Three Chords and the Truth UK

Fresh from their success of being named Best Duo at the recent BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin continue to make substantial waves in the world of traditional roots music. As a duo they are inventive, energetic and passionate about their specific areas of interest which spans three continents in an attempt to tap into sources of enchanting song and majestic slide guitar playing. The Kitchen Garden Café is an established Midlands venue on the roots music scene and, despite the sounds in the past of many fine artists reverberating around its acoustic friendly brick walls, there cannot have been many better 45 minute slots than the second half of Phillip and Hannah’s set on this mild Sunday evening. It may have taken the award winning duo a little while to warm up and adjust to the surroundings, including a few teething technical issues, but eventually the quality kicked in to leave a near sell out audience thrilled to be in the company of two inspiring musici...

Simone Felice has long been one of Americana music’s hottest tickets, whether part of the Felice Brothers, one half of Duke and the King or in his recent venture branching out as a solo artist. The multi-talented native of upstate New York is set to seal the deal as an eminent performer with the release of STRANGERS, his second record of solo status but not short on guest influence. Repeat listens of this 10 track–37 minute offering reveal an intimate insight into the mind of Simone, all wrapped up in a sound quintessential of pure Americana. It doesn’t take long to get into the stride of the record with a rousing sing along chorus decorating the fabulous, jovial and sweet opener ‘ Molly-O’ . This track sees Simone re-trace his carefree days as a panhandling travelling musician around the New York folk scene. While the upbeat sound tends to take more of a backseat as the album progresses, the strong choruses are a permanent feature to keep even the casual listener engaged througho...

Every so often you hear a song from a new artist you’re just discovering for the first time that literally makes you stop in your tracks. In 2012 Emma Jane managed it with ‘ Sunday Monday Blues’ while around a year ago it was ‘ Tennessee ’ by Emily Baker. There is a distinct pattern occurring here as the same experience happened recently when first listening to the track ‘ Back To You’ by Maria Byrne. It was first sampled online and in a whirlwind couple of weeks, the song has been witnessed live as well as having the EP it came from, parachuted in for review. This amazing song is one of six tracks to feature on Maria’s new EP and lends it name to the record’s title BACK TO YOU. The work of Maria was being checked out in advance of deciding who to see of the growing number of UK based artists appearing on the pop up stages at this year’s Country to Country Festival in London. Instantly Maria was added to this list, a decision certainly not regretted after watching her 30 minute ...

 London based alt bluegrass band The Coal Porters have been plying their trade for many years but have admitted that for far too long they have not been active enough in the West Midlands. Well the Kitchen Garden Café has been hosting roots gigs for several years now so it is great that both band and venue have finally connected. Packed to its intimate capacity, the Café was alive tonight with the fantastic sounds of this highly talented quintet who uniquely manage to make bluegrass music significantly progressive. The Coal Porters are led by the former frontman of the esteemed US alt country rock band the Long Ryders, although Sid Griffin has a lot more to his cultural arsenal than an eighties cover slot on the NME. He has assembled a wonderful set of musicians to bring many original compositions to life alongside several imaginative covers that you would not expect to hear at a gig steeped in this music style. Sid, in a dry and slightly quirky manner, led the band for a tw...

While trying to remain impartial and objective, there was only ever going to be one act to open this review and be the lasting legacy of Country to Country 2014. Even though expectation and anticipation was high, the reality of the Dixie Chicks London return could not have been a starker reminder of why they were, and still are, a highly respected country music act and unilaterally responsible for the literary indulgence you are reading. For a solitary hour on the Saturday evening of this 2 day festival, Natalie, Martie and Emily enchanted a sold out arena with a spellbinding display that not only gold-framed their talents for your memory bank but also defined the directional path of their career. At 7.30 on Saturday 15 th March the Dixie Chicks were back. By 8.30 they were triumphant. Martie Maguire For the second year running, only the Saturday of this 2 day festival, which brings the cream of mainstream US country music to the UK, was attended. However with all due res...

Ags Connolly is a name I’ve been aware of for quite a while with respect to a Country 2 Country Festival pop up stage appearance and numerous interactions on social media. Now finally we can add recording artist to his repertoire and without any hesitation it has to be said that HOW ABOUT NOW is an exceptional release that ranks highly among UK artists actively involved in producing country music. You get no pulled punches with Ags and don’t shout too loudly about the current output of Nashville’s mainstream crop in his presence. Regardless of whether you adopt his views or not, understanding the inner qualities of what Ags is trying to re-interpret is sufficient enough to savour the merits of this album which has the depth to reach out to fans across the spectrum of country from mainstream to alt via all ports of Americana. The concept of this album was born from a meeting between Dean Owens and Ags at last year’s Country 2 Country Festival, with the pair re-convening up in Scotl...

With his roots firmly in the folk inspired singer-songwriter set, Robby Hecht is an established member of the Nashville based informal Americana movement and has the UK in his sights for development in 2014. To support a summer tour when Robby visits some of our established listening venues and a slot at the Maverick Festival, a new album hits the airwaves on March 24 th to showcase why he is a respected artist. Choosing to go down the route of releasing a self-titled record, this 3 rd album of Robby’s has all the components you would expect from a previous winner at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival. Although the album has moments of slightly inflated intensity it is best defined by a soft, soothing and serene sound. Weighing in at 12 tracks and 44 minutes, Robby’s album is a thoughtful introspective record rooted in the art of personal expression. Produced by Lex Price (Mindy Smith, k.d. Lang), the former resident of Knoxville Tennessee has re-created a sound inspired by...

Riding on the back of a recent success at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Anais Mitchell gave her Midlands fans a reminder of her talents with this Birmingham gig slotted in at the tail end of this short UK tour. The Glee Club played host to Anais on the evening for a show promoted once again by Cosmic Americana Music and the near 200 turnout justified their decision to bring the gig to the West Midlands instead of their normal Nottingham base. Over the hour and a quarter she spent on stage, Anais breathed a vibrancy that allowed her enthusiasm for song and a distinctive voice to swarm your senses, drawing you into her mystique and slightly quirky world. For me the depth of song and original addictive vocal style are the primary attractions and why I found YOUNG MAN IN AMERICA a compelling listen when initially discovering Anais. This first opportunity to see her live confirmed the early impressions especially as she included some of the better tracks from that album in the set list...

It’s been a few years since Diana Jones last visited Birmingham and a fair number of her fans defied the often uninspiring Monday night slot to catch her return to the city. For this tour, Nottingham based promoters Cosmic American Music decided to utilise the small room at the Hare and Hounds pub and were rewarded with a decent turnout. This bodes well for this relatively new venture of the promoter spreading their wings and enhancing the Birmingham music scene with a serving of quality Americana which has been bypassing the area in recent years. In support of Diana, the services of her fellow US compatriot, Jarrod Dickenson, were secured and he duly entertained the audience with the usual high singer-songwriter standard that we have come to expect from UK PR stable of Geraint Jones. Jarrod has just released an excellent short EP titled SONGS FROM WILLOW ST with the biggest regret being that funds restricted the record to four tracks. My personal favourite from this EP is the mel...

With the wrapping barely off his fourth and latest studio release, an opportunity has arisen for UK fans to check out live the latest instalment in Erich Church’s quest to be a country music game changer. It may be a brave move to base the name of your record so explicitly on your mission and only time will tell whether the rules are being re-written. However there is no doubt that Church is at the top of his game both as a live performer and a recording artist. It didn't take many listens to appreciate the inner qualities of THE OUTSIDERS and the experience of seeing him live for the first time lived up to the hype generated from his one-off debut UK gig last year. You know the fiddle and steel is not going to make an appearance at an Eric Church gig, although the banjo appeared from time to time, but this show, at a packed mid-size venue, was far from a rock extravaganza. That is not saying there weren’t times when the guitar-laden six piece band didn’t truly rock the joint ...

There have been two main strands to the career of Beth Nielsen Chapman, both immensely respected, and to the great delight of this Birmingham audience, both very much on display during this packed evening of high quality entertainment. The celebration of Beth as a very successful Nashville song writer is currently being honoured by the recent release of her rather good UNCOVERED album and the many fine songs from that record formed the centrepiece of her return to the city. When you take into account her fine voice and acclaimed other recordings which tended to be in a more Adult Contemporary style then this sophisticated mix lent itself to an enjoyable show. The support Beth received from her core band of Martin Allcock on various guitars, Tripp Dudley on drums and the delightful Ruth Trimble on a variety of instruments ranging from bass, keys, piano and whistle helped make the evening a resounding success but the icing came from the support act Red Sky July. Not only did this ...