Billie Bottle’s Temple of Shibboleth and Solarference

Borne out of lockdown necessity, The Temple of Shibboleth started life when Billie Bottle ran away from the circus in 2020, and started caring for a wise woman in Ottery St. Mary, Devon. Here, she was taught the ancient art of traditional housekeeping, where each day of the week has a particular purpose and function: this became invaluable in navigating our seemingly eternal state of lockdown.

Eventually, this path became a social media group, a pilgrimage in deeper time, a support network, a living piece of music, and now emerging from lockdown, a four-piece band!

The Temple of Shibboleth incorporate a scintillating blend of prog, jazz and pop sensibilities, always with a sense of mythic ritual. The line-up features Viv Goodwin-Darke on flute and vocals (The Invisible Opera Company of Tibet/Magic Bus), Roz Harding on alto sax (Mike Westbrook bands), Anna Batson on bassoon and vocals (an engaging singer/ songwriter in her own right). Lo, we invite you to share in the rhythm of the Temple.

Singers and sound artists Nick Janaway and Sarah Owen perform a genre-defying mix of live electronics and traditional folk, with voice and harmony at the heart of the music and an intense live energy. Powerful resonant songs coming to life in epic and intimate sonic worlds.

Nick, based in Bristol, is a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and sound designer. Sarah is a versatile vocalist from East Devon with a background in sonic art and composition. Solarference is the perfect forum for the two to bring together their love of the human voice and their fascination with audio transformation.

Solarference have been playing acoustic shows only for the last few years, developing and honing a collection of new songs, which will at some stage make up their third album… This show marks the return of live electronics to their live setup!