Alessi's Ark

Alessi’s Ark is the moniker of Alessi Laurent-Marke, chosen as a symbol of inclusivity – a boat where everyone is welcome.

Most bands that I see playing in Jake Bugg's hometown are treated well and when the acts get it right more often than not the audience are on hand to lap it up.

It is perhaps a strange venue for Alessi’s rather folksy style: the room is a little too big to feel intimate and the decor recalls a lecture theatre rather than a live music tent.

The main hall is ornate walls lined with large mirrors chandeliers from the ceiling and a general air of wedding reception and vicar’s church roof fundraising about it.

The shy girl whose last two gigs in Leeds were the lowest of low-key affairs in the corner of a noisy bar, Alessi stumbling over her lyrics as she performed alone, has gone.

At For Folk’s Sake we’re seriously considering changing our name to welovealessi.com. From the moment her EP The Horse got its first rotation on the stereo at FFS HQ, we have been desperate to hear her play. The 10th December saw The Indoor Picnic celebrate ‘Femme Folk’ at the tiny Wilmington Arms in Clerke

18-year-old Alessi has been garnering a great deal of blogosphere love over the last few months, and having had the honour of seeing her perform at a Pure Groove in-store last year I’d already been converted to the cause before tonight‘s freebie showcase at the Camden Barfly. Although the headliner was V.V. B