Three Chords and the Truth UK

The current phase of Danni Nicholls’ music career took a step nearer completion as she returned to Birmingham for the penultimate show of a first ever trio tour. To further initiate a year of change, the services of guitarist Thomas Dibb and bassist Mark Lewis added an extra dimension to how an increasing catalogue of impressive songs are presented in a live environment. An audience choosing the Midlands Arts Centre for their Friday night entertainment fix were left in little doubt that this format proved a winner.  Patience was likely to be the order of the day as new album THE MELTED MORNING meandered on a journey from creative inspiration to album launch tour. Joy for reaching the latter filled the air in the Hexagon Theatre of Birmingham’s MAC venue. A mutual feeling not only exuding from the stage, but felt in an audience frequented by many long term fans  bound by providing unconditional support.  Listening to Danni guide her songs down an alternative chan...

The lure of the back room at the Hare and Hounds once again proved strong for Simone Felice who could not resist a return to this Birmingham location to open his latest UK tour. The ultra connective atmosphere inspired a chipper persona in an artist bound by genius song writing qualities within an idiosyncratic exterior. Interweaving high tensile songs between hypnotic pauses  creates an intense aura when this native from the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York hits the stage. Across two sets this evening, Felice pondered, toyed and conveyed a contented respect while powering through a bunch of songs reflecting a career enriched by many a smart manoeuvre. The production side of his work may be increasing in relevance (the latest project being the new Jade Bird album), but releasing his own material is never far from the table. A new single titled ‘ Puppet’ signalled the future, while the recent past dipped into last year’s THE PROJECTOR album with the title track inducing r...

The impetus of what a live show gives to an album can never be underestimated. This is certainly the case for Amber Cross, a singer-songwriter from California currently spinning the wheel of fortune in foreign lands. While the riches may be modest in some sense, the enormity of her approach to making music is landing directly onto ears taking a calculated chance on an artist ripened for appeal. When her most recent album headed across the ocean in renewed re-boot mode earlier this year (originally released in the US in 2017), you knew something was bubbling without being quite able to nail it down. Having now witnessed the live show, the multiple pieces effortlessly slot together to propel forward an artist capable of forming a deep niche on the international roots touring scene. Scheduling Amber Cross in the Kitchen Garden for one of the dates on her UK tour was a wise move, even more so treading the same floor as compatriot Molly Tuttle did just a week earlier. Differences between...

They say place a stellar track in the opening slot to garner attention for an album in this age of diminishing attention. Not only has Anna Tivel heeded this advice with the title piece of her new album, but followed it up with a further nine delightful tracks to make it quite possible that you will fall in love with this record. THE QUESTION elegantly flows from start to finish delivering a slice of singer-songwriter nirvana to listeners excited by such craft. Several operations have conspired to bring the music of this Portland Oregon native to the ears of a UK audience in recent times and a grateful increasing fan base offers little complaint. The ten superlative songs frequenting this thought provoking album (in many ways) are best indulged in a solitary listening experience where distractions are cast aside; these songs warrant attention and supremely reward the attentive ear. Pushing ‘ The Question’ the distance in any ultimate futile game to syphon out the best is the g...

John Paul White is no stranger to the odd duo and there is every chance that collaboration could eventually define the legacy of his new album. Maybe legacy is a strong word in the tailwind of an album release, but you do not have to search too far online to find the increasing presence of ‘ This Isn’t Gonna End Well’ as a track breaking free from its birth as one of ten songs forming this brand new record. Teaming up with Lee Ann Womack for the featured track has proved a smart move for an artist most famously known for his work with vocalist, Joy Williams in the Grammy winning act The Civil Wars. THE HURTING KIND is the second full-length release from John Paul White since he reverted to a solo recording artist in 2016 following a short post-Civil Wars hiatus. Like its predecessor BEULAH, the new record gets its release on the Single Lock label, a set up operating out of the Shoals region of Alabama and the home of several crack musicians. Accompanying press blurb hails the record...

April is a month with a spring in its step and a perfect analogy for Canadian trio Good Lovelies currently right at the heart of their latest UK tour. A first ever visit to Bewdley Worcestershire (not to be confused with Bewdley Ontario) turned out to be a night of the familiar and the unfamiliar on a couple of footings. Despite a detected studio shift with the latest record, this evening’s performance by Susan Passmore, Caroline Brooks and Kerri Ough possessed all the gilded appeal that first drew attention to this trio when their music started to drift overseas. Some aspects of the Good Lovelies will never change and the status quo enriches rather than stagnates. A recent review of the new album concluded with ‘oh and those harmonies never cease to amaze’; a point nailed further to the ground after spending another ninety minutes in the musical company of the band. The unfamiliarity mooted earlier links to this Music in the Hall presentation. A break was taken from providing a sh...

From the Grand Ole Opry to the Kitchen Garden Café in the space of days, not a journey you hear mentioned too often. On certainty, is that the performance Molly Tuttle gave in Nashville last weekend would have been something special to match the impact of this Birmingham gig to open her UK tour.  Buzz around this virtuoso singer, songwriter and most strikingly, an incredible guitar player has grown significantly in recent times. The long awaited debut full album release finally put the flesh on the bones of a promise given a major lift when the American Music Association crowned her their musician of the year last September. Of course, folks in Birmingham have long switched on after packing a nearby venue fifteen months ago to see an exceptional Molly Tuttle-Rachel Baiman show, and getting a brief glimpse of Molly in February this year when she joined the Transatlantic Sessions annual tour stop off in the city. Tonight though, was all about Molly Tuttle on her own for a full-on se...

Two top notch albums in the last three years and a new one in the can. Surely most artists will settle for that scenario, but not Michael McDermott. Reflect for a few moments and realise there are still a further twelve songs floating around in your head demanding some outage. It is of good fortune for many fans out there that these vagrant songs were plucked from the ether as they have morphed into yet another provocative release from a singer-songwriter hell bent on pouring every sinew into his craft. Cleverly collecting these songs under the album title ORPHANS, is just another smart move as McDermott creatively cashes in on this rich vein of form. This record did get a US release earlier in the year, but its mid-April UK bow does tie in with a disappointingly short run of dates on our isles in May. Compensation that these barely head out of London is delivered in the sumptuous quality of material flowing from a record aching to be heard.  While experiencing a Michael...

An independent singer-songwriter’s journey is often a voyage across choppy waters, mixing moments of creative inspiration with mundane funding pressures and forever keeping an eye open for new opportunities. There is no doubt the journey of Danni Nicholls’ new album THE MELTED MORNING has followed a similar path from idea storming to the brink of release. The pinnacle moment of this bold venture is in touching distance as the finished piece banishes all barriers and eleven songs become freely available for all to listen. The result will not disappoint existing fans and firmly places one of the UK’s leading proprietors of heartfelt singer–songwriting fare at the point of maybe a significant potential breakthrough. This last point is really for tomorrow, as today needs reserving to revel in a seriously classy set of songs that open an exciting new chapter for Danni Nicholls. Those au fait with her previous work will instantly feel a change, albeit one that complements a past where...

You could sense from the reaction at this show that the union of Ruth Notman and Sam Kelly has gone down well in the folk world. Maybe there is an aspect of curiosity surrounding Ruth Notman’s return to the front line, while the popularity of the ever-busy Sam Kelly continues to grow. This gig at the Kitchen Garden in Birmingham was one of the early dates on a tour organised to promote the duo’s new album that hit the shelves in March. It is always wise practice to get out and about when you have a new record. Not just to boost the sales, but provide a different perspective to those already acquainted with its content. Therefore, the sharing of CHANGEABLE HEART in its entirety was of little surprise, whilst wholeheartedly demonstrating what a talented pair of artists we have in our midst. A recurring theme on the evening was Ruth’s medical career exploits; the main reason she has been absent from the music scene for a considerable period. A complimentary audience quip remarki...

It must be the toughest of decisions for an artist to temporarily banish the blanketed confines of a band operation to strike out alone. With this in mind, the time and opportunity has arrived for Pete Gow to momentarily sideline Case Hardin and progress down the solo route. Whether HERE THERE’S NO SIRENS becomes a debut or remains a one-off is for the future, but the present is set to look fondly on a singer-songwriter soundly adept at plunging into a deep narrative. The eight songs that form the rump of this record collectively roll out as the latest release on the Clubhouse label, a stable rich in many fine acts over recent years including Case Hardin. Starting with its architect illustrated on the cover in a pensive and contemplative pose, the scene is set for the songs to filter out from a production process that enriches the mood of the core compositions. However you approach this record, the touches of finesse from Joe Bennett in his production steering capacity bubble a...