Jennie Sawdon, live at The Sanctuary, July 8th 2012

The inimitable Jennie Sawdon made a welcome return to The Sanctuary in Didsbury, Manchester last night, and I was privileged to be in the crowd - which I'm fairly sure has grown in size each time Jennie's provided the music at the bar's fortnightly Sunday Jazz night.

It's an unpredictable night, with musicians travelling the length of the country - sometimes literally - to be involved. Jennie is north-west based herself, but her ensemble had assembled from further afield. Anthony, who was recording the performance for a possible upcoming live album (yes please, Jennie...!), had made the journey up from London.

Each fortnight, this level of commitment delivers something a little bit special, regardless of your musical tastes, but Jennie's emotion-charged, flawless vocals add an unparalleled edge to her appearances, creating a genuinely intimate air that is not solely down to the bijou scale of the venue.


We're waiting with considerable anticipation on any firm details of the live album, but for those who already own their copies of Jennie's debut, self-produced album Fighting the Fairytale, the prospect of a professionally produced collection of her live work is tantalising indeed.

In the meantime, there's the album, the YouTube videos (such as the one above, and the beautiful video Jennie recently released for her love song Nothing) and the tracks that make it on to the front page of her website.

We're thrilled to have tracked Jennie's career almost since the day she launched Fighting the Fairytale, which in itself transformed her from a jobbing wedding singer into a fully fledged recording artist - and realised a lifelong dream in the process.


As always, Jennie was ably supported by an army of friends and family, including hubby Chris Geere of Waterloo Road fame (you may spot him in the video above) who is possibly even more generous with hugs than Jennie is herself.

I've said it before, and I'll no doubt say it again, but in this new age of instant access via Twitter, it's the approachable stars who shine the brightest - not those with seven-figure follower counts - and Jennie, her parents and aunt, Chris and the whole entourage are among the most welcoming people I've met.

Undoubtedly, it is this sense of inclusion - bolstered by Jennie's heartfelt and revealing introductions to each of her songs - that keeps drawing her audience back again and again.

With all of that in mind, it seems particularly fitting that this time around, it was one of Jennie's covers that marked the emotional high point of the evening for me, alongside her own tale of sisterly love and perennial crowd-pleaser, Echoes.

This time out, it was her elegant and understated rendition of Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time that really stole the show (although perhaps that's because it's one of my favourite songs...).

But between the covers and the original compositions, the jazz and the ballads, there was, once again, plenty for everyone to appreciate, regardless of taste - and Jennie's performance, accomplished as ever, has me counting the days until the Sawdon clan descend en masse on The Sanctuary once again.

Jennie Sawdon - Nothing

Perennial Popsiculture favourite and ever-lovely singer-songwriter Jennie Sawdon sent this over to us in late December, so it's great that we've finally had chance to bring it to you all.

'Nothing' is from Jennie's album, Fighting the Fairytale, and tells the story of those simple times spent with the person you love, doing nothing at all, together.

Like all of Jennie's songs, it's a well-told glimpse into one of those experiences we all have at some point in our lives, but which often go untold amid a million generic love songs - and you can watch the stunningly shot video below.


The video for 'Nothing' is the work of cinematographer Jeff Wood (find out more about him here) and continues the commitment to artistry of the highest order that is obvious to anyone who's handled the inlay booklet from Fighting the Fairytale, or even one of Jennie's flyers that make the rounds at her live performances.

You can read our review of Fighting the Fairytale here, find out more about Jennie Sawdon here, or simply click the iTunes button below to go straight to the album download page.

Jennie Sawdon at The Sanctuary, Manchester, July 17th 2011

The Sanctuary's live music night has firmly claimed its place on the calendar of cultural events taking place in Didsbury week by week, which is testament to the commitment of its organiser Sara Dowling and some very talented musicians who provide the entertainment itself.

At Popsiculture, we've become firm supporters of the wonderful Jennifer Sawdon, a wedding singer turned recording artist who recently took the brave step of going it alone and self-producing her debut album.

So we couldn't say no to a return to The Sanctuary yesterday evening as Jennie once more took to the stage to perform her own songs and a couple of well-known favourites.

Jennie Sawdon at The Sanctuary, Manchester, March 27th 2011

It's not often in life that two things you really love come together, so when I heard that Jennie Sawdon (she of the remarkable self-made album Fighting the Fairytale) would be playing Popsiculture's regular haunt, Didsbury's The Sanctuary, I decided there and then that I'd make it to see her no matter what.

What neither I nor Popsiculture co-conspirator Dan expected was a night that began with great live music and ended with great live music, but somewhere in the middle turned us into roadies and Sawdon family hangers-on. The impromptu after-party in neighbouring O'Neill's was the perfect way to round off what was really a great night for all involved.

Jennifer Sawdon - Living the Fairytale

Following on from our review of Jennifer Sawdon's debut album Fighting the Fairytale (which you can read here), we caught up with Jennie to find out what it's like being a recording artist - and what it's like to be living the fairytale, rather than fighting it.

Jennie tells us the ideas behind some of her songs, the new inspirations in her life and why you should 'fight the fairytale' and do things your own way, instead of trying to live somebody else's dream.

Jennifer Sawdon - Fighting the Fairytale

Fighting the Fairytale is a no-nonsense debut album from Jennifer Sawdon on her own label, Little Me Records. It's also a fairytale in its own right - Jennie, a wedding singer and vocal coach, has done things the proactive way in putting out this quite incredible collection of original music.

Sawdon keeps things sweet and simple throughout, with clean instrumentals, tinkling piano accompaniment and frankly impressive vocals that brought a tear to my eye on at least three separate occasions during my first listen-through of Fighting the Fairytale. Anyone thinking of putting their own music out there would be wise to take this as their roadmap - it's a lesson in how to do it right.