original Blues and Rock to audi- ences all across the UK. Her voice is truly mag- nificent and songs such as ‘Believe’ and ‘Basement Of My Heart’ really translate this. You can hear her studio and live albums on most major down- load or streaming sites.  www.facebook.com/RebeccaDownes  www.twitter.com/RebeccaDownesUK www.ryansgigguide.com 8 rgg Mar 2019