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Gren Bartley
Gren Bartley (born 28th April 1982) is a musician and songwriter from England. He is known for his well regarded acoustic guitar playing and poetically influenced lyrics. Predominantly working through British record label Fellside Records, Bartley has released three solo albums as well as two albums alongside English fiddle player Tom Kitching. The latest album Winter Fires was released in February 2013 and has received strongly positive reviews from the media.

Biography
Gren Bartley was born in Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, England. His family eventually settled in the outskirts of Stratford-upon-Avon where he attended King Edward VI school The school believed to have been attended by William Shakespeare. At age 15 he found a guitar in his father's attic and learned to play by listening to the music of Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. Music steadily became a central part of Bartley's life as his educational desire diminished. His first live performance was at a King Edward VI school student's concert. Later, a year at North Warwickshire and Hinckley college in 2000-2001 was followed by some years at Loughborough University. It was here that he found a branch of the UK folk scene at a club in the town. In 2003 he started a folk radio show on the campus radio with Tom Kitching. Following a couple of short play self released records, Gren Bartley and Tom Kitching released their first album Rushes (Fellside Records) in 2007. At this time he left his university course unfinished and became a professional musician.

Rushes is a collection of traditional folk songs alongside some Bartley originals. The album has some strong ties to the American folk scene which would serve as a heavy influence on Bartley's musical direction in the coming years. The first recording of Bartley playing the banjo appears on this record.

The album that followed in 2008 was Carry Her Safe and was the first album to contain entirely self penned material. It was released by Leicester based Musician Records and was recorded by East Midlands songwriter and producer Andy Whittle. Whittle also appeared on the album as the pianist on the track from the record Favourite Red Coat and The Moral Lasts.

In 2009 Bartley was back in the studio with Tom Kitching to produce, what to date is, their last recording together. Boundary saw a return to the mixture of traditional and self penned material as heard on Rushes. Once again in the studio of Fellside Records, Boundary cemented Gren Bartley and Tom Kitching in the UK folk club and festival circuit.

Over the next few years Bartley moved around England including spells living in Nottingham, Lancashire, Buckinghamshire, Banbury, West Midlands, Hinckley and Manchester. Around this time he began to become more consumed with the art of songwriting and began to sharpen his own focus on the genre. His next album was a solo record but did not appear until 2012. Songs To Scythe Back The Overgrown received critical acclaim from the UK music media and firmly placed Bartley as a highly respected English songwriter. Songs To Scythe Back The Overgrown includes entirely Bartley's own compositions except a unique arrangement of Joni Mitchell's The Last Time I Saw Richard. Other musicians on the album included Katriona Gilmore (violin and vocals), Robert Hallard (vocals) and Andy Whittle (piano and harmonica).

2012 and 2013 introduced the prolific side of Bartley's songwriting. He has been involved in a number of writing projects with other musicians from the UK and has released his latest album Winter Fires (Fellside Records) in February 2013. The album is again self penned, except for a short tune of Gambian origin Kelefaba about a legendary Gambian warrior. This tune is preceded by Bartley's own anti-war song Wayward Stars. Also the track "The Sun Is On The Yardarm" is co-written with English musician and songwriter Julia Disney.

Gren Bartley continues to tour throughout Britain and Europe and is rumoured to have plans for more albums in the near future.