Three Chords and the Truth UK

The weekend when Major League Baseball held its first regular season game in London racked the brains for songs about America's past time with at least some remnants of an Amercana twist. It was tough to look past the first one that came to mind, even when the world wide web was accessed with the necessary search credentials. So Chuck Prophet's ' Willie Mays is Up at Bat' got the nod as the baseball inspired song to share on this historic weekend, at least in the world of transatlantic sports exchange. One less familiar track that prompted some interest was ' Third Base Dodger Stadium ' by Ry Cooder. The twist in the lyrics featured the experience of a Mexican native reminiscing about losing his home when a whole area in LA was bulldozed to make way for the new ballpark in the 50s. The irony of the song was its lack of bitterness. To perfect a geographical segue, California the home of this week's standout album as Jade Jackson finally releases her foll...

Yes it did, well maybe temporarily, but the Saturday of Beardy Folk Festival saw the beautiful setting of a lavish sloping walled garden bathed in gorgeous sunshine. This South Shropshire event effectively kicked off the 2019 outdoor season and it was a delight to make a second consecutive Saturday visit to a festival building considerably on its 2018 debut. There was an abundance of exceptional UK folk acts on the bill, including personal favourites, those on the periphery of my horizon and the brand new. The most pleasing aspect was witnessing an impressive attendance spike on the Saturday, thus repaying the energy the organising team had put into promoting the event. As per last year, only the Saturday of this three day festival was attended, but I'm pretty sure those present for the duration will concur to this positive sentiment. Look out for more festival coverage over the summer, which may or may not feature Maverick, SummerTyne, Over the Hill, Moseley Folk and the Long Road...

First point to make is that Beardy Folk is a three day event, starting just after lunch on the Friday and ending late into Sunday evening. For the second consecutive year, only the Saturday was attended, but if that day set the precedence then those enjoying the full experience had a wonderful time. No doubt full reviews will appear in the aftermath, although for a brief taster it is a honour to share some positive thoughts as a day visitor. Beardy Folk (maybe reclaiming the stereotype with a large dose of irony) debuted as an early summer festival in 2018. It is set in the little village of Hopton Wafers, situated on the South Shropshire-North Worcestershire border, approximately twenty miles from the edge of the West Midlands conurbation. The ethos of the festival is to major on the UK folk scene and provide eleven hours of continuous music across two stages, with no overlaps to please the stamina-led junkies. The setting is a luscious walled garden, sloping quite prominently from ...

The four artists dominating this week's round up certainly fall into the 'old and new category' to differing extents. Jill Jackson and Old Man Luedecke have featured before, while Greg Felden and Lucy Isabel had that stamp of brand newness when copies of their latest releases reached me a short while ago. Choosing which of the four to lead off with is an option of fine margins, but a late submission of one of Canada's finest folk 'n' roots operators is a worthy starting point. A couple of album reviews, a brace of festival appearances and a gig in Leicester brought the music of Old Man Luedecke to my attention between 2012 and 2105, although contact has been a little scarce since. This is likely due to focus elsewhere rather than artist inactivity; a situation now rectified with the release of EASY MONEY. To ease the concern that something has been missed this is actually the studio follow up to 2015's DOMESTIC ECCENTRIC, and the good news is that it barel...

One gig and two album releases dominated the proceedings this week as music was digested from across a vast divide. The west coast of America had a stellar representation in Seattle based rockers Massy Ferguson and LA luminary Sam Morrow, while closer to home local musician Sunjay hit the recording tracks once again with the release of his brand new album. What better way to start the weekly round up than to stoke the local fire a little and introduce a talented musician branching out to all parts of the UK from his Black Country base. DEVIL CAME CALLING is the title of Sunjay's latest album. This eleven track effort highlights what a versatile interpreter of music he is as the fingers wrap around a series of songs skirting around the deep rooted genre blur of folk 'n' blues. Those who have seen one of his live shows will probably be familiar with the track 'Faith Healer ', which acts as co-stand out alongside opening number ' Ghost Train '. Sunjay has rev...

Americana v Ameripolitan; of course there is no contest, but two gigs attended this week showcased contrasting artists at the core of the genre/organisation set up to at least form some framework for like minded music. 2019 is seeing Yola make the great strides predicted of her when embarking on a solo journey to cash in on her undoubted talent. That long awaited debut album has more than justified the belief thrust upon her to the extent of not just rising to eminence in her own UK but to garner two nominations in Nashville for September's Americana Music Association awards. The one for WALK THROUGH FIRE is thoroughly deserved, while the AMA have previous for nominating artists in the Emerging category with more than a few miles on the clock. To continue the promotion of the album on home soil, Yola (surname Carter ceremoniously ditched in true showbiz style) has been on tour and it was a privilege for the Hare and Hounds in Birmingham play host. For me, it was critical that Yol...