Three Chords and the Truth UK

On one hot and sultry night in Maryland three bands put on a show that would live in the memory for a long time. Racing through the genres of country, rock, bluegrass and old time roots, each band cemented an individual footprint on the evening ahead of intermittently collaborating prior to a storming finale. To witness Dawes, Old Crow Medicine Show and Brandi Carlile on a single evening line up was a privilege and proved the perfect climax to a three week trip inevitably focussing on what music could be savoured while away. For three hours this amphitheatre was awash with superb sounds comprising of outstanding original material and sensational covers designed to set the pulse racing. These were three artists that matter, execute great skill in their craft and showcase American roots music in its grandest form. This Brandi Carlile and Old Crow Medicine Show tour has been ripping it up across the States all summer, but you would have struggled to find a better third guest act than...

Brandi Carlile Music, Arts, Activism is the moniker of the eclectic Forecastle Festival which lights up downtown Louisville Kentucky for one weekend each July. Not your usual attraction for music fans in the UK, but when you’re on a Southern Road Trip and nearby, what better way to spend a few days lapping up the quality array of bands that were assigned to this year’s line-up. When you first discover that the festival location is partly under an intersection of the I-64/I-65 curiosity is aroused, but the temporary shade this provides from the burning mid-afternoon sun is heaven sent. It is also more accurate to state that the site is on the banks of the Ohio River and has four conveniently located stages spilling out a range of diverse sounds from lunch time to late night across the three days. The initial appeal of Forecastle was around half a dozen big name acts with loose connections to the Americana genre. Generally the line-up had the feel of a cool record store, mixi...

Greg Payne and the Piedmont Boys Back in 2009 the inaugural trip to Nashville saw a trip out west to Memphis, so it was only appropriate to venture east this time and sample the delights of Knoxville and Asheville. Three significant music events were witnessed on this leg of the tour which sandwiched visits to the other ‘villes’ on this Southern road trip namely Nashville and Louisville. So enough town namedropping and some focus on the music sampled as we headed to the Smoky Mountains region. The major music highlight of the time spent in the thriving East Tennessee metropolis of Knoxville was a mere yet splendid hour during the recording of the WDVX Blue Plate Special. This is a daily music show which is broadcast at noon from the Knoxville Visitor Centre. This visit saw two contrasting artists play a live set of around half a dozen songs interspersed with chat from the show host Red Hickey. Up first was Nashville-based artist Charlotte Berg who was fortunate to be aided by a...

Elizabeth Cook Nashville Tennessee provided the Southern gateway and exit point for a three week US road trip that included twelve days in the South. The five split nights in a city hailed by a tour guide as ‘LA East’ due to its rapid expansion, were going to be dominated by music with a desire to seek out an alternative side of the city. So in 2016 there was no Grand Ole Opry, no Ryman Auditorium and minimal time in the bars of Broadway. In its place, a few new venues, other iconic music names on a smaller scale, old and new artists and a venture east of the Cumberland to the other side of town. Here is a chronological wander through the delights of Music City. Friday teatime, hop into the hire car and a trip to Grimey’s Record Shop for an in-store with a difference. Eight years have passed since I last saw Elizabeth Cook play live when she visited The Maze in Nottingham. Maybe the term gig was stretching it a touch when this show appeared on Bands in Town, but thirty minutes ...

Some things are eternally re-assuring about the first weekend of July. A large peacock looms protectively over its stage, hug a bunny remains a festival side attraction and a host of fine musicians descend upon Easton Farm Park in Suffolk. Now one year shy of its decade existence, Maverick Festival continues to be a beacon on the independent music scene and forever adept at the concept of sun conquering rain. This ninth gathering of artists, sealed by a common bond of contemporary roots music, once again served up a treat for festival goers and displayed an array of styles to ensure that many angles of what we term ‘Americana music’ was covered. While it would be useful to acquire omnipresent powers, the constraints of any festival review lean heavily upon the personal perspective. So full respect and admiration for any artist not seen over the weekend, but if you went on quality sampling of what was witnessed, then they too would have been worthy of your time. On an action pa...