Three Chords and the Truth UK

In the not so long ago halcyon days of gig reviews, this piece would have hit the blog in the tailwind of the event ending, but this is 2020 and things are turning out a little different. When you have no idea when your next live music event is, there is really no need to rush, and letting this reflection brew for a week or so as allowed some of the thoughts to formulate. To set things straight from the start, Beardy Folk staged a full three day festival starting at noon on Friday running through to the end of proceedings on Sunday evening. No doubt there will be other publications reviewing the duration of the festival, but this one covers just the Saturday to replicate a trend of attending the solitary middle day of the first two stagings in 2018 and 2019.  Of course the festival season has been totally obliterated by the pandemic with Beardy Folk being the only one recalled in attempting and pulling off a three day multi artist presentation. Even in the final days leading up to ...

www.krisdelmhorst.com The latest album by American songwriter Kris Delmhorst has been subject to multiple release dates in different markets; a situation increasingly blurred by digital availability and promotion, perhaps more so in the current climate where artists cannot coincide a release by travelling overseas to play shows to further promote the record. Whatever has been starting point for LONG DAY IN THE MILKY WAY the finishing post is always the same as this album is a winner from first play to the latest spin. The twelve tracks weave a spell of poetic artistry as every nook and cranny twists and turns with literary gems. True the listener gets worked, but the rewards plant the art of song writing on a supreme pedestal that is deserved, if not always appreciated.  The work of Kris Delmhorst is very reminiscent to that of Danny Schmidt in my book, albeit he lives in Texas, while she is a stalwart of the writing scene in America's far North-East. Trawl through the lyrics of bo...

  www.ourmaninthefield.com Our Man in the Field first crossed my path in the early part of lockdown when appearing in one of the Green Note's twice weekly writer-in-the round streams. How could you forget a name like that? Or perhaps one of the first rules of promotion. You tend to get a feel for an artist in these streams without fully grasping the mettle of what they can do in full recorded flow. A few months later and Our Man in the Field is the proud owner of a full length debut record, primed for a wholesome share with listeners likely to reside in refined markets. THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS gently unwraps from its packaging as a mellow waft of homespun Americana fuelled by a duel combo of hazy vocals and haunting pedal steel.  The eleven tracks, meticulously curated by Alexander Ellis - Our Man in the Field in a more formal setting, gracefully paint a landscape for consumption in life's quieter moments where you're quite happy to fall into a transfixed zone. Don't e...

www.victoriabaileymusic.com Every so often an album comes along to make a stake of being pivotal to the revival of traditional country music. Not that this style particular needs a revival as many know it bubbles away in pockets right across the English speaking world and further afield. Yet there is no harm in pinning great accolades to a record that may or may not project the world of traditional leaning country music in more than just a retrospective direction. The chances of  Victoria Bailey proving a beacon for 2020 are a likely long shot in the wider world, but for those endearing listeners longing for an iconic moment then JESUS, RED WINE & PATSY CLINE could just be your medicine. From a wishful cover drenched in nostalgia to a title proving as explicit as a West Coast tremor, you are well on the way to understanding the music of Victoria Bailey. Trawl through song titles reciting staple vocabulary such as honky tonk, ramblin' (don't forget the countrified omissive a...

  www.richkrueger.com

www.benbedford.com The name Ben Bedford first crossed my path a couple of years ago with the release of THE HERMIT’S SPYGLASS. Unfortunately, focus elsewhere at the time denied this particular album a general look in and thus the attention probably required to give it justice. The landscape is now a little kinder for the next Ben Bedford release, which is a handy compendium of previously recorded tracks from three of his now fairly distant older albums spanning the period 2007 to 2012. Twelve tracks are packaged into the acutely titled PORTRAITS, an ideal name for a songwriter framing each song as though you are gazing at its delights in some form of musical gallery.    The merits of an original songwriter re-hashing older material can be debated, but it is an undeniable viewpoint that Bedford has chosen some fascinating compositions that actually act as a showcase for new observers to get a flavour of what he is about. A little research reveals Bedford as an acclaimed op...

www.joshuaburnell.co.uk Catch Joshua Burnell at a festival and your interest is likely to be aroused by a memorable performance of folk music successful at bridging the gap between the staunchly traditional and the progressively endearing. This happened to me at the inaugural Beardy Folk Festival in 2018 with his distinguished shades and rampant keyboard led cheerleading parading the band through an exciting and enterprising set. Although Burnell has a few albums behind him, mainly exploring and re-interpreting traditional songs, the release of a brand-new collection of original songs has the potential to lift him out of a perceived promising category and into one of fully fledged leading folk-light. FLOWERS WHERE THE HORSE SLEEP is a primely packaged set of ten largely formula-free folk songs blending fine arrangement and a lauded stab of putting an enterprising slant on proceedings.   Largely formula-free was a designed comment in lieu of two tracks which put a huge footprint of ...