Three Chords and the Truth UK

Photo courtesy of PG Photography Whilst recently browsing the online pages of No Depression, a comment was noted by a poster implying that Kacey Musgraves was leading the ‘fight for country music within the castle walls’. Regardless whether you have any opinion or not on the state of mainstream country, it is indisputable that the music flowing from this talented 25 year old Texan will challenge even the most ardent purist not to sit up and take notice. Kacey opened up this latest manoeuvre to build on her European fan base with a spellbinding show at a packed Ritz venue in Manchester and oozed with class throughout the entirety of her 85 minutes on stage. Not only is Kacey extracting every ounce of brilliance from SAME TRAILER DIFFERENT PARK in her stage show, her selected covers matched the moment and there is growing evidence that the classic album will be followed up in a similar vein. What struck me most about seeing Kacey for the first time is how she combined the role...

When Harlan Howard coined the phrase ‘three chords and the truth’ to sum up country music, he encompassed the simplistic and honest approach many performers have to sharing their thoughts through song and music. Holly Williams is a shining example of how this style can be an absorbing and entertaining experience for audiences tuned into her wavelength. The Nashville based artist has finally brought her acclaimed 2013 album THE HIGHWAY to the UK in a series of headline shows and the Glee Club in Birmingham is representative of the numerous polite listening venues that will host her on this tour. Without being too clichéd about Holly’s background, it is difficult to ignore the enormous influence this has on her music. Holly glows with pride at the hand she has been dealt with and this is an integral part of her live show. Whether it’s in lyrics referring to Grandpa, Cadillacs and events in January 1952 or an encore cover of ‘ I Saw the Light’ , the looming shadow of Hank is never to...

Is there a more consummate, complete and accomplished entertainer in country music than Dolly Parton? On the evidence of her performance during the UK leg of the Blue Smoke World Tour the answer is highly unlikely, although it would have greater credibility if an increased number of American arena acts were prepared to bring their lavish productions to this country.  Even then it would be tough to match the warmth and affection that radiates from Dolly as she eases her way through a back catalogue that reaches out far and beyond the genre of her roots. A near capacity LG Arena rode the waves of her emotion throughout this two set show, allowing the sound of just a mere pin drop for the three part harmony unaccompanied ‘ Little Sparrow’ and raising the roof for the unlikely anthem ‘ 9 to 5’ . The span of interest in this latter song amazingly grows wider with each generation and is one of the main reasons that her stock in the UK has been propelled to arena level. However ...

For someone who grew up with the new wave sounds of post punk long before discovering Americana, it is exciting when you come across a new band which successfully manages to combine both styles so well.  First and foremost, Massy Ferguson are a rock band raised on crashing guitars and a driving beat but are not afraid to mix in a bit of refined country to shape their music in true American tradition. VICTORY & RUINS is the Seattle based band’s fifth studio album and a release which is being promoted in the UK via extended press and a debut tour. For a record packed full of indie rock vibes, the track that perhaps stands out the most is one drenched in country sentiment. ‘ Bring Back Something ’ is a superbly constructed song which brings the pedal steel to the fore and is very reminiscent of their US compatriots from down the Pacific coast I See Hawks in LA. Another track to linger long in your mind is the outstanding ‘ Hard Way’ where singer bassist Ethan Anderson cont...

Some musicians head for Nashville while others find the lure of Austin irresistible. Zoe Muth was probably always destined to end up in the ‘live music capital of world’, although she would not have been out of place in Music City. The decision to uproot from her Seattle home in the Pacific North West is starting to reap rewards as the release of WORLD OF STRANGERS signals a new chapter in making the transition from innocent promising songstress to complete artist. The words, tunes, melodies and ideas have always been in place but now Zoe has surrounded herself with the expertise to polish the sound without losing any of the passion to paint the canvas with song. Zoe acknowledged the importance of her new team in “giving my songs new life” on the sleeve notes and the architect has proved to be producer George Reiff who obviously saw great potential in her three previous releases. Three noted contributions to the album included the vocals of Bruce Robison and Brandy Zdan as well ...

Listening to the sound of country soul is an aesthetically pleasing experience and the current vogue for this style of Americana music is generating some extremely strong albums. On the back of excellent releases by the UK’s Danny and the Champions of the World and the US’s Shinyribs, The Delines have come up trumps with one of the year’s most atmospheric and mesmeric albums in COLFAX. It’s a double UK delight that the band, founded by Richmond Fontaine’s Willy Vlautin, are currently visiting this country to promote the launch of this debut record. Midlands promoters Cosmic American had little reluctance to book the band and were rewarded with a near sell-out crowd in the Hare and Hounds’ smaller music room. To the great pleasure of the many knowledgeable music fans attending the show, COLFAX was played in its entirety and the band perfectly balanced the set by interspersing several contrasting tunes from outside the album thus keeping the overall performance fresh. The pin drop...

Maura and Edwina in full flow With so much original music around, any tribute show needs to be different and special to raise an eyebrow above the mediocrity that often portrays this type of performance. Of course The Kennedys and Edwina Hayes are highly respected artists in their own right as well as possessing the perfect credentials to expertly interpret the songs of the legendary Nanci Griffith. There was an extra buzz about a sold out Kitchen Garden Café this evening as Pete and Maura Kennedy returned to a venue where they went down so well around a year ago. At the end of the evening, it was immaterial whether the audience were primarily fans of Nanci Griffiths, The Kennedys, or both, as a rapturous applause greeted two excellent sets by the duo. The relationship between The Kennedys and Nanci goes back over 20 years, albeit on an irregular basis, although they are now in a period of being the cornerstone of her backing band. With Nanci taking a brief hiatus from touring...

Once again the first weekend of July sees the most comprehensive collection of artists, best described as operating under the Americana banner, assemble in the delightful backdrop of rural Suffolk. While Summertyne and Southern Fried continue to establish themselves as premier events in the north, Maverick Festival sets the standard with regards to depth and variety. Close of 60 acts from both home and North America descend on the agricultural setting of Easton Farm Park to provide a festival experience that is unique amongst the throngs that crop up during our busy summer season. The organisers have a canny knack of maximising the quality out of their modest budget and successfully conveying the notion that small can be beautiful. Not that size, chart positions and album sales bother the enthusiasts who travel from far and wide to the event, just the wonderful opportunity to catch so many niche favourites in one place and the high possibility of discovering some of the more up an...

Chloe and Phil  While festivals can be a great place to sample live bands with their 40 minute sets, sometimes you just wish that the allotted time could be extended. So after seeing a couple of, far too short, Hatful of Rain sets at the last couple of Maverick Festivals, it was a pleasure to see the band find the time and resource to undertake some headline dates around the country. The Sussex based quartet have developed their own niche on the London and south coast folk n’ roots circuit with a pair of impressive album cuts but this brave venture north presents an opportunity for the band to widen  their brand of harmony driven–Americana influenced acoustic music. Of course growing a live following outside your core area can take time and despite a slow ticket sale start, a highly respectable Kitchen Garden turnout soaked up this initial savouring of the Hatful’s talents. These are centred on the golden vocals of Chloe Overton, often playing foil to the harmony slot...

Dolly Parton has long been an intriguing artist on the country music scene. While her roots are unquestionable, it is perhaps the crossover appeal which has led to her massive genre reach especially here in the UK. No other artist steeped in East Tennessee heritage will attract the numbers to her live shows when the Blue Smoke World Tour hits these shores in June. This will be extended to the now entrenched oldie Glastonbury slot which I have never felt truly comfortable with, although the commercially savvy Dolly will embrace the masses waiting for their mainstream rock fix. Quite where Dolly Parton’s new material sits amongst her admirers is unsure and with this in mind, the UK release of BLUE SMOKE has been conveniently packaged with a re-released BEST OF compilation. BLUE SMOKE is Dolly’s 42 nd studio album and like so much of her back catalogue is put together with an astute cleverness.This ranges from a couple of neo generational duets with two other artists who she is fo...

The term Canadiana doesn’t appear to have yet filtered into the lexicon of music genres like its southern neighbourly counterpart but if it did then Dennis Ellsworth would be amongst its first inductees. The Prince Edward Island native surfaced in the UK last year with the excellent DUSK DREAMS and played a storming set at the Maverick Festival which was acknowledged by this site as being one of the weekend’s highlights. Dennis is set to build on the appreciation he received with the release of this follow up album which is a more introspective piece of work than its predecessor. Furthermore HAZY SUNSHINE is a stirring selection of sophisticated songs drawing its influence from a multitude of sources and extolling a variety of moods. Dennis name checks one of his influences in the album’s most striking song title ‘ Harry Nilsson’s Heart’ but a key similar vocal style to Elvis Costello is a more pertinent feature to the record in its early stages. This opening segment possesses ...

John at Calgary Folk Festival in 2013 Not only has John Fullbright managed to follow up his Grammy nominated debut album with a super new release, but his stage presence and live show has moved up a level since he played his first UK dates just over a year ago. Whether initially on guitar, intermittently on harmonica or increasingly on piano, the modern day Okie from Okemah gave a compulsive captivating performance to a packed Birmingham crowd in the Glee Club’s studio room. The vocals were intense and domineering, the musicianship was majestic and moving as John delivered a set rich in finely crafted songs with an understandable slight bias towards the new material subject to upcoming release. While it was a pity that the new record SONGS wasn’t available for folks to pick up on the night, the appetite to savour these tunes on a recurring basis was well and truly whetted as John played the perfect introductory showcase to many hearing these songs for the first time. Having be...

Since the release of Miranda Lambert’s last album in 2011, the bar for Music Row’s female output has been raised considerably higher. So the challenge was set for Miranda to respond to the albums of Kacey Musgraves, Ashley Monroe, Brandy Clark and Lambert’s own collaboration project, the Pistol Annies. Each of these records eclipsed those of their male counterparts in 2013 and the good news is that PLATINUM is set to do likewise this year.  Although this fifth studio album by Miranda is comfortably her most accomplished release to date, a desire to cover all bases has slightly restricted its march to classic status and, at 16 tracks, has exceeded the optimum number of songs to make a truly definitive album. Yet there is sufficient substance in PLATINUM to suggest that Miranda has the talent to impart her influence right across the country music spectrum. On her previous albums, Miranda has not shied away from a stab at the traditional angle with covers of Gillian Welch and...

If you want a modern singer-songwriter to personify the famous 1940s song ‘ Deep in the Heart of Texas’ , then you need to look no further than the mesmeric poetic anecdotes of Sam Baker. In some respect the vocals and music are mere accomplices as Sam is very much a wordsmith able to deliver his thoughts with an alluring appeal. Once again the guys from Hot Burrito Promotions did a tremendous job in rallying close on 100 people from near and far to Elford Village Hall in the Staffordshire countryside. Although when you’re promoting an artist as good and popular as Sam Baker then you’ve got a pretty good head start. Sam was making a return to this rural venue, although for the first time since SAY GRACE was released last summer. However he gauged the knowledgeable audience well and successfully carried out an all request second set to what was a near 2 hour show. As you would expect from an experienced Texan troubadour the songs were interspersed with relaxed humorous audience ban...