Upbeat emotion fuelled rock and roll with hints of indie and alt production. Since their debut rock album in 2016 and acoustic ep, TESS OF THE CIRCLE have had an impressive 15 album tracks on national radiio, including BBC RADIO 2 (11 tracks, 5 shows), BBC INTRODUCING (4 tracks, 2 shows), BBC RADIO 6, BBC Introducing), PLANET ROCK (8 week Playlist, New Rock Show), X Radio (Rock Show), KERRANG Radio, TEAM ROCK and 120 other stations. On top of that, the band recently completed their 14th BBC RADIO live session (including BOB HARRIS on BBC RADIO 2, BBC LONDON and BBC OXFORD).
Equally capable of thrilling an acoustic crowd as they are at bringing energised emotion fuelled electric rock; festivals highlights range from 2 triumphant years at Glastonbury, sub-headline BEARDED THEORY 2017, Planet Rock's ROCKSTOCK 2016, to headlining THE BEAR GRYLLS FESTIVAL 2015/26 in London and sub-headlining the 2nd stage at ACOUSTIC FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN 2015 and headlining the Acoustic stage at Cambridge Rock Festival and many, many others. Meanwhile gig venues go from Ronnie Scotts to The Jam House (Birmingham).
- AMPLIFY rock album (2016) produced by Gavin Monaghan (Editors, Robert Plant, JAWS, Broadcast, Scott Matthews, Grace Jones). With three NEW singles from this brand new album already on national radio including BBC Radio 2, Planet Rock, Radio X (Xfm), Planet Rock, KERRANG, BBCIntroducing, Team Rock, Total Rock, Amazing Radio, Virgin Radio and 120 other UK stations.
- THORNS acoustic rock ep (2014) produced by BRIT Award winner Chris Potter. (The Verve 'Urban Hymns’, Richard Ashcroft). With an impressive 7 TRACKS off the album being played on BBC Radio 2 (including Bob Harris, Paul O’Grady, Janice Long and Alex Lester) and other national stations.
- HMV debut solo TESS 'MAGPIE' album chosen for the “essential albums you should hear” campaign. With 2 tracks also featured on national radio (2012). 2 singles on national radio (BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6)
National Radio & Press
ROCK n REEL (R2) MAGAZINE "One of the best British hard-rock albums of the decade. The songwriting swoops& soars to majestic heights & the body of work hangs spectacularly together" * * * * * (5 stars)
BBC Radio 2 / Team Rock (Bob Harris) + Live session "Some very hot UK Talent! A wonderful record !"
MOJO 'Not to be ignored'
CLASSIC ROCK magazine "Some artists wear their influences on their sleeve, others like Tess Jones' from Tess Of The Circle absorb them as they grow up, thereby creating a style of their own. A style that sways from rock to punk to folk, but always leads to a strong chorus, The passion never falters."
POWERPLAY magazine "If Tess Of The Circle are on the cusp of something, this might just be what puts them over the edge. This my friends is a bit of a wow!" P P P P P P P P P (Score: 9/10)
BBC Radio 2 (Janice Long) 'Wow ! That is mighty !!' 'That blew the cobwebs away ! Janice loves TESS OF THE CIRCLE !' 'Huge, absolutely huge response to the Tess play; we will be playing him again'
Planet Rock (Wyatt) 'So catchy that song ! It's got a reall summer vibe to it !!' "Coming up... another catchy one from Tess Of The Circle"
FIREWORKS magazine "A startlingly heartfelt yet world-weary vocal. Tess Of The Circle are clearly poised to engender the affection of fans of sixties, seventies and nineties Rock with Amplify"
KERRANG Radio (Johnny Doom) 'A classic vibe. Think Led Zeppelin!'
BBC Introducing "A mighty sound !" "That sounds huge I'm sure you'll agree"
BBC Radio 2 (Folk show) 'People have got in touch with me about an artist called TESS, I got the album and I love it ! Really interesting song there from a really interesting singer songwriter'
BBC Radio 2 (Alex Lester) 'Really like that ! That's Tess Of The Circle !'
GUITARIST MAGAZINE - "Take a little early Led Zep and mix in some influence from American grunge at the top of its game. Definitely one to check out!" * * * * (4 stars)
Live / Festival / Gigs
FESTIVAL SLOTS:
Planet rock's ROCKSTOCK 2016, Green Gathering 2016, Glastonbury Festival 2015 and 2012 (9 shows), Cambridge Rock Festival 2014 (headline Acoustic Stage), Acoustic Festival of Britain 2015 (sub-headline 2nd stage), The Bear Grylls Festival 2015 (Sunday, Headline), Broadstairs Folk Week (2012,2013,2014), Beautiful Days Festival, Secret Gardren, Small World Festival (multiple dates), Lakefest, Lunar Festival, Rochester Sweeps Festival (sub-headline), Salisbury Festival, St Pancras Station Sessions, Oxjam, Cowley Road Carnival (headline), Music At The Crossroads 2014 & 2016, Canterbury Ale Festival, Ashford Festival, Create Festival, Party In The Park..
SUPPORT SLOTS (ACOUSTIC TOURS):
Joan Armatrading, Jermiah Brothers (The Feeling), Dan Reed Network, Maddy Prior...
VENUE (SAMPLE): Birmingham Symphony Hall (full capacity audience), Ronnie Scotts (London), The Bedford (London), The Elgin (London), Rich Mix (London), Jam House (Birmingham), Portobello Acoustic Sessions (London), Proud Camden (multiple dates), The Convent (Gloucester), Jericho Tavern (Oxford), The Bullingdon (Oxford), Actress and Bishop (Birmingham), Aloft (London), Purple Turtle (Camden), Century Club (Soho), Wheatsheaf (Oxford)....
A) BOOK US FOR FULL ROCK SHOWS !
FULL ROCK LIVE SHOWS feature 2 vocals, electirc guitars, bass and drums. Upbeat, passionate and energetic ! (Think: British Pearl Jam, Led Zep, REM).
LIVE ROCK TRACK (Recorded 2016)
EXAMPLE ROCK ALBUM TRACKS (SOUNDCLOUD)
B) BOOK US FOR ACOUSTIC SHOWS !
A 2nd option is to utilise the bands versatility for an MTV UNPLUGGED type LIVE performance with everything from acoustic rock, folk, grunge to flamenco played with flair !
LIVE ACOUSTIC TRACK (Recorded 2014)
MORE ACOUSTIC ALBUM TRACKS
PRESS & RADIO (continued)
Music Week- 'Tess Of The Circle are a musically acclaimed British collective who create electric and acoustic rock. They have racked up 10 BBC radio live sessions in just over a year including Bob Harris BBC Radio 2, BBC London and Will Gompertz's BBC Oxford'
GUITAR TECHNIQUES "The follow up to their highly acclaimed album Thorns, this album takes a heavier approach but has kept the variety of moods and delivery. Tess Jones' heartfelt singing, Guitarist Lee Clifton supplies catchy scrubs and hooks on the songs." * * * * (4 stars)
Acoustic Magazine - 'From the opening chords of "Better Days" where Tess sings over a symphonic wash of strings & driving drums, the production & arrangements on this album are nothing short of perfection.
BBC Radio 2 (Paul O'Grady) 'That's TESS OF THE CIRCLE !!'
BBC Radio 6 (Tom Robinson) 'A fine album !'
ABSOLUTE RADIO (Pete Donaldson) 'Makes you long for summer. It builds and breaks, sways and then ends a spell too soon. Lovely !'
Q Magazine (Radio, Caroline Beavon) 'The vocals offer emotion and confession with equal tenderness and the songwriting showss a great deal of musical education and talent. A joy to listen to and one that I would return to again and again'
Roger 'Twiggy' Day (BBC countrywide DJ) 'This band are going to be huge !!'
Radio Caroline Album of the week (Barry James), Peter Anthony, Tony Paul Breakfast show.
The Independent and Independent on Sunday - 'Rich string arrangements. Tess is a soul in flight from the horrors of the peopled world' {Indy Choice: Best Of The New Music feature}.
Rock Society “This album delivers. Just 4 guys with 4 instruments - a refreshing return to proper rock”
The Telegraph - 'You might like to check out Thorns by Tess of the Circle. The well-crafted songs of Tess Jones are catchy and energetic'
PRESS CONTINUED & CONTACT DETAILS
ROCK SOCIETY - "“This album delivers. Just 4 guys with 4 instruments - a refreshing return to proper rock!”
RYAN'S GIG GUIDE (Birmingham)- "Proper rock n roll. An amazing record that draws on many rock-music influences but equally sounds fresh and new. Let's just say, I'm converted".
MUSIC RIOT - "An eclectic, riff-driven, powerhouse of an album. Twin lead guitars, Ginger Baker/Keith Moon drums. It's a fine piece of work." * * * * (4 stars)
Fireworks - '70's rock style, this is a real treat'
Hifi+ - 'Drips with refernces to everything from the Moody Blues to that newly discovered Rodriguez Cold Fact album. It's very good and very well recorded'
Music-news.com 'Tess is a fine songwriter, his music is melodious... Loaded with emotion'
FATEA - 'This new album by Tess Of The Circle can be summed up in just one word: Exciting. That is the main emotion that comes across through listening to the album and it stays with you from the very start until the very end... A fantastic album with excellent and exciting variety'
Amazing Radio, Amazing Rock Show 'Got a great sound those guys ! Really like it !'
Radio Plugger: National - Nick Bray, (Riffraff PR) / Sue Williams (Frontier PR) Specialist - Emma Scott, (Pluggin Baby) PR: Sue Williams, (Frontier Promotions)
