Three Chords and the Truth UK

It was the evening when the ‘B’ of Bewdley put the ‘B’ of Birmingham into the shade as The Dreaming Spires finally played a show on the fringe of the West Midlands area which drew an audience that starts to justify their undoubted talent and potential. However let’s leave the frustration of local gig promotion to one side for a moment and positively reflect on the live celebration of one of 2015’s best albums. SEARCHING FOR THE SUPERTRUTH was catapulted into the record collections of the wise and worldly with great success earlier this year. Tonight was the perfect opportunity for the Bennett Brothers to present the gifts of the record in a headline show and this was grasped with great gusto from the opening strains of ‘ Still Believe in You’ right through to a closing jam seguing sixties classic ‘ Keep on Running’ into ‘ Brothers in Brooklyn’ . The latter song was the title track from the band’s debut album, but this was far from a retro evening unless you factor in the abundance...

It had been a few years since Seth Lakeman last played the Robin 2 in Bilston and his timely return was a reminder how much more exciting his shows can be in a standing venue. This is not to say the performance by Seth and his band in the formal surroundings of the nation’s theatres is any less exhilarating but the connective power between artist and audience is intensified in standing locations. A lively, populous and enthusiastic Robin 2 audience greeted the star of the show and he repaid the adulation with a blistering set of 'trademark Seth Lakeman’ led by the fire and the fury of his trusted fiddle. Similarly to last year’s visit to the West Midlands, and a more conservative show at Birmingham Town Hall, the band had a core four-piece make up with Ben Nicholls assuming his stoical stand-up bass role alongside guitarist Jack Rutter and the varied percussion of Cormack Byrne. Of course Seth instrumentally doesn’t stand still, but it is when the fiddle is in his hand that th...

Maybe a little prompting was required to get this record off the bottom of the pile, but sometimes you are forever grateful for that helping hand and hopefully the outpouring from the next few paragraphs will act as a further stimulus for others to engage. Quite simply this record is a stunning presentation of a project by three exceedingly talented songwriters to extract creative gold from an intriguing story, chain of events and an interesting slice of American history. The three architects are two Americans:  Nielson  Hubbard and Joshua Britt, and a Brit in the guise of Northern Irishman Ben Glover. The name is taken from that given to a group of Civil War fighters and the scene is based around the haunted Octagon Hall in Kentucky. The result is a magnificent fourteen track backdrop to a string of accomplished folk songs, gloriously structured in the American roots tradition and adding extraordinary value to the precious listening time of the cultured ear.  Befor...

Layers of maturity, cool vibes and impressive sophistication are unveiled upon each listen to Patrick Sweany’s latest album DAYTIME TURNED TO NIGHTMARE. Musical evolution can branch off in many directions, but the knack of absorbing experience and spinning it in a positive direction is a valuable trait. Without reading too much into Patrick’s past and influences, the two factors of being East Nashville based and released on Nine Mile Records raise hope from the experience of precedence. From this starting point the record doesn’t disappoint and reveals a voice burrowing out if its soul to form a bunch of songs for posterity. Through the neat and rounded structure of ten tracks, the album hovers around a multitude of music styles while forever gravitating to those enthralled by the ethos of the Americana movement. Elements of rawness exist in Patrick’s gutsy vocals and these get refined in a soulful capacity especially on the emotive sounding ‘ Too Many Hours’ . Like so many reco...

Listen to their records, read their bio and now see their live show; the conclusion remains the same as it’s virtually impossible to pinpoint the sound of Session Americana. Either way, this six-piece fluid combo from Boston Massachusetts presents an impressive mix of memorable songs and engaging musicianship. All this occurs in a unique formation literally creating a ‘session’ environment where three band members share a single mic whilst sitting around a table with the others positioning themselves in a huddled arc. This intimate lounge-like stage atmosphere fitted in well with the Hare and Hounds smaller music room as the band continued their latest UK tour to promote the new record: PACK UP THE CIRCUS. Whether you consider the Americana music genre an amalgamation of roots styles or a state of mind, these guys fit the bill as they hot foot around a nation’s songbook within the context of a historical timescale. A bunch of original tunes wrapped in a packaging of fiddle, harm...

We had it all in Manchester tonight: Ryan Bingham the folk singer, Ryan Bingham the country star, Ryan Bingham the ultimate rocker. All these styles were knee deep in Texas grit as Ryan and his firing four-piece band hurtled through a ninety minute set of material from a recording career now approaching a decade. The sounds emanating from the stage and circulating around a packed Gorilla venue were equally as adept in any of the chosen styles which place Ryan right at the heart of the Americana movement. Perhaps the Friday night feeling leant towards the up tempo rockier songs being the preferred style of the audience. However special commendation must be reserved for the three song encore segment where Ryan required only his sturdy acoustic guitar to reel off a trio of gut wrenching symbolic numbers. Two of these, namely ‘ The Weary Kind’ and ‘ Nobody Knows My Trouble’ , were easily amongst the many highlights of a show undulating in mood and tempo but forever consistent in craf...

While this show was billed as a solo Simone Felice gig, the overarching view at its conclusion was how effectively the emerging talent of Anna Mitchel had been blended into the evening’s offerings. The pair of artists had only commenced their creative partnership earlier this year and the chemistry on show at Birmingham’s Glee Club demonstrated an outstanding merging of two contrasting talents. The enigmatic Simone and unflustered Anna worked in harmonious tandem to present a bucketful of songs from all three phases of his career – solo work, Duke and the King songs and older Felice Brothers material. Anna, who hails from Cork, had the honour of appearing on stage throughout the duration of the show courtesy of opening the evening with a few of her own songs before proceeding to accompanying Simone for the main set. Granted time for around half a dozen numbers, Anna wasted little time in steering the audience towards her cultured piano playing providing the backdrop to her cross ...

She blows a mean harp. She throws herself headlong into every gig played. She is the Queen of ‘Roadhouse Rock’. Stacie Collins continues to thrill music fans either side of the Atlantic with an ever growing band of admirers flocking to her shows especially in mainland Europe and the UK. It has been around six or seven years since first discovering Stacie and each subsequent visit to The Musician venue in Leicester sees an incremental growth in her popularity capped by a very impressive turnout for this latest journey up the M69. Such is the familiarity of this venue to Stacie, there was very little need for any formal introductions and she must have been thrilled by the number of tee shirts baring her face and name in the audience. In return, Stacie and her Almighty band treated folks to a near two hour performance of ear splitting blistering roots rock spanning the blues, heavy and classic sound. The trademark cowboy hat barely lasted half a dozen songs as the girl from Nashville...

Twelve months ago the combined project of literature and country music known as The Other Half was premiered to the stylish twin towns of Biddulph and Birmingham. A year on and the brainchild of top selling author Mark Billingham and the UK’s finest purveyors of enriched traditional country music My Darling Clementine has grown considerably in the guise of many theatre showings and the release of the audio CD. This evening the circle was almost completed as the production returned to the studio theatre of Birmingham Rep and served up a real treat to many new fans mainly attracted by the show being part of the city’s extensive literature festival. The challenge for the show’s architects, Michael Weston King and Lou Dalgleish of My Darling Clementine alongside Mark, was to freshen it up to entice back those who attended the Birmingham event last year and have subsequently acquired the CD. While the core of The Other Half is Mark narrating the story and the band interspersing songs, th...

Frazey Ford has all the attributes to be the cornerstone of contemporary roots music for the next decade and beyond. Not that the last decade and half hasn’t served her well as an integral part of the hugely acclaimed Canadian folk group The Be Good Tanyas and a burgeoning solo career. The release of the second Frazey Ford album last October saw the Vancouver based artist move up a notch or two with a sound so effectively blending the folk roots of her background and the soulful breakthrough of her calling. With INDIAN OCEAN now bedded in as a highly respected album, Frazey and her band have returned to Europe and incorporated three UK shows into the schedule. With this limited availability, it was quite a coup for the Cosmic American team to capture a date and schedule it away from their own East Midlands turf to the Birmingham setting of the Glee Club chain. As well as playing the same venue last year for a different promoter, Frazey also visited the West Midlands twice in 201...

The inventive and innovative House Concert experience is heaven sent for the intelligent, sincere and articulate singer-songwriter. In this age of the music model rulebook being re-defined, the phenomena of taking live music into the home of the consumer has been growing in the UK since being re-invigorated by travelling artists from North America. The intimacy and connectivity of such an event can never be created in conventional settings. Maybe it will remain the domain of the commercially challenged artist, but there is no less substance on offer and one those missing out will be spiritually poorer for. Stephen Simmons has been making the long journey from Nashville Tennessee to the venues in Europe for eight years now and epitomises the carefully crafted singer-songwriter meeting the high standards to succeed in Music City. This is obviously conditional that you buy into the ethos of success being defined by the quality of output and the fact that the artist continually surviv...

While Treetop Flyers have been on the periphery of my horizon over the last couple of years, seeing them live on this fairly low key date has sealed the deal with their impressive credentials. What unravelled during this hour long set at Birmingham’s Sunflower Lounge was an exceptional band making intelligent and articulate music modelled on the classic sound of soul infused rock. The debut album from this London based band created waves upon its release in 2013 with highly positive reviews from resected publications. Vivid comparisons of the West Coast sound are not difficult to detect on that record and the key theme two years on still has this feel to its core. So currently it is phase two for Treetop Flyers and the five-piece ensemble have lined up a handful of dates around the country to share some of the new songs wrapped around old favourites that made THE MOUNTAIN MOVES such a riveting listen. To say this Birmingham date was low key is almost an understatement, but enoug...

The Rose of Roscrae has finally set sail for the home isles. Nearly six months after Tom Russell’s epic western opera/musical hit the airwaves, the touring version has crossed the pond, bringing its splendour to venues across Britain and Ireland. The Glee Club in Nottingham hosted Russell for the Midlands leg of the tour with legions of devoted followers eager to lap up the old and the new in the inimitable style of an artist possibly construed as the ‘Balladeer of the West'. Accompanied by the smokin’ hot guitar pickin’ skills of his Italian sidekick, Max di Bernadi, the bold and brash troubadour upholding the traditions of the West, rambled through a pair of hour long sets with projected passion and an innate ability to stir the immortal cauldron of prose, poetry and song. Ultimately Tom Russell is a true artisan and all assembled partisans were enshrouded in the warmth and sincerity of his desire to entertain with a strong message. It was eight years since Tom Russell...

A couple of bars into the first track of this album and you can pinpoint it straight away as the work of Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin. Phillip's trademark harmonica has been an established feature on the UK’s folk and roots circuit, especially excelling during the award winning duo’s many live shows up and down the land. WATERSHED is their third studio album, following in the wake of their hugely successful last album MYND. As you would expect from such a talented pairing, the new record is packed full of moving tunes and stimulating songs, with the theme for this release steering more to the personal, contemporary and figurative rather than historical and reflective. However the sound is as cross purpose as before with a heady mix of Appalachia and homespun appeal, ensuring a stream of recognition from both the Americana and folk worlds. Weighing in at twelve tracks and fifty-four minutes, this album is one of the meatier releases out there, and throw in its style as the ...

Some music you can take at face value, while other demands that little more attention. Approach the new album from Ange Hardy from the first angle and a fabulous eclectic mix of sound variety will thoroughly enchant you. Dig deeper into the background of this project and further riches will emerge in a dazzle of romanticist enlightenment. Of course the recommendation is to fully embrace all aspects of ESTEESEE and absorb your mind into the magnificent detail of Ange’s valued attempt to revive the words of Samuel Taylor Coleridge to a contemporary audience. Taking inspiration from poems, stories, epitaphs, events and wider environmental context, Ange has conjured up a fourteen-track adulation to the life and work of this lauded English historical literary figure from the late eighteenth century. The album’s title is taken from initials of the subject’s name and through what is a fairly slick thirty-seven minute duration, it is difficult not to be smitten by Ange’s passion and crea...