Jess Silk +// Matt Johnson – Live at Prohibition Recording Studios

Jess Silk is a guitarist, singer and songwriter from the Black Country. Her passionate and melodic brand of folk/punk music gets people sitting up and listening. Armed only with an increasingly sticker-covered acoustic guitar, lyrics right from the heart and a distinctive, powerful voice that many don’t expect, Jess plays to audiences up and down the UK and has shared stages with many well known names among the folk/punk scene.

Jess released her debut album, Break the Bottle, in May 2018 with a packed out show at her spiritual home of Katie Fitzgerald’s in Stourbridge. Since then she’s shared a number of other releases including two live EP’s with tracks taken from shows at Katie’s and HMV Merry Hill.

2020 saw the world shut down and Jess release two (almost completely) self produced EPs, the first of which, If We’re Damned, was put together from songs that had been gathering metaphorical dust on her hard drive, and the second, There’s A Bar At the End Of the World, a collection of songs written between March and August taking their inspiration from the events of the year.

At the end of August 2021 Jess released her second full-length album Blitz Spirit, and in April 2025 she released her new EP Old, Broken Isle which was recorded at Metway Studios in Brighton.

In recent years Jess has appeared at a number of festivals including Bearded Theory where she opened the main stage, Rebellion, Beautiful Days and Glastonbury where she shared a stage with Billy Bragg as part of his Radical Roundup on the Left Field stage. She has opened for the likes of the Levellers, New Model Army, Bar Stool Preachers, The Men They Couldn’t Hang and Merry Hell amongst others and she continues to tour around the UK playing festivals, supports and her own headline tours.

“…Her songs are gripping, emotional and so very relatable…” – Ruth Rae, Punktuation Magazine

“…There are no pretences, posturing or posing, just a woman, a guitar and songs…worthy of compare to Billy Bragg, and with a nod to Frank Turner…” – James Koppert, Yorkshire Coast Gigs

Supporting Jess will be Matt Johnson:

Matt Johnson is a Midlands based singer/songwriter who really wears his heart upon his sleeve, his emotive performances completely captivating his audience.

His lyrics cover the whole remit of life, from the love of his family through to the persecution of our wildlife, and he means every word. He has a fantastic ear for melody and builds a hook into every song that has the audience singing back at him by the second chorus.

——–

Consider this your chance, as a fan, to come hear the artist you love perform in an intimate, inner-city studio environment and also discover new, similar and fantastic musicians.

This is a unique gig experience that puts you at the heart of the artist’s performance.

Due to this we have a minimal talking/phone use policy during performances. Any unnecessary noise during performances will result in you being asked to leave the event.

We thank you for helping us to create a listening environment and respecting the artists.

No under 18s allowed.

Doors open at 19:00 and the show starts shortly after.

We politely ask all guests to arrive within 30 minuites of the door opening time to ensure performances are not disturbed. Once performances start, our doors will be closed.

A large proportion of the revenue raised from ticket sales is returned to the artists as payment for their talent and musicianship.

Prohibition Recording Studios prides itself in having musical integrity on behalf of ourselves and the artists.

Tickets are allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis and are non-refundable for any reason.

Main Act: Jess Silk

Support: Matt Johnson

More Info

Ticket sales end at 17:00 on the day of the event – No tickets will be available on the door unless specified by Prohibition Recording Studios. 

TICKETS ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL GUESTS ON ENTRY.

If you have any questions regarding the event or our policy’s, please view our terms and conditions and FAQ section.

Unfortunately, due to building restrictions, we are not fully accessible and have no wheelchair access to our venue, we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Sold Out? Drop us an email on info@prohibitionrecordingstudios.co.uk with the subject title ‘SIGN ME UP!’ and we’ll add you to our exclusive events newsletter so you don’t miss out next time.