Stripped Down: Winnie Ama // Célia Tiab & Ben Flavelle-Cobain

Stripped Down at The Crescent is a series of gigs that brings together some of the most talented original acts currently working in Northern Ireland, performing stripped down versions of their songs.

Usually, a song starts life in a bedroom, a living room, or a rehearsal room, and it grows over time. Eventually by the time it gets performed by a full band or recorded in the studio it has matured and developed. Stripped Down hopes to bring some of these songs back to that early, genuine stage of life.

Stripped Down has been programmed by The Crescent’s Music Associate 23/24, Donal Scullion, who has been collaborating with our Technical Manager, Gareth Doran, to curate this series. Over a number of shows you will discover a mix of established acts, rising stars and emerging talent, representing Northern Irish Hip Hop, R&B, Soul, Funk, Pop, Rock, Indie and more.

For November's edition of Stripped Down, the focus is on Funk and Soul as we welcome to The Crescent Winnie Ama with support from Célia Tiab and Ben Flavelle-Cobain.

These events are BYO; bring along a bottle, sit back and let the music take over, and enjoy these two incredible acts perform in an intimate setting.

Winnie Ama is an emerging Northern-Irish singer-songwriter. Blending conscious lyrics, soulful vocals with pop and dance and rhythms, the Belfast born and raised Northern-Irish-Ghanaian artist has had success with multiple MusicWeek UK Club Chart top 10's and support from, BBC6, BBC2, RTE2FM, FM104, BBC Radio Ulster, with BBC Introducing’s Gemma Bradley referencing her fresh writing style and distinctive voice.

Winnie currently has a residency with Pirate Studios - selected out of 5000 emerging artists, and also selected out of 1000 upcoming artists to perform at Liverpool Sounds Festival. Winnie Ama has been tipped as a Rising Artist by RTE2FM and One to Watch by BBC Introducing ATL. She also received recognition from Macy Gray and Sister Sledge who both invited her to open their shows in Cork and Belfast respectively.

She is also a data analyst for the Why Not Her? movement which campaigns for gender equality in the music industry and she mentors other artists. She has a weekly radio show on Colourful Radio for new Future Soul and RnB music. She also DJs and has performed DJ sets at the Southbank Centre and Electric Picnic.

Célia Tiab and Ben Flavelle-Cobain met during Celia's time living in Belfast, when they participated in each other's debut solo projects alongside producer and SoftBoy Records artist, Brién. They will kick off the evening with collaborative energy and original material.

With a deep passion for music since her youngest age, and especially for the warm sounds of voices, guitars and electric pianos from the 60s and 70s, singer and guitar player Célia Tiab has for mission to create music that she feels is truthful to herself, unpretentiously. After many collaborations with the members of the Irish record label Soft Boy Records (Kojaque, Brién, Gaptoof), Célia released her first EP Cécé in July 2022, inspired by Donny Hathaway’s gospel, Nick Hakim’s indie soul, and Andy Shauf’s folk.

Ben Flavelle-Cobain released his debut EP Electric Emotion in 2022 which showcases his voice as a songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. The artist has also been an active session musician for some time, playing fretless electric bass, featuring in Jazz and Blues residencies and making appearances at Glastonbury, Other Voices, Brilliant Corners Jazz Festival and Cambridge Folk Festival. Since making his solo debut Ben has staged exciting live performances in his hometown of Belfast and received airplay both on BBC Radio and BBC Sounds featured by Phil Taggart and Kwame Daniels respectively. Captivated by the songwriting and the sounds of artists including Stevie Wonder, Jaco Pastorius, Bill Frisell, Jimi Hendrix, Steely Dan, Erykah Badu and Joni Mitchell, Ben is an eclectic musician always searching for a sound that is his own.