Three Chords and the Truth UK

SummerTyne, the Americana jewel of the north east, popular with locals and those of us travelling from further afield. The festival where artists still don’t heed the warning not to say ‘it’s so good to be in Newcastle’, and thus face the wrath of local bi-partisanship. The event that flies the flag for music needing a little push to be heard and where the not so well-known massively outnumber the famous. Come rain or shine, it is a festival that rarely fails to unearth new talent and leave those attending it in some capacity refreshed and satisfied. Like so many festivals, choices need to be made on which acts to catch, with the best policy of leaving any regrets at the door once decided. As a fan you have to place faith in the organisers, who no doubt have a major balancing job to do regards availability and budget, and embrace the schedule as an opportunity to widen your appreciation of good music. 2019 saw SummerTyne cast a little debate in the air with their top billing, yet ...

From a low key solo start to a rampaging finish, Don Gallardo rode into Birmingham and conquered a small part of England yet to be intoxicated by his music. The Kitchen Garden may be more known as an acoustic venue, but the crafted guile of Jim Maving on Fender and Travis Stock  sturdily steering the ship on electric bass allowed a barrowload of exceptional Don Gallardo songs to flourish in the full band format.  The Kitchen Garden has warmed the hearts of many American touring artists in its decade plus existence. Adding Don Gallardo to an esteemed list was a long time coming , with not a moment wasted in the hour and three quarters playing time. Older material like ‘ Burgundy Wine’ from the ART OF TROUBLESOME TIMES album mingled with a few standout tunes from the new hot off the press IN THE NAME OF GOOD INTENTIONS EP release, ably led by its outstanding track ‘ How Many Days?’  An audience made up of confirmed Don Gallardo fans and curious newbies had plenty of...

The Weekly Bog Post is back after a break last weekend due to a visit to the Maverick Festival and subsequent time spent quickly posting a review of the event. Gig reviews have returned for The Bombadils and Lachlan Bryan shows so click on the respective links to read more. The Traveling Broke and Out of Gas gig was an unusual event to the degree that you do not see many touring alt-country Americana bands from Lafayette Indiana playing a venue in Stourbridge High Street. However they were excellent, the turnout was good and are band definitely worth checking out if you like your Americana a little raw, straight from the earthy soul and true to the ideals of roots music from the land. <a href="http://travelingbrokeandoutofgas.bandcamp.com/album/bastard-americana-new-album">Bastard Americana (New Album!!) by Traveling Broke and Out of Gas</a> Gigs Sunday 30th June to Saturday 13th July  Traveling Broke & Out of Gas - Claptrap Stourbridge Thursday 4th J...

Prior to this summer, Massy Ferguson had crossed my path at two Maverick festivals, one SummerTyne and reviewing their album VICTORY & RUINS back in 2014. Fast forward five years from that last event and the UK is once again on the horizon for this band leading the alt-country charge from Seattle and the wider Pacific North West. Ironically (or same may say obviously from precedence) the pattern is very similar this year with the band on my check list for the usual trip to Suffolk and a return to the north east's prestigious Americana event. You also won't be surprised to learn that a new album is out to provide some focus for the tour. Although GREAT DIVIDES came out early last month and got a polite nod in the Weekly Blog, it was catching up with lead man Ethan Anderson at Maverick that prompted the feeling that these guys deserve a little more blog love. The missing part of my Massy Ferguson jigsaw is seeing the guys play a fully fledged gig where you can really ge...

Lady Antebellum may well have recorded the song ‘Own the Night’, but the sentiment was well and truly with Lachlan Bryan as he moved from festival regular to gig headliner. As much as Lachlan and his many other friends have played their heart out across numerous sets at Maverick over the last three years, there is nothing to beat giving your audience full focus and ultimately ‘owning the night’. This was certainly the case when gracing the delightful surroundings of the Kitchen Garden in Birmingham as part of a short English tour. Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes have been operating as a band Down Under for a number of years. The horizon has switched to Europe in recent times with its latest incarnation joining up with fellow Aussie Imogen Clark for the second successive year to start spreading their wings further afield from the festival scene. The full breadth of available time was grasped as Imogen delivered an appealing forty-minute opening set before Lachlan took over the mantle...

Canada’s Maritime province has a rich history of roots music. Indeed this style is one of that nation’s proudest exports and the UK is often a fertile zone for hosting these lauded touring musicians. The current members of The Bombadils may have their origins scattered far across Canada’s vast land, but their current residency in Halifax Nova Scotia is right at the heart of the Atlantic junction. Sarah Frank and Luke Fraser have followed in the steps of many of their compatriots in finding the UK a welcoming home for acoustic roots music. It helps that they are both exceptional musicians majoring on fiddle, guitar and mandolin, with the insightful knowledge of the banjo featuring prominently back home. Hot footing from a couple of well-received sets at the Maverick Festival, The Bombadils called into Birmingham’s Kitchen Garden, a venue renowned for supporting music of a similar persuasion.  On a full packed evening of folk and roots music, Sarah and Luke sailed through a coup...

2019 was the year Maverick’s mantle as the country’s sunniest festival took a slight knock. Yet as all regulars know there is nothing the elements can do to dampen the musical experience of this perennial Suffolk gathering of all things Americana on the first weekend of July. If it was not business as usual weather-wise as Saturday afternoon slipped into early evening, it was certainly the case on the four main stages as good music reigned supreme, just like each one of the previous eleven stagings. From the simultaneous launch in the Barn and Peacock on the stroke of five on Friday to the same locations closing the event in unison on Sunday afternoon, scores of top class musicians from all corners of the wider Americana community exhibited their craft for all present to savour.  As the dust settled on Maverick 12, the immense task to capture a sample of what was lavishly consumed across the weekend posed to scramble over the usual conundrum. A lack of omnipresent powers wil...