News

PRS Interview

The Toy Hearts are thrilled to be featured & Interviewed on the PRS M Magazine Website as part of 'M‘s January Blues Week'.

Check out the following link to read the article in full:
http://www.m-magazine.co.uk/featuresinterviews/january-blues-with-the-to...

prs

THs UK Tour Dates Announced for April, May, June 2012!

In association with Grapevine Music Agency, The Toy Hearts are thrilled to announce their UK live tour dates for April, May and June 2012. With a jam packed diary full of confirmed shows the band eagerly anticipates their tour, which accompanies their April 2012 release of the (yet to be named) 4th studio album.

ALL events will be ticketed, but for full information on all shows including addresses, times and prices please visit the band's Gigs Page or follow this link: http://www.thetoyhearts.com/?q=gigs

Back in the Studio… ‘Album 4’ on its way!

After a very busy 2011 on the road, The Toy Hearts are pleased to take a bit of a break from touring, to spend some time in the recording studio working on album n.o. 4 which has no title as yet, but is set for release in April 2012. Although recorded at The Toy Hearts home studio, it will be edited mixed and mastered by the super talented David Mayfield whom produced ‘Femme Fatale’.

The Toy Hearts hit the South!

After a brilliant few days in Ireland at the end of October, the band are delighted to be back on the road in November to play five shows across the south of England. The Gigs include Chichester, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Dorset and rounding things off on Sunday at The Twickenham Folk Club at the Cabbage patch pub!
The Toy Hearts are currently working on new material for their fourth album scheduled for release in April 2012, so will be spending most of december in the studio, but look out for a special Brummie Christmas gig at the Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath!

B'ham and London Gigs to Round off October!

The Toy Hearts are preparing to head off for a week of gigs in the beautiful Emerald Isle at the beginning of November, our first return visit since 2007! So what better way to round of October with a couple of gigs, one in our home town of Brum and the other down in the big smoke of London.

Caistor, Cambridge and Leamington - THs Back to Work!

After spending a week resting and writing new material in the countryside, The Toy Hearts are back on the road with three very exciting shows this weekend. On Friday 7th October the band are thrilled to be returning to Caistor Sports and Social Club in Lincolnshire for their first show of the weekend. The band will be playing a full two sets with doors opening at 8.00pm and admission at only £6.00! This really is a lovely show with a great listening audience, full information on this performance can be found through the links posted below.

Acoustic Routes
Assembly Rooms

The Toy Hearts Official Fan Website is here!

The Toy Hearts are very excited to launch their first ever Official Fan Website!

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More, More, More!

The Toy Hearts will be playing a special concert this week on Thursday 15th September 2011, for The Music Garden @ The Cruck Barn in Milton Keynes. This is a privately arranged performance for music listeners in a beautiful venue where a light supper will be brought to your table during the interval, with the availability of purchasing wine, beer, spirits and soft drinks throughout the evening.

Chris Thile
More Mayhem

Bestival and Beyond

Summer may be over but the festival season is still thriving with BESTIVAL commencing this Thursday 8th September 2011. Hosted in Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of Wight and Curated by BBC Radio 1's Rob Da Bank, The Toy Hearts are delighted to be debuting at the award winning festival this year! The band will be playing on the festival's opening night, Thursday 8th September in The Speigeltent @ 7.30 - 9.00pm - Tickets for this event are completely SOLD OUT, although more information can be found by visiting: www.bestival.net

Bestival
BBC Somerset

BBC Radio 2 Bob Harris

Wow... What a week for The Toy Hearts who were last week played TWICE on BBC Radio 2 by broadcasting veteran and national treasure Whispering Bob Harris. On Thursday, Bob played for the second time on his country show this year, 'The Tear Stained Letter', a track from 'Femme Fatale', the band's latest release. Later over the weekend, The Toy Hearts packed up their van and traveled down to London to record their first live session for national radio, including three live tracks and a lengthy interview.

THs & BH

Grapevine Music Agency Represent The Toy Hearts!

The Toy Hearts are very pleased to announce that the band will be represented by Grapevine Music Agency for ALL UK BOOKINGS as of April 2012. Grapevine is one of the leading music agencies in the UK, representing many of the finest professional roots musicians from the UK, Ireland, America and Canada. They specialise in hand-picked artists who are involved in the worlds of folk, new country, Americana, bluegrass, jazz and the blues.

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BOB, BBC, Bluegrass and Brixton!

September is upon us and there is just no slowing down The Toy Hearts! After a successful performance on BBC Radio Merseyside, the band are headed to Liverpool on Thursday 1st September, for their show at Grateful Fred's Roots and Acoustic Nights. This show has completely SOLD OUT, although more information can be found through the venue's official website: http://gratefulfred.co.uk/

Grateful Fred's
MFF
BOB

Back to Business – September Gigs!


Howdy Folks! After the toy hearts annual August week off, it’s back to business this week and we have lot of exciting news for you!

This weekend we are delighted to be playing at the wonderful and eclectic Shambala festival. We will opening up proceedings on the mainstage Saturday 27th August at 1pm – so get yourself something vegetarian and organic, get dressed up and get on down!
http://www.shambalafestival.org

The Toy Hearts open for Chris Thile & Michael Daves

The legendary 'Eric’s Liverpool' will re-open its doors to the public this September 2011 with a selection of pre-launch gigs. An official launch is planned in October to mark the 35 year anniversary since the venue first opened.

We are thrilled to announce that on September 17th, the outstanding Chris Thile & Michael Daves direct from the USA, will be performing as part of such shows with support provided by England's very own, The Toy Hearts. Tickets are £12.50 and can be purchased through the link below:

Heading North for more festivals!


Well, the festival season is pretty much in full swing right now and not to miss out on any of the action, The Toy Hearts head North again this weekend in Zebedee!

It's Another Four Gig Weekend!


Well folks, July has been a bit of a whirlwind of gigs and festivals so far, and the madness continues for The Toy Hearts with another four gigs this weekend!

The band will take to the road in ‘Zebedee’ (the van!) on Thursday 28th July for their first gig in Seven Oaks in Kent, where they will be performing at the fabulously named 'Flying Burrito Club' which is hosted at the Stag Community Arts Centre on the last Thursday of the month!
Tickets are £10 and the doors open at 7.30. For more information see http://www.theflyingburritoclub.co.uk

Toy Hearts in Award Winning Short Film!

Fanning The Fire: An Award Winning Independent Short Film.

2011 has been a very kind year so far, and in more great news for The Toy Hearts, thanks to the hard work of Alan Tompkins, The Bluegrass Heritage Foundation and David Seay Productions, they can add ‘stars of the big screen’ to their list of accolades! The Independent short film ‘Fanning the Fire’ has been debuting at film festivals across the United States and has just won the "Best Documentary – Music/Culture" at the Film Festival of Colorado. The film follows the story of Lucas White a young bluegrass enthusiast and now professional, and along with a host of Bluegrass celebrities, Sophia and Hannah are featured speaking about their passion for bluegrass music. The Toy Hearts also appear in footage from their performances at the Bluegrass Heritage Festival in Arlington TX, and at the legendary Bill’s Record shop in Dallas TX in 2008. Plus, there is also extra footage in the ‘bonus features’ on the dvd of the interviews with The Toy Hearts.

Go East!


Hello Folks, if you have no plans for the weekend then read on!

The Toy Hearts van will hit the road again this Friday 8th July, heading east for the land of Norwich! The last time the band were in town was supporting The Hot Club of Cowtown at the Norwich Arts Center, where as this time it’s a debut performance at lovely music venue and café ‘Olives’. Tickets are £6 adv and £8 on the door and the music starts about 8pm.

Festival Fun – Let The Madness Begin!

Well, Glastonbury may be done and dusted the but festival fun is only just beginning for The Toy Hearts. This Friday, 1st July, the band kick off their festival season proper with their debut performance at the uber cool Cornbury Festival, in The Great Tew Park, Oxfordshire. http://www.cornburyfestival.com

Saturday 2nd July will be a busy day with 2 festival appearances, the first one being close to home at Cocomad – an annual local festival held in Cotteridge Park in Birmingham. The Toy Hearts play at about 2.15pm, and this event is FREE!

http://www.cotteridgepark.org.uk/index.php?page=cocomad

Mini Tour of The North!

The Toy Hearts are looking forward to hitting the road this weekend for three shows in the North of England.

First up, the band are in Wombwell Barnsley on Friday 24th June to perform their second ever ‘House Concert’. House Concerts, are already quite common in the USA and are becoming increasingly popular this side of the pond too! They allow for a really intimate show, without the possibility of noisy drinkers! http://barnsleyhouseconcerts.moonfruit.com

The morning of Saturday 25th June sees Sophia and Hannah perform a special track live on BBC Radio Leeds at around 10.15 am. Bob Warmsley’s show is broadcast from the National Media Museum in a studio that is visible to the public. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00bcnvg

Following their success at the Cuckoo Fest in May, The Toy Hearts make a welcome return to the famous Adelphi Pub in Leeds, to headline the Acoustic Revolution show with support from local band Bang Bang Romeo.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=102047173222986

The final performance of the weekend will be on Sunday 26th June at the lovely venue of The Cellar Bar @ Great Northen Wines in Ripon.

http://www.greatnorthernwine.co.uk

September Shapes up!

The Toy Hearts are very pleased to announce several pieces of exciting news just in...

Firstly, The Toy Hearts will be doing a live session for legendary BBC Radio 2 broadcaster Bob Harris! You can tune into in the wee hours of Sunday 4th September - the show will also be accessible on 'listen again' after Sept 4th. The band very much like would like to say a big thanks to all the fans whom we know have been emailing the show for a good while, its been a bit of a long time coming but we made it and we do hope you enjoy the session!

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis Gig!


The Toy Hearts are pleased to announce that they will be opening for Kitty Daisy and Lewis at the 02 Academy in Birmingham on Friday June 17th. Regular ticket price is £10 - but you can buy tickets through this site for the special price of £6 (plus £1 postage per order).





Hello from Bühl, Germany!

Hey! Well as promised, we thought we'd keep you posted on the events happening here at the 9th International Bühl Bluegrass Festival. After a very early start yesterday leaving at 6.00am, we took the channel tunnel across from England and made headway though France on our 6 hour journey to reach Bühl, Germany. Needless to say, we were thrilled by the sight of 6 'welcome' beers when we finally rolled up to Bürgerhaus Neuer Markt where the festival is being held.

Germany Calling - 9th International Bühl Bluegrass Festival 2011

Howdy Folks

It has been a little while since we gave you an update on everything that has been going on in The Toy Hearts Camp, so we thought we would rectify that now by sharing our latest news with you today!

9th International Bühl Bluegrass Festival

Stolen Equipment!

We regret to inform you that this morning (Thurs 6th April) we realised our van had been broken into during last night, and all of our PA equipment including, speakers, mixing desk, microphones, cables and our outboard rack has been stolen. This comes as a bitter disappointment as we were just gearing up for our may/june/july gigs all across the UK to promote the release of 'The Captain' single on May 18th.