Three Chords and the Truth UK

Sharon Van Etten is a respectful and unassuming performer who pours her heart and soul into a music rich in monodic noir yet wrapped in an alt-folk sweet sentiment. Gliding between swirling indie-anthems and pale shades of Americana, Sharon thrilled a millpond Birmingham audience on the Midlands leg of a tour to promote her latest album ARE WE THERE. In a set approaching an hour and a half, including the dual song encore, the five piece band spearheaded by Sharon (vocals/omnichord/guitars) and Heather Woods Broderick (vocals/keys) spun through a group of songs representing the past, present and future. Sharon’s career has blossomed since she sought a move to New York City around a decade ago, settling in the creative hot spot borough of Brooklyn and soaking up the influence of metropolitan folklore. Critics have likened her to other female icons of the 70s Big Apple cool arts scene but approaching her music from an Americana angle sees comparisons in her sound and style to Lucin...

There has long been a mystical image for us folks in Europe of the free roaming life of travelling troubadours, hobos or those seeking new pastures across the states. Whether inspired by Steinbeck, Kerouac or Guthrie, the exotic nature of such an existence (mythical or not) transports many a dreamer out of reality with often the soundtrack playing a leading light. One listen to OUT OF TIME by Jim Keaveny and one read of his bio leads to a 2014 personification of this wanderlust vision. The song is king for an artist who tooled up with a guitar and harmonica hit the roads and rails to find his true music soul. Call it country, call it folk or call it just plain Americana, OUT OF TIME will satisfy any thirst for the imagery detailed above in a comprehensive collection that exceeds the hour without outstaying its welcome. Now statically swapping the roaming life for a more settled existence in the barren spaces of West Texas, Jim has his fifth release heading to the UK to the great...

Closing your eyes and letting Michelle Lewis’s soft vocals lead you on a velvet laden journey is not a bad way to spend half an hour of your valuable leisure time. The Boston songstress (that’s MA not Lincs) is having a tilt at the UK market with a December 1 release of her second album and it’s a record smoothed for palatable consumption, yet rich in a lingering sensual delight. THE PARTS OF US THAT STILL REMAIN fits the mould perfectly of a steady stream of folk-Americana music hitting our shores with a Nashville style song writing coating added to a north eastern roots sound. Michelle fills the lyrical landscape with loss, pain, lust, true love and visual experience using every inch of her schooling at the Berklee College of Music in her home city to influence the songs. Teaming up with Robby Hecht, especially on the gorgeous ‘ Runnin’ Back Home’ , has reaped dividends on a record addictive in its groove and flush of finely tuned songs. The arrangements only observe the bo...

Reassuringly skeletal and free of impurities, the debut album by Belfast-based band Wookalily packs a tough punch to belie its status as a record stripped back to the bare bones of roots sentimentality. ALL THE WAITING WHILE has been simmering for a couple of years before emerging in a form, dark in places but always enlightened by a warm glow of excellence. The belief in organic growth and recognition from the International Bluegrass Music Association has steadied the rise of this four piece band creating a solid platform for an explosion of praise from across the British Isles and farther afield. The mystically named Wookalily has been a flowing feast of musical talent and this album represents the past as the band prepare for the future. Adele Ingram (guitar, vocals), Louise Potter (percussion), Sharon Morgan (banjo) and Lyndsay Crothers (lead vocals) are the core of the current line up but four other lead vocalists appear on this twelve strong collection of songs entrenched in...

First and foremost Darius Rucker is a top notch front man and an entertainer of the highest degree. Regardless of the ethnic diversity, or lack of it to be more precise, within Nashville’s major country music labels, the executives were getting a sure fire winner when Darius headed to Music City to record the next phase of his music career back in 2008. Digging deep into his South Carolina roots and refreshing his natural charisma led to enormous success in sales of both records and concert tickets. Perhaps it was Darius’s eye for a challenge which sees him at the forefront of Nashville’s latest raid on the UK market. So eighteen months on from a successful slot at the inaugural Country 2 Country Festival, Darius Rucker has kept his promise to return to the UK with the added bonus of a provincial tour. In the last half a dozen years, this prime venue in Wolverhampton has sporadically dallied with country music by hosting Hal Ketchum and Guy Clark but it was very much the changin...

The name Wild Ponies conjures up visions of freedom and roaming which pretty well sums up the musical lives of Doug and Telisha Williams. Forever on the road touring and spending time away from their Virginia roots, the East Nashville based duo have certainly chosen a life which perfectly aligns with their talents. If you’re seeking travelling artists with exquisite musicianship, balanced vocals, supremely crafted songs, engaging personalities and insightful background contributions, then the Wild Ponies will meet your approval. Throw in the added spice of a southern drawl and you are well on the way to being entertained by a band subconsciously alluding to the traditional country music blueprint. The Wild Ponies are making their debut headline tour of the UK after receiving extended plaudits for supporting and backing Rod Picott around a year ago. Hot Burrito Promotions had little hesitation in bringing the duo back to the Staffordshire area to complete their autumn trilogy of pr...

Where literature and music collide is a perfect wrap for this latest project by top selling crime fiction writer Mark Billingham and the UK’s premier act for keeping the flame of classic country alive My Darling Clementine. For one night only, the studio venue at Birmingham’s Repertory Theatre was taken to downtown Memphis and awash with a sound spanning the length of Tennessee’s Music Highway. Being a massive country music fan himself, I’m sure Mark Billingham was happy to let the evening evolve into a dynamic display of duet indulgence as his own reading of The Other Half was periodically splintered by the musical interjection of Michael Weston King and Lou Dalgleish. With the songs of My Darling Clementine ripe for some form of literary collaboration, there was an inbuilt synergy with an author whose chief character D.I. Tom Thorne is an avid follower of western leaning music full of vivid stories and twang. Taking the location of his story from the song ‘ Going Back to Memphis’...

Sometimes you come across pop music masquerading under the country banner. On the other hand, occasionally you are exposed to an artist operating in the pop stratosphere who has the potential to make a successful crossover into genre music. UK singer-songwriting, multi-instrumentalist Emma Stevens first came to my attention when supporting Jen Bostic nearly two years ago and the subsequent period has seen her career continue to make great strides. While making no other pretence than to produce a record seeking wide popular appeal, Emma sits firmly on the right side of the fence of instrumental and song integrity refraining from tinkering too much with advanced production in the name of pushing short term units. WAVES is her second full length release, packed with alluring songs designed to entertain via their string arrangements and lyrics flowing from alternating vivid and metaphorical angles. All twelve tracks originate in some form from the pen of Emma with frequent writ...

The cork has been popped and the latest attempt to engage the wider UK music public with a form of country music is out to show that it’s more vibrant fizz than flat drizzle. In a shadow of collaborative US tours, the two acts spearheading this industry driven manoeuvre opened an assault on matching their media persona with live audience engagement. The Shires and Ward Thomas have been presented with a golden opportunity to drive a 'country' wedge into the mainstream with the next phase being a co-headline cleverly curated 'Homegrown Tour' which opened in Birmingham tonight. In a mirror image to the stateside trend, those seeking mainstream approval see the ditching of banjo, fiddle and steel as a prerequisite to success although quite rightly they still retain the power of song. So the Glee Club stage was filled with guitars, keyboard and drums along with a near sell-out crowd the envy of many a UK artist ploughing the country, roots and Americana path. Prior to...

Sometimes you just have to sit back and admire the magical artistry of the performers on stage. Whether in unison or exquisitely timed solos, the talents of the three members of Hot Club of Cowtown radiated from the stage at Bromsgrove’s Artrix Arts Theatre thrilling, exhilarating and beguiling an audience in awe of such ability to interpret a timeless sound. With two definitive styles to match their ideals and passion, the trio of Elana James, Whit Smith and Jake Erwin expertly worked the original and interpretative songbook of western swing and European gypsy jazz. While there may be occasional blurs in the styles, Hot Club of Cowtown float effortlessly between the dance halls of Austin and the smoky cafes of Paris. Without dismissing the concept of the sum of the whole being better than the parts, the lasting impression of a Hot Club gig is the incredible musicianship frequently displayed on a solo platform. Jake Erwin gave the most high-energised performance on upright bass se...

Like so many of their UK audience, The Mastersons were initially exposed to me as integral and up to date members of Steve Earle’s backing band, The Dukes. This was back on Steve’s 2011 tour and since then they have gone from strength to strength as a recording duo in their own right. Of course any new Americana band trying to establish their self in Britain requires a certain amount of stamina and the setting of realistic goals. This latest batch of dates sees the duo, comprising of Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore, booked by the usual array of promoters including for a sole Midlands gig, Cosmic American. Touring in support of the latest album, GOOD LUCK CHARM, The Mastersons made their Birmingham debut and duly showed why they are held in esteem by many industry figures in the US. The good news is that in the words of Justin Currie, tonight’s turnout exceeded the ‘gig’ threshold as Chris injected a little humour into a set packed with original material and executed with...

Divided by a common language is a phrase often mooted around when indulging in linguistic comparisons between Britain and America. However the wealth of highly literate singer-songwriters who exchange their words and wisdom across the Atlantic divide often act as a unifying force. Stephen Simmons is an artist whose passion for words is an unrelenting lifelong journey and a performer who is most at ease when sharing his songs with an audience ripe for absorption. His latest European tour has a continental bias in date orientation but when word of his ability to entertain and paint a lyrical landscape gets around, his UK presence can be re-booted. This date saw Stephen return to the Staffordshire area after a successful house concert last year and become the latest artist from the country, roots and Americana community to feature in the Hot Burrito Promotions programme. An East Tennessee upbringing will always give a country edge to Stephen’s work but his interpretation of life an...