Steve Knightley promises plenty of new material at their three performances in early December

Devon’s folk stars Show of Hands play three nights at the Exmouth Pavilion in early December, in the last performances of their 2018 tour.

The band’s line-up is a little different from usual, as Miranda Sykes could not join Steve Knightley and Phil Beer. Cormac Byrne of Seth Lakeman Band fame has stepped in to complete the trio and give a fresh new sound.

Singer-songwriter and musician Steve is also promising plenty of new material, including a song “for the wounded, the brusied or broken hearted” called You’ll Get By.

“With the sort of audiences we get, you can’t write songs about young love across a bar and partying all night, everybody has got work situations and family situations,” he said.

“So I thought I just do something almost like a spell, saying ‘things will get better, you’ve been here before’. We’ll certainly be doing that, and another six or seven new songs.”

Playing the last three nights of their tours in Exmouth has become a tradition for Show of Hands. Steve moved with his family to Exmouth when he was 13 and it was in his early teens that he developed an interest in folk music, playing the guitar, and writing lyrics. He and bandmate Phil Beer also started performing together in Exmouth, so he is very happy to be rounding off their tour at the Pavilion.

“To be honest I can’t think of a better venue, because I’m from Exmouth and anyway it just seemed a nice choice,” he told the Journal.” We started playing together literally 100 yards away in the old Deer Leap folk club so it’s like a nice circular journey in a way.”

That journey will also be the theme of Steve’s next tour, starting in January. His one-man show ‘Songs & Stories Part 2 - Roadworks’ continues, featuring music from what he describes as “my journey from the Deer Leap to the Albert Hall and back again, as it were,” along with music from artistes who have influenced him, including Bob Dylan, David Bowie and Radiohead. Afterwards Show of Hands are touring again with their American friend , with touring in the spring with their friend, the American folk musician Richard Shindell.

“We just keep rolling on, really,” says Steve.

Tickets for Show of Hands at the Exmouth Pavilion are £25 and available from the box office, 01395 222 477