Three Chords and the Truth UK

A little project to end 2026. Each gig attended gets a short 50 word review posted in the aftermath on Instagram and collated here for posterity.  Alice Howe and Freebo - Thimblemill Library, Smethwick. Friday 30th October 2026 A legendary bassist and accomplished singer-songwriter reached deep into the heart of a community, sharing prized traits of American music. Freebo and Howe played, sang, educated and entertained. Exchanging,  combining and never short changing a Thimblemill gathering witnessing something special. Awe and excellence filled the art deco designed atmospheric library. Luke Jackson - Kitchen Garden, Kings Heath, Birmingham. Sunday 1st November 2026 Jackson buoyed by his regular Kitchen audience increasing to near capacity powerfully moved onto a new plane sharing songs through a soul, blues and folk spectrum even a touch country when duetting with new partner Kyanna. New songs warmed up; old songs still inspired. Seasoned yet youthful his calling card. ...

  Just when you take a breather another Grey DeLisle album torpedos in your direction exploding into a galaxy of star spun songs. Since the Borrowed album re-introduced this multi-talented entertainer to music audiences in January 2023, a further five albums have surfaced including the recently US released DONT’T TURN AROUND that gets its formal European unveiling on November 13th. It is easy to label a current album ‘the best yet’ but the case is made moments after unwrapping its contents. The background narrative is strong; the songs stronger. If this standard remains, a Grey DeLisle drop each month wouldn’t be a chore. All eleven tracks are solo written originals marking DeLisle’s prolific phase. The route to record began in harness with credited producer Andy Paley who sadly passed away before it came to fruition. Regular collaborator Marvin Etzioni completed the process before its treasures were unleashed on ears primed for this iconic style. DeLisle mixes the world of classic...

  The narrative behind the album is Track Dogs 20th anniversary. An achievement in itself coupled with the band releasing over 11 albums and cultivating a trademark sound. Self irony is evident in the title as existing fans will be reassured that a successful formula has only been tinkered not cast aside. STILL AT THE MUSIC with its implied work-in-progress is a dozen-strong collection of tracks delivered with a crisp assertiveness. The album is an antithesis to the grower as it reaches peak appeal in first play without any significant drop off as its durability is tested. Snappy songs and a polished groove cut deep appealing as much to fresh listeners as those fully in tune to an international outlook blending influences from Latino to folk to Americana.   The acclaimed Madrid-based quartet are renowned for a tight instrumental core of guitar, bass, cajon and trumpet. The latter being the most definitive in mid-stride, Over the years sound expansion has utilised banjo, ukulel...

  Free Dirt Records have been at the heart of American folk and roots music for 20 years releasing albums that have been picked up and reviewed all around the world. Some of their alumni have become household names, while others remain embedded in their own communities. The constant is whatever the slant - country, folk, old time, bluegrass, singer-songwriter - the music is pure, authentic and dealt in an idealist wrapper. My single most memorable engagement with Free Dirt is being exposed to the utterly gorgeous music of Dori Freeman in 2017.  To commemorate this milestone the label have released a dozen-strong collection of demos, b-sides, live cuttings and the odd brand new song, though all now having a debut recorded format. Each artist breathes the Free Dirt ethos. Some have a profile overseas, others may be a new name to many. The collection is a worthy insight to what the label does and is  a fabulous listen to anyone with a fondness for this style of Americana mus...

  Transatlantic duo A Different Thread reached the penultimate stop of a hectic October UK tour with a show in a place and area that has been kind to them in the past. Prior to a successful reunion in North Carolina, the English Midlands was one of the locations for the transient relationship between Alicia Best and Robert Jackson. The Kitchen Garden has been supportive, hosting shows and scheduling at festivals, while local radio has been a loyal advocate through airplay. The scene was set for a return to catch up with familiar faces, this time in proud possession of a current album that upped the ante of this industrious and innovative roots act. The narrative behind A Different Thread’s near decade existence is well-documented and a sign of the times where movement between lands is impaired. You could be in novella territory or a short indie b-movie script charting the journey to where we are today. The soundtrack could easily be the latest record, which proved the centrepiece o...

  Character immersion is a key facet of Ags Connolly’s writing, likely aided by his other shift as a published novelist.. You sense the work of a man in a parallel existence. His songs hit the mark as the mind is displaced from rural Oxfordshire to a random barroom in Austin or Fredericksburg. The tools are sharpened on his latest album with a schooled capability to read the classic country rule book. Alongside a dive into the complexities of human emotion, YESTERDAY’S MAN refines the sonic landscape with tender layers of delectable pedal steel heading an exemplary musicianship.  Ten tracks form this optimally received album where not a breath is wasted. The sculpted vocals set the scene. The lyrics drop subtle clues of context. The effect leads the listener along a highway littered with rueful debris and contemplative charm. Connolly’s pen carves a caricature, while the sound induces the odd two step, shuffle or gentle sway to the sad chords of a resigned beat.  Nost...

  A fruitful dive into a body of work is on offer when English folk outfit Bird in the Belly hit the recording trail. Following their 2022 post apocalyptic album After the City, the quartet return with a multi-layered effort exploring the unusual, the macabre and the forgotten. The base of ONLY DOGS AS FRIENDS is the premise of a dozen tales spun through adapting traditional song and poetry, and writing original lyrics. Words, voice and instrumentation construct a powerful collection. Some are awash with hooks to drive the impact, while others are of a more challenging persuasion. The outcome pushes boundaries and evokes an idiosyncratic style.  An end of October release date is appropriate for the eerie and morbid themes. No more than a gruesome mass act of drowning children in the river as told in ‘ Hen’s Egg’. Death takes a different turn in the title track with ‘ Only Dogs as Friends’ telling of a deceased body laid in public eventually identified by a faithful pet dog.. ...