Nature and wild places have inspired self-taught guitarist Paul Briscoe, who has been playing since the tender age of ten. Paul will be one of the four acts performing during the first round of the festival.
As organiser of the festival, Paul is possibly best known throughout Otley as a brewer of beer.
However, his passion for music has seen him organise the most successful open mic in town (at the licensed cafe, Otta’s Leah) where he has built up a fan base for his tunes.
He said: ” I am entirely self-taught and without expert guidance developed a style all of my own….. but it sort of works and it’s far too late to change it now!
“In younger days I would play along to my favourite music: Genesis, Camel and Dire Straits. However, about 20 years ago I suddenly felt inspired to start writing music of my own.
“Much of it is inspired by my love of nature and wild places while some evokes memories, both happy and sad. Thus far, I’ve struggled to find words that do justice to the sentiments I want to convey, so I have concentrated instead on expressive playing, letting my guitar do the talking. I don’t believe that music should be classified in boxes; it is for you to make of it what you will…… but it is very definitely a style all of my own!
In 2009 Paul released an album named “Warts ‘n’ All” . You can listen to it here – https://paulbriscoe.bandcamp.com/
He added: “There is much about the album that I would change if I were ever to re-record it, but you have to start somewhere! However, in November 2019 I started work on a new album which should hopefully sound far better!”
Otley Music Festival 