Three Chords and the Truth UK

  www.jacobanddrinkwater.com The last time Jacob and Drinkwater paired up for a West Midlands show their latest album was a month away from seeing daylight. Life seems to travel quickly when MORE NOTES FROM THE FIELD is now only days away from its first anniversary. That show was at the Kitchen Garden in Birmingham when live music was tentatively re-emerging and the courtyard location partially reflected the times. Almost twelve months later the venue switched to Thimblemill Library in the neighbouring West Midlands borough of Sandwell as Tobias Ben Jacob and Lukas Drinkwater reunited for what will ultimately prove a lengthy stint of twenty five dates. Outside of their casual duo outfit, the pair are ultra active in other spheres and you feel a sense of shared, and sometimes mischievous joy, when back in tandem. The challenges mount for live music at grass roots level, but dedicated teams like those persevering with a low key arts agenda in Smethwick continue to pull gems out the h...

  www.anniedressner.com Some artists attain through endeavour; some artists attain through talent. When both are in tandem the road to some sort of desired success becomes a little less out of reach. Of course planned and unforeseen bumps in the road impact a journey that at times can also require a leap of faith. From a distance, the career of Annie Dressner has had a stop-start existence since first emerging as a recording and performing artist in the UK around ten years ago. This Manhattan-raised Cambridge-based singer-songwriter bounced onto the folk 'n' roots scene with an album, EP and shows to boot before a change in life direction heralded an exile from the spotlight. Having began to re-establish herself with a couple of album releases and gradual touring, the next blot on the landscape appeared as the arts took a heavy hit in 20-21. Mid 2022 sees the endeavour and talent of Annie Dressner back in full flow with barrowloads of evidence spilling from her current tour and...

  www.kimrichey.com Kim Richey is an artist you under estimate at your peril. There is little fanfare about her overseas ventures these days, but placed in front of her song writing spell for a couple of hours illuminates what career is behind her, and more pertinently, what lies ahead. The lasting impression from this return to the Kitchen Garden in Birmingham (a venue played solo and with Ben Glover in recent years) was not the catalogue of numbers that courted mainstream Nashville in the 90s and early 2000s, but a brace of songs lined up to be the next Kim Richey album. These, including an Aaron Lee Tasjan co-write, showed an acute ear for a prime melody still intact and ready to once again rumble. The coupling of simple subject and memorable melody has been the staple for many years. What has been successful in one context in the past can replicate in whatever sphere this East Nashville-based artist circulates in as we head into 2023.  This latest run of solo Kim Rich...

  Just when the outdoor gig wear was about to be packed away a tip off came to check out a fabulous finale in the grounds of Moseley Park. Two weeks on from that location throbbing to the diverse sounds of the folk festival, a lower key gathering bade farewell to music under the skies for 2022 in the finest folk tradition - a 14 piece ensemble of top performers assembling under the name Filkin. Sunset Folk Farewell was an apt name for this set (part of a wider arts weekend event known as Little But Live) as it began at 6 pm before ending literally as 7:30 beckoned the sunset. The ensemble was largely made up of local Midlands-based musicians. Four known names to enhance the tip off were duo Thorpe and Morrison, solo artist Ellie Gowers and Bonfire Radicals front person Michelle Holloway. All appeared at the festival a fortnight ago and played significant parts in this fun foray into collective folk. Prior to the mass assembly, Thorpe and Morrison played a forty five minute set of m...

www.annaash.com Overseas touring can be tough at the best of times for independent artists. Anna Ash was one of a sparse band of Americans venturing to the UK last September as the live music scene began to rewake. Fast forward twelve months and, not to be deterred, a return visit to these shores from Los Angeles was undertaken only to be subject to a significant national event leading to at least one show cancellation. Definitely going ahead was the Kitchen Garden in Birmingham, a return host after utilising its outside facility in 2021. Since that last show the advance of Anna Ash has been propelled forward on the back of her new album SLEEPER gaining press coverage at the start of 2022. This was part of a link up between Black Mesa Records and a UK scene reciprocal in appreciation for the sounds of a sensitive singer-songwriter showcasing the depth of a high quality US folk-Americana canyon.  Only positives can accrue from putting in the long yards to get your music in front of ...

  www.thebrotherbrothersmusic.com From the distant land of Illinois USA, The Brother Brothers dropped into Birmingham for an inaugural show to share some sumptuous harmonies that are second to none. The Kitchen Garden has hosted some subtle vocal masterpieces in the past and the voices of Adam and David Moss will linger like most after reverberating around the bricked walls and wooden panels. These vocals are the focal point, but within them the dual presence of the original and borrowed song flourish brightly. Throw in the fiddle playing of Adam and David's major guitar and minor cello, and you get a fully fuelled folk band equipped to smash that style the American way.  It's a case of small steps for The Brother Brothers as they strive to create a niche overseas. Prior to the pandemic trips were undertaken and like so many touring acts, overseas ventures are proving a testing experience in the aftermath. The only way to build up a presence is to undertake more trips and tour...

  www.hurrayfortheriffraff.com September 8th 2022 will be a date having different resonance to different people. It is going to be left here as the day Alynda Segarra re-imposed as a force for good. It has been a long time since a stage in Birmingham was graced, with memory serving right we had to travel to Leicester to get a piece of The Navigator in 2017. Life on Earth is getting Hurray for the Riff Raff back on track in 2022 and the choice to visit the Hare and Hounds was reflected by a sizeable turnout largely pre-hooked on the music and style of this effusive artist, musician, performer and personified conscience.  Apparently the band behind Alynda had changed since 2017, but memories can't really equate that. What is fresh in the mind is that tonight they played their role to a tee. A static presence that enhances the true spirit of Hurray for Riff Raff with some stellar supportive playing encompassing multiple guitars, keys and a thumping drum beat. The true spirit lies...

  www.hollierogers.com Hollie Rogers makes a credible stab of delivering a powerhouse album to tempt turntables across the spectrum and signalling a future destined to turn heads. CRIMINAL HEART is a dozen-strong collection of largely self-written songs that fire off in a multitude of directions, not necessarily seemingly pre-ordained, but wholly reminiscent of an artist in tight control of the reins. Melodies and memorable hooks drive the record which pays its dues to a plethora of styles without being fully guided by any of them. Background information to the release reveals an artist taking total inspiration from within and continuing the self driven mode to make this a truly personal record.  Some may choose to cherry pick different moulded tracks with the likely candidate being ' The Coast Road' , a strong dip into the folk well incorporating some cello into the sound alongside a mellower effort that doubles up on the album with a version containing segments in the Cornis...

  www.laurabenitezandtheheartache.com Country music may have a chequered presence when it comes to a social conscience and progressive stance, but when it sinks its teeth in and does it well, there is no finer music on this planet. California has a rich history in country music and this is fully respected in the vibes and sheen of the latest album from Laura Benitez and the Heartache. Even when CALIFORNIA CENTURIES chooses to spread its tentacles the glow of certified twang looms large. These tentacles do work hard via a variety of themes across the twelve tracks that illuminate this album as a premium release. Yet whichever cause is tackled, all roads lead back to the absolute stellar ' Are You Using Your Heart'. A candidate for country song of the year, and willing to beat off all pretenders.  For a bit of previous context, Laura Benitez and the Heartache made a massive impression here to gain an entry into the best albums of 2018 haul with the gloriously catchy WITH ALL IT...

  www.moseleyfolk.co.uk The banner at the side of the main stage states ‘all music is folk music’; a phrase that wholly rings true when the team at Moseley Folk assemble to choose a line up for their annual September gathering in the scenic landscape of the suburb’s rolling private park. Eclectic is the name of the game all within a tight network of parading the art of the significant song showing some element of lineage. 2022 was no exception, whether you were sold on the headliners or viewed the soul of the festival in a mid and under card brimming with talent. Throw in an extended arts section to build on the evolving name and the result was another resounding staging to cement a place at the point where the festival season slips into the primary return of the indoor show.  Bonfire Radicals from a distance Four performing areas, now entities in their own right, reflect growth in spirit if not necessarily size. The new highly focussed Speaker’s Corner is almost a festival wi...