During the 2020 lock-down, I had a lot of time and space and took the opportunity to spend time in the woodlands of Sussex with my guitar, connecting with nature, listening to the songs of the birds and thinking about my relationship to the different trees.

What followed was a suite of 10 compositions and an album about trees (willow, elm, ash, birch, yew, hornbeam, cherry, holm oak and linden).

At my gigs, I started to include stories about the medicinal properties and folklore of the trees I had written about, and talked my writing process (how do you ask a tree to help write music?).

I then began working with storytellers, directors and actors to develop this side of my performance, and The Music of Trees became a ‘show’ gaining some great reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2022.

In 2023 I received funding from The Arts Council to develop the storytelling aspect of my performance and to study new techniques on the guitar including ‘percussive playing’ and ‘looping’.

It has been an exciting journey for me to move from performing as a classical guitarist, to having a ‘show; and playing my own compositions in new and engaging ways.

If you’d like to come and see what I have been up to, my live dates are available here: 
Geoff Robb Tour Dates

You can listen to the album in full here:
Listen to The Music of Trees album