Three Chords and the Truth UK

  www.dan-whitehouse.com Dan Whitehouse commented about how we all have different gig journeys and thanked those checking him out during this hometown show. Gig journeys are a very personal pursuit and it is intriguing to see how they evolve especially the ports that they call at. There was something quite cyclical and evolutionary about making the decision to check in with an artist nestling on my periphery for almost a near decade. The vow made to follow up on a singer-songwriter who is more Black Country than Brummie for those of a local nature was made after an impressive set at Beardy Folk Festival in June and duly kept a month later as the heatwave slowly subsided. Another in-joke quip about being on call to open Glee Club gigs links in to the evening when I was first acquainted with the music of Dan Whitehouse. It was this very venue ten years ago when from a hazy memory he opened for Canadian country superstar Terri Clark on her surprise visit to Birmingham. There would hav...

  www.theblackfeathers.com Midway through the third song, Sian and Ray paused the harmonies to let the sound of a revving motor cycle fade away. Literally only a few seconds passed, but it summed up grassroots gigs and all their idiosyncrasies. Not that opening every single window in Thimblemill Library wasn't a requirement on a a hot summer's evening warming up for the record breaking onslaught. Warming up also wasn't necessary for The Black Feathers making a long welcome return to the Midlands as they hit the traps right from the off.  It is the harmonies that go a long way to define a duo now based in South Wales after many years branching out from a Gloucestershire home. There is a case to to be made for Ray's guitar expertism matching the divine vocals, even when a string breaks on the signature song. Anyhow that meant we had one and a half versions of ' Down By The River' , so there was a winner after all. The Black Feathers began to become wider known in ...

  Surely the most provocative artist name you will ever come across. Thoughts turned to a deed poll visit by a music nut or parents conceiving in a haze of country rock. Attention had been grabbed before you press play and a little more searching reveals it is a trio act from Southern California playing music just as it says on the tin - hugely retro, plenty of axe wielding riffs and a twangy soundtrack to keep you shuffling on a hardwood floor for at least the thirty-four minutes of its duration. TRASH TALKING GUITARS emerged out of left field and announced its intention to hang around with a sound heavily likened to Dwight Yoakam. Merle Jagger is the brainchild of band leader Mark Christian who teams up with drummer Johnny Ray and bassist Gabe Davis to spin you ten tracks comprising eight original songs, an original instrumental and a cover you will all know. Think barroom blues meets honky tonk meets uncomplicated rock 'n' roll to place a sound in your head. It is certainly ...

  www.willicarlisle.com Catch Willi Carlisle in a small venue and the imposing stature combined with a rapid delivery will freeze the moment. In line with the presence of the man himself, bury yourself in his latest record and you will emerge a refreshed being, one a touch nearer stumbling upon the soul of Americana. We know this vaguish term is downright undefinable, but sample the breadth of PECULIAR. MISSOURI on a willing rookie convert and you will either hook them for life or have them running for the hills. Descriptive words for this twelve-track condensed epic will race off the page, but if you're after succinctness stick with poet, balladeer, storyteller and authentic purveyor of the truth (the latter with a small dose of three chords). The experience of seeing Willi Carlisle share a bill with the far quainter Mama's Broke at the Kitchen Garden in Birmingham was bordering surreal. At that point he wasn't focussing too much on the new record, a situation likely to ch...

  www.brettwiscons.com There are so many facets to the backdrop of this album that defines a musician striving to flourish (or at least survive) in the cut and thrust of independent music in 2022. Crowd funded, socially distanced produced, chasing your dream and staying true to the ideals of your influences form the spine of a record that gives Indiana-based Brett Wiscons a fighting chance to land a blow with LATE BLOOMER.  From a front cover tossing around imagery of tough blue collar heartland rock, lashings of upbeat guitar sensibilities provide the early impetus for Wiscons to air his thoughts, observations and experiences through a satisfying medium of the well-constructed song. Eventually the record finds its groove and moderating presence. Flair and innovation is kept to a minimum through the ten-track collection of songs that serve up an intent of an artist painted by the literal intent of the album title. 'Late Bloomer', the track, predates the album by at least thre...

www.stacyantonel.com Retro to the core and nailing a sound to a tee. Stacy Antonel delivers big time in her new album. ALWAYS THE OUTSIDER as an entity is a sharp set of songs; ' Always the Outsider' as a song is a mean opening track ripe for announcing the arrival for newbies checking in for the first time. A change from the recording moniker Ginger Cowgirl to a more straight forward name is part of a re-design. There is a valid point to the moniker being a bit genre straightjacketed when there is so much more to the music of Stacy Antonel. A motive of seeking other influences is understandable, but this album never loses that regal country sound.  Pedal steel is the thread that holds the album together and a little delving reveals Doug Pettibone hired for that input in places. A musician here recognised for his work with Lucinda Williams among others. ' Heartbroken Tomorrow ' right at the heart of the record with its rapid strumming and sizzling solo outro makes a st...

  www.thebarlowband.com The 3rd album in three years by Denver-based band The Barlow hit the airwaves a couple of weeks ago, but we all know records are for life not just release day. It popped up out of left field a while back and is too good to let drift away without giving it a helping hand albeit thousands of the miles from their Rockies hinterland. What gives NEW YEAR, OLD ME an enormous boost is a stellar opening gambit in the irresistible ' Mile Marker Blues '. What better song title could there be for music acting as a calling card for the highways of Americana. Maybe a little daydreaming from the suburbs of industrial Britain, but that's what great music does. The Barlow are a four-piece outfit choosing the original song route with all tracks credited to Shea Boynton and The Barlow. This new record is hot on the heals of a 2021 release titled HORSESHOE LOUNGE; another top name in the Americana mould ala Slaid Cleaves. Of course you can check out all The Barlow reco...

                                               www.theweepingwillows.com.au Festivals can be great samplers, but it is the stand alone show that exposes the true spirit of an artist. Perhaps it is all about owning the space or maybe the attention of those choosing to spend an evening of sole focus. The Weeping Willows are now firmly in the process of building upon their festival base. However much kudos is derived from wooing audiences in this format, peel away the cover and an act of immense depth and enhanced quality emerges.  The wait to attend a show totally owned by The Weeping Willows had been regretfully extended to four years. Not one to dwell too much on the extenuating circumstances, this Melbourne-based duo of Andy Wrigglesworth and Laura Coates are grasping the opportunity to put flesh on the bones of a glowing blurb.  The Kitchen Garden is heaven...

  www.thesamchase.com Since jumping off the plane right onto the Moonshine stage at the Maverick Festival in September 2021, the trajectory of Sam Chase in the UK has only gone one way. With two Mavericks now under the belt, and half a dozen sets, this San Franciscan has undertaken a second jaunt around the country with new places and venues to explore. Exquisitely supported by Chandra Johnson on violin and Devon McClive on cello, the now established touring format of The Sam Chase Trio offers a powerful exhibition of orchestral roots underpinned by a wealth of Americana songwriting. Whether projecting to a wider festival audience or inspiring a small room of dedicated and inquisitive punters, the act modifies in a minimal way relying on the core juices of music, chat and charisma to engage an audience open to the unifying experience of live music. The Kitchen Garden has long been a Midlands pit stop for overseas Maverick artists driving north. The appreciation has always been warm...

www.karenjonasmusic.com Karen Jonas wears, lives and bleeds her songs. Sometimes that is all you want from an artist. Flank yourself with two fine musicians and you are fully armed to take your music on the road. That roads starts in Fredericksburg Virginia and tonight called in Kings Heath Birmingham. Country music can split right down the middle to an intuitive mind. Opportunistic pretence can project some, while realistic reluctance can define others. Karen Jonas never intended her music to land in country or Americana circles, but they were destined to hook up with her. Two key components of Karen Jonas music had to be left at home. Drums can often stretch the travelling band, while the big stand up bass falls to practicalities. To the left of her on stage tonight, Seth Morrissey kept impeccable time on diminutive bass. To the right the best guitarist in Virginia Tim Bray made us temporarily forget how the missing drums would enhance. If Bray was a permanent fixture on the UK music...

Mickelson in the Moonshine or Forbert in the Barn. Jangly West Coast rock in the sunshine or folk roots in the shade. Terra Lightfoot blasting out or Riley Catherall faintly fighting back an earshot away. Maverick is full of choices & not one is wrong as soon as you cross the threshold of Easton Farm Park. It is a weekend when the colonies collide armed in most cases with no more than a machine that kills fascists. Canadians roll in on their national weekend, likewise their southern cousins forgo the unabated patriotism of July 4th to celebrate the power of communal music in the rural fields of Suffolk. Also with the world re-awakening, the world’s most locked down city namely Melbourne sent its strongest contingent yet. This festival proudly proclaims reaching the age of 15. Maybe shave a year year off in actual staging, but we all still avidly switched on our laptops on the first Saturday of July 2020 to get a brief distant fix. If 2021 was back in the saddle, 2022 saw things in ...