Three Chords and the Truth UK

By its nature, roots music is mainly going to appeal to a mature listener who is prepared to move out of the present and delve into a period of time where the influence of today’s technology didn’t exist. This is often reflected in the demographical spread of a majority of the audience who frequent gigs under the country, roots and Americana banner in this country. However it is refreshing that a lot of this music exported from the North American continent is being produced by a younger generation that is critical to it continuing to flourish in the future. Texas born, fiddle playing, vocalist Amanda Shires, who has just reached the ripe old age of thirty, is one such artist who continues to grow her reputation at home and is committed to spreading the word overseas. She has been a frequent visitor to the UK over the last few years including an appearance at the Maverick Festival in 2010 and on this evening was bringing her current eighteen date tour to the Musician Pub in Leicester...

It’s been a long time, fourteen years in fact, since husband and wife duo, Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart quit the pursuit of major label recognition in Nashville. What they have missed out on the trappings of industry fame has surely been compensated by the preservation of their musical integrity and the creation of an act that really knows how to interact with the dedicated followers of americana music. Their continued desire to spend a considerable amount of time on the road currently sees them on an exhausting fifty shows in sixty days tour of the UK and Europe. In line with many of their intimate venue and house concert gigs, their return to the Kitchen Garden Café in the eclectic Birmingham suburb of King’s Heath gave them the opportunity to perform to both old and new fans alike. The major difference between their 2010 and 2012 visit to the UK is that this time they are promoting a new album. Despite writing and performing many songs over their 20 year musical collaboration car...

If you like your country – loud, rocking and raucous – you need to look no further than the music that is being produced and performed by the Nashville based artist, Stacie Collins. This honky tonk, southern rock influenced musician is starting to build a considerable following this side of the Atlantic as Stacie and her band are beginning to reap the benefits of putting in the hard yards of regular visits to the UK, mainland Europe and Scandinavia. Her current tour, under the ‘very countrified’ banner ‘Three Chords and a Cloud of Dust’, has included a visit to the Musician Pub in Leicester for the third straight year and, on this occasion, the size of the crowd was swelled by a Friday night slot. As usual, the harmonica playing and vocal skills of Stacie are supported by three musical band members led by husband and bassist, Al Collins who, in his other job, is a member of established country rock stalwarts, Jason and the Scorchers. This tour has seen a change in backing musici...