The tried and tested formula of the Americana International is the key to the success and
longevity of this festival as once again thousands of enthusiasts flocked to
the wide open spaces of the Newark Showground on the first full weekend of
July. The term Americana can have many different interpretations but for the 32nd
straight year this self-professed lifestyle event blends several strands of
music with the grandeur of the automobiles, motor cycles and elaborate
recreational vehicles that form a vision of post-war American culture. The
music is a mere snapshot of what has originated from the U.S. over the last
fifty years and is centred around mainstream country, rockabilly and the wide
spectrum that formulates the term rock n’ roll. The vast range of artists on
show from both sides of the Atlantic encompass highly credible acts and those
who steer their talent in an imitative direction but provide a mixture to entertain an
all-age inclusive crowd in an affordable way.
It has to be said from a personal viewpoint, a fair
proportion of the acts are of mere passing interest, but, as on numerous
previous visits to this three day festival, there are usually around a dozen artists
that have sufficient merit to warrant further scrutiny. Some are noted
beforehand while you normally have the usual festival experience of an unexpected
artist raising their own profile in your live music appreciation. The Friday of
this year’s festival did take a while to ignite, and not just due to the
presence of the loathsome wet weather afflicting yet another summer outdoor
activity, but by the time the three earmarked bands took to the main
stage, the rain clouds kindly took their content elsewhere.  |
| Bayou Brothers share their passion of Zydeco and Cajun |
The first of what turned out to be a San Diego double header
saw the Bayou Brothers deliver their interpretation of Cajun, Zydeco and blues
in a rare festival serving of this style of Americana music. Though originating
from the sunshine state, the band led by accordion playing vocalist John
Chambers have fully embraced the Louisiana sound and put on a show that
couldn’t fail to impress those who perhaps were looking for a little deviation
from pure guitar based music. The added entertaining feature of a rubboard,
expertly demonstrated by Judy Seid, assisted the band in playing tunes such as
‘Chilli Momma’, ‘Alligator Waltz’ and the ever popular ‘Toot Toot’. The set saw a little mid-way deviation where the blues
element of their performance surfaced through the delta inspired voice of highly
respected guest, Lazy Lester. His interpretations of ‘Scratch My Back’ and ‘You
Better Listen’ left you in no doubt of the credentials of this Hall of Fame
nominee. The link between the Bayou
Brothers and the next artist was the Eve Selis Band bassist, Rick Nash who
doubled up to help out his fellow San Diego residents.
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| Eve Selis in fine voice again. |
Eve Selis is a regular visitor to the Americana
International and her 2012 full band tour conveniently included successive
weekend festival shows at the Maverick in Suffolk and here in Newark a week
later. Having witnessed three appearances of this band in a week, though there
were contrasts in the set list, the high quality of each performance was easy
to compare. The opening track ‘Rubber and
Glue’ and ‘Russellville’ were
restored to the set and once again the vast majority of the numbers were from
the recent ‘Family Tree’ album which
is continuing to flourish with every listen, both live and on record. Eve’s fantastic personality absorbs a
festival crowd and she never misses an opportunity to win over new admirers. The surprising omission from the set of ‘Ballad of Kate Morgan’ denied drummer
Larry Grano his moment of vocal fame but his percussion skills are an essential
element of the numerous strong songs such as ‘Heart Shaped Tattoo’, ‘One
Day At A Time’ and ‘Stop The Train’.
So a personal live farewell to Eve and her band this year but good to be left with the memories of ‘Don’t You Feel Lonesome’, ‘Witness to Your
Life’ and ‘Ain’t Got Nothin’’,
all songs added to a personal 2012 summer soundtrack.
The main stage closed on the Friday evening with a
performance from respected UK country band The Diablos. This is one of the few
bands witnessed from the British club scene that has made an impression and
they mix original material with interesting covers such as the Allman Brothers
instrumental ‘Jessica’. The band’s
standout track was ‘Truth and
Consequence’, a number one on the UK Hot Disc Country Chart. If there were
a few more bands around like The Diablos, the club scene may be a little more
appealing. |
| Ellie Dibben duetting with PJ Proby |
The first act on the Saturday to be of interest was the
curiosity surrounding the re-appearance of fourteen year old Ellie Dibben on
the main stage. Although her set last year was not witnessed, the promoter Chris
Jackson was sufficiently impressed to ask her back and perform with her fellow
young band. While her age recalls memories of Leann Rimes creating a stir back
in the nineties with versions of ‘Blue’
and ‘Cattle Call’, to make observed
comparisons would be a little unfair and inaccurate. However there was no
problem with Ellie’s vocal skills as she constructed her set around the songs
of country teen idol, Taylor Swift. While the label ‘country’ horrifies many when interpreting this type of
music, it is important to assess how the genre is going to evolve. To me the bigger problem is not the output
from the young Nashville acts which can find its own niche but some of the blatant
de-countrified mixing occurring in certain markets. It will be interesting to
see how Ellie’s career develops but she is receiving guidance from industry
stalwart, PJ Proby who joined her on stage for a duet of ‘Ready, Set, Don’t Go’.
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| Claire McArthur and Paul Bain of Raintown |
On the theme of contemporary country music, much interest was
centred on the next band up, the ambitious Scottish based duo Raintown who were
making a rare UK live appearance. Apart from various successful bridge building
visits to Nashville, the band have produced a highly competent debut release
titled ‘Hope in Troubled Times’ which
has signalled a drive to take their UK twist on this strand of music to an
elevated level and hopefully infiltrate the mainstream. The duo’s live
performances are constructed around the infectious harmonies of co-singers,
Claire McArthur and Paul Bain who used the forty five minute set to showcase
the album almost in its entirety. It’s always useful to include a couple of
popular covers into a festival appearance and Keith Urban’s ‘Somebody Like You’ was their
contribution alongside a merging of ‘Jackson’
into their own crowd pleaser ‘Love's Got a
Hold on Me’. The strength of songs such as ‘Light the Fuse Up’, ‘Ship of Fools’ and the sing along closer ‘Just One Kiss’ will serve Raintown well
in their quest to become the UK’s answer to Lady Antebellum. While the British club
scene is probably not the best vehicle to develop their live show, it is hoped
they can address this conundrum and be more of a live presence throughout the
UK as their talents merit it.
Two artists with a pure rockabilly/rock n’ roll background
created a fair amount of interest on the main stage as the Saturday evening
approached. Si Cranstoun, with his brand of light easy listening rock n’ roll
pop thoroughly entertained the crowd, swelled by many visiting from other areas of the festival site, and was
duly rewarded with the longest line all weekend at the merchandise tent. Mary
Jean Lewis returned to the festival after her impressive set last year and
added fuel to the theory that musical talent is in the genes, although she
humbly accepts a lower profile than her more famous mother, Linda Gail and
uncle, Jerry Lee.
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| Stacie Collins |
There is always a danger of a schedule clash at any festival
and on Americana’s Saturday evening, the performance of Stacie Collins on a
portable stage located on the back of a truck in front of a sprinkling of
admirers won over the viewing of established U.S. country band Confederate
Railroad on the main stage. In a festival where the country element rarely
drifts off a narrow path, the injection of the honky tonk rock n’ blues raucous
sound of Stacie and her band gives you a little insight of what goes on in the
clubs and bars in Nashville away from Music Row. Once Stacie freed herself from
the constraints of the portable stage, she went on to give a dynamic
performance that has been the hallmark of her UK shows over the last couple of
years. There were no surprises in a set comprising of songs from her two recent
albums and a couple of covers that celebrates the history of country and
southern rock. The restoring of, personal favourite, ‘Lucky Spot’ to the set after its omission from her recent Leicester
show was most welcome but all the Stacie Collins standards were there including
‘Ramblin’’, ‘Baby Sister’, ‘Hey Mister’
and the rock ballad ‘ It Hurts to
Breathe’. By the time the band ended with their usual closer ‘Jumping Jack Flash’, those present were
almost as exhausted as Stacie. Roll on her continued UK visits in the future.
The theme of country and southern rock was continued into
the early hours of Sunday morning as Modern Earl, a band with a heavy
US/European influence, followed Stacie onto the makeshift stage in this distant
covered venue. The four piece band led by Chris ‘Earl’ Hudson delivered a
rousing set and managed to create a sound that overcame some of the acoustic
difficulties of this adapted location. Quality songs from their recent record,
included in the performance, mirrored common themes such as ‘Blame the Bottle’ and ‘Country Love’ while their heritage and
influences were reflected in the state anthem ‘Rocky Top Tennessee’ and festival favourite ‘Folsom Prison Blues’.
The seventy five year old legendary ambassador of country
music, George Hamilton IV, has made the Sunday morning gospel tinged slot his
own at the Americana Festival. With his charming tales of living an
unconventional life as a country singer – one wife for fifty years- and mixing
with many figures of Nashville royalty, George takes you on a sentimental
journey while inspiring those up early with traditional songs such as ‘I’ll Fly Away’ and ‘I Saw the Light’. This was a perfect
antidote to a night of country rock and a strong reminder of what makes up the
broad church of country music.
It has been previously mentioned that most festivals spring
a surprise and the 2012 Americana personally confirmed why Brian Hughes has
such a respected reputation and stands clear head and shoulders above most UK
country acts. Finally catching up with his live performance definitely ranked
high up alongside some of the touring artists witnessed and created an
impression that he may be a little constrained by the UK scene. The strength of
his song writing is one of his major assets and there is indication of this
being recognised in the wider country community. Brian throws open his
influences to the vast landscape of Americana music and makes no secret of his
massive respect for Bruce Springsteen and the impact upon his music. His live
festival version of Levon Helm’s ‘The
Weight’ was probably the best cover of the whole weekend and he backs this
up with some wonderfully constructed tracks from his self-penned latest album ‘My Kind of Paradise’ including ‘Damascus Road’, ‘When All is Said and Done’
and ‘God Bless Friday Night’.
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| Gene Watson |
The late Sunday afternoon slot on the main stage is usually
reserved for an established veteran mainstream country performer and this
year’s occupant perfectly fitted that description. Gene Watson has been making
country records for over fifty years and was a major star in the industry in
the seventies and eighties. The fact that this era just pre-dated the New
Traditionalist movement, which altered the landscape of country music, suggests
where Watson’s sound resides and the laid back countrypolitan ambience from his
performance resonated well with those in attendance. He is a fine singer who in
someway defines an era and the wealth of country hits he performed including
numbers ones’ ‘Paper Rosie’ and ‘Fourteen Carat Mind’ gives
credence to his standing in the industry. He paid tribute to the great Merle
Haggard with a version of ‘Tonight the
Bottle Let Me Down’, although the Hag will probably leave a greater legacy
than Watson. Although he has lived in Nashville for many years the Texas drawl
of his upbringing was detected when he reminisced of beating the legendary and
fellow Texan Ray Price to a hit with the Dave Kirby song ‘Memories to Burn’. The two hour slot allocated for Watson also saw
a guest appearance from Jerry Kilgore, who is supporting him on this short UK
tour. Apart from promoting his new album ‘Telephone
Texas’, Kilgore wooed the crowd with the George Jones classic ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’. As the popular Watson departed to
sign copies of his new CD, a re-recording of the hits, for his faithful
following, the scene was set for the main stage to change direction and the return of San Antonio’s finest export of Honky Tonk Texas country
rock ‘n roll, Two Tons of Steel.
 |
| Kevin Geil from Two Tons of Steek |
This four piece band spend fifty one weeks of the year
plying their trade around the dance halls, honky tonks and music venues of
south Texas but having been plucked out by promoter Chris Jackson for some
international exposure, are now making their third straight pilgrimage to the
festival. They warmed up for their main stage slot with a late night Saturday
blast in the sound flawed George Stephenson Hall and hit the straps running the
following day by opening with three songs from their excellent 2009 album ‘Not So Lucky’. The title track of this
album, ‘Cryin’ Eyes' and ‘Wanna Dance’ immediately got the
enthusiastic crowd, swelled by visitors from the rockabilly dominated Alpha
Stage, going. The fast pace rarely relented over the hour and a quarter set
with the crowd participation number ‘I
Wanna Be Sedated’ and the very appropriate for elements of this alcohol
fuelled festival 'Bottom of
the Bottle , both proving popular. Lead singer/guitarist Kevin Geil did slow
things down with the sentimental number ‘You
Know’ but this was only a temporary reprieve
as normal service returned with a sinew bursting version of fellow Texan, Buddy
Holly’s ‘Not Fade Away’. These guys
are fast becoming festival favourites and a 2013 return would prove to be a
popular move again.
This annual immersion into a low regulated corporate free-festival
is a highly enjoyable experience and though some may consider it a little
limited and slightly clichéd view of Americana music, buying into the ideals of
the promotion enables a modest personal investment to be amply rewarded. After
an uncertain period with the venue’s hosts, plans are already at an advanced
stage for next year’s event and precedence suggests a sufficient diet of quality
artists will be presented to satisfy the desire of those attending mainly for
the music.
