Small Welsh Hardware Store’s Short Video features Prince Charles and a New Track from Rising American Folk Artist Andrea von Kampen
For the past four years, a small, independent hardware store located in the tiny town of Rhayader, Wales (pop. 1,879) has used the music of rising American folk artist Andrea von Kampen to elevate their home-grown Christmas-time advertising.
In 2019, von Kampen’s dazzling version of Alphaville’s 1984 beloved hit “Forever Young,” helped turn Haford Hardware’s poignant ad into a viral sensation in the UK and US and generated glowing press coverage in The Guardian, the BBC and Yahoo among others. (The clip now has over 2.7 million YouTube views.) Last week, one rather well-known fan of the holiday adverts – the Prince of Wales took time to personally visit Haford Hardware and in the process shined some much-needed light on importance of shopping at independent retail stores this time of year. Captured in a short video that was released today, the festive outing features scenes of Prince Charles perusing the store in search of the perfect gift while the enchanting melody of von Kampen’s recently released original song “Old Fashioned Holiday” invokes the whimsey and magic of holidays past. (At one point, we even see the future King of England pick up a vinyl copy of von Kampen’s new album, That Spell.). Watch the clip HERE.
“The past years collaborating with Hafod Hardware in Wales has been an unexpected surprise and joy each year,” shares Andrea. “I was totally shocked when I heard that Prince Charles would be visiting the store and recording a video with Tom to spotlight the idea of shopping local and they were going to use my song, ‘Old Fashioned Holiday’ as the soundtrack. Christmas music is what makes the Holiday season special for me and being able to add to that with my original music has been an absolute dream.”
Andrea von Kampen’s “Old Fashioned Holiday” was released just last month along with her indelible cover of Irving Berlin’s classic “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm,” which has been recorded by Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Ella Fitzgerald with Louis Armstrong, among others. Produced by Andrea and her brother David von Kampen, these tracks represent her latest holiday music offerings following last year’s A Midwest Christmas EP. Listen to “Old Fashioned Holiday” and “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” HERE.
Holiday music has played an important role in von Kampen’s life and her career. Looking for just the right soundtrack to underscore his DIY advertising campaign, Haford Hardware owner Tom Jones came across von Kampen’s music online in 2016 and reached out to see if he might convince the aspiring singer-songwriter to help support his local business. Before 2019’s ad took off, the store’s first two clips utilized her versions of “White Christmas” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Last year’s pandemic inspired commercial featured Stephen Foster’s beloved, “Hard Times Come Again No More.” Watch them all HERE.
Earlier this year von Kampen released That Spell, her first album for Fantasy Records. The standout tracks include “Take Back Thy Gift,” “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder),” (Beach Boys cover) and “Water Flowing Downward” which was highlighted by Bob Boilen on NPR’s All Songs Considered podcast – listen HERE.
Named as one of the top ten entries in NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, Andrea von Kampen burst onto the national stage in 2016 and netted a quickly growing fanbase. Since then, she’s released singles, EP’s, a self-released debut LP and found great success with film and television placements due to her highly cinematic songwriting and striking, one-of-kind vocal ability.
The Nebraska-raised singer-songwriter is a formidable talent with a deeply felt folk-indebted sound and inquisitive, empathetic lyrics. Von Kampen excels at connecting the dots between personal experience and the world at large. On her latest LP That Spell, with production and string arrangements by her brother David, she has employed a deep love of literature and a refined sense of compositional sophistication to create one of the year’s most essential new recordings.
Photo Credit: Pha Nguyen
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