Three Chords and the Truth UK

  www.jennysturgeonmusic.com There are conventional gigs and those inspired to do things a little differently. While so much pleasure can be derived from high quality convention, a touch of deviation can inspire an awakening to the alternative places where musical art can take you. From the outset of the blue touch paper being lit on Jenny Sturgeon's latest project, the culmination was always likely to be an evening like presented in the English West Midlands tonight. The Living Mountain - a book by Nan Shepherd and an album by Jenny Sturgeon - transports the beauty, harshness and vibrancy of the Cairngorms to anywhere a mind opens its portal. This is just the starting point of a journey that terminates when the amalgam of inspired literature, gorgeously curated music and innovative filmmaking collide in a mosaic of integrated art. Thimblemill Library bristles in an emporium of great writing and purveys a cultural air that aligns with sisterly art. The fit for Jenny Sturgeon to ven...

  www.frazeyford.com The music of Frazey Ford doesn't ebb and flow, nor does it meander around a plethora of moods and emotions. It aims for the pulse and once settled drifts along in a rhythmic haze. This is an artist raised on a diet of folk and its alternative strands before finding a rich seam blending in the most hypnotic restful soul. The pinnacle of a three album solo expanse since the gradual wind down of the Be Good Tanyas came in 2020 with the utterly delightful U KIN BE THE SUN. Now the time has arrived to ramp up the live presence and take its luscious sound on the road.  With a 5-piece band intact, the departure from western Canada for a return to European shores was in safe hands. Early reports from the initial shows sounded positive and this proved the case as Frazey and her band returned to the lavish surroundings of Warwick Arts Centre right at the heart of the campus of the university of the same name.  It was the larger of this venue's two auditoriums t...

A quick trawl through the gig archives revealed that this was the third occasion of seeing Mike McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle at the Midlands Art Centre. It is hard to split the effect of each show such is the lofty consistency and high calibre of their musicianship. Taking each one as a stand alone exhibition of British Isles folk music in its finest and most exhilarating form is all that is required, and a latest visit to Birmingham produced no exception to the rule. The MAC has been one of the more proactive multi arts venues getting back into performances, and checking their listings or perusing the promotional emails has thrown up a series of good events with folk becoming their preferred genre for staging live music. The venue was also praised by the trio for being hospitable hosts and this evening's show transpired to be the culmination of a 5-week run of getting back on the road after that enforced break. Apart from the virtuoso playing which is akin to classical...

  www.abbyposner.com A little research into the background of Abby Posner reveals a fully diversified musician dipping into every facet of their skillset to pop up in a multitude of arenas from scoring film music to treading the boards as a touring musician flitting between bands and solo. It appears the music does get ahead of the name, which while not being a bad thing if your heart is in your craft may inhibit full exploration of what can be offered. The release of a brand new solo album with an international horizon could correct that and KISBEE RING is set to give the career of this LA based artist a boost. From a perspective of writing, producing, arranging, mixing and playing, this ten track effort is just a trio of slight contributions short of being the ultimate one person affair. The result is a transparent piece of work that allows the considerable talent of Abby Posner to flourish and shine. Any listener tuning in with a particular ear for music fluctuating between indi...

  www.martinsimpson.com Mix things up, step out of the comfort zone and good things will happen in the live music world. There was an air of unfamiliarity to this gig bound together by one of the legends from the folk scene popping into your local town. This show was like many others in the late 2021 diary, subject to postponements and rescheduling since first announced. It helps when you are in the safe hands of Martin Simpson, and a turnout in the vicinity of three figures proved that patience is a virtue. A new scene was set and a gig with a difference joined the annals of those springing up from left field with a propensity to create more than a ripple. The first unique feature was doors at 1:30 with organiser and local musician Sunjay playing for half an hour ahead of a short break suitable for the surroundings followed by Martin Simpson delivering a mesmerising hour and three quarter main set. All done and dusted by 5 and home for tea. Sunday afternoon shows have an air of ci...

www.baskery.com There was no Sunday slumber when Baskery come to town. The Bondesson sisters do have a habit of flicking the on and off switch, but when fully tuned in they prove one heck of an entertaining night out. The pattern of live Baskery experiences does have a certain spaced out theme to it - 2008, 2012, 2014, 2019 and 2021- and the promise from the stage this evening was that we should do this more often. From the early days of supporting Seth Lakeman and a fleeting festival appearance at Shrewsbury, the band have settled with the Kitchen Garden as their West Midlands host when they decide to hop on the tour bus around the UK. Greeted by a sizeable turnout, the sisters - Greta, Stella and Sunniva - responded with an effortless display of rampant rhythm, habitual harmonies and a zestful demeanour. Album releases of original material tend to be lopsided towards the early years of Baskery mounting a world challenge. Nowadays they appear content with mixing old favourites with co...