Three Chords and the Truth UK

https://www.dan-whitehouse.com/live/ From sunrise in Japan to sundown in Birmingham, the creative exploration of singer-songwriter Dan Whitehouse has been quite a journey over the last three years. Those tuning in to the Green Note live streams during lockdown had the experience of a set being played with a spectacular backdrop of the sun rising from the window of a Japanese apartment. This evening the axis was tilted and a gig played in the unusual setting on the top floor of the Symphony Hall in Birmingham overlooking Centenary Square. A beautiful late spring/early summer evening played a blinder as a backdrop to supplement a wonderful expressive performance by three talented musicians. The abundance of glass in the twin-named Justham Family Room and Jane How Room was also heaven sent as this was billed: Dan Whitehouse: A Night of Glass.  Glass has been core to Dan Whitehouse's creative focus in recent times. On one hand he curated, co-ordinated and drove the Voice of the Cones m...

  It may have been a listing in the Robin 2 booklet or something in Maverick Magazine? It could have been seeking who wrote the Martina McBride smash hit ' Independence Day' ? It definitely wasn't Terry Wogan, the ears were elsewhere. Whatever the trigger, the music of Gretchen Peters landed in my vicinity in 2006. Maybe a decade late, but it's where you finish not where you start. The association began live with a visit to the Robin 2 on Tuesday 18th July 2006. Seventeen years later a chapter closes as the curtain comes down on the Gretchen Peters touring years. Comebacks are notorious in this game and a little chink in the curtain has been left open on the overseas live front, but let's respect an artist's wish to end one phase of their professional life. Bar one sentimental send off song with a duo version of the standard 'One for My Baby' , it was business as usual stage-wise for Gretchen Peters. Barry Walsh was mesmerically glued to the Town Hall...

www.jasonringenberg.com Jason Ringenberg is a pioneer from the past that continues to light up the present. Endearing, charismatic and entertaining start the description rolling, but there is so much more when he fills a room with stories, music and a taste of blazing a trail. There surely can’t be a politer old punk around, one forever grateful that folks are still hanging in there. Merging the fizz of punk with a blast of rhinestone rock stamped Jason and the Scorchers’ mark on both sides of the pond in the 80s. However it was country music and the Nashville air that bound things together, mind you going against the grain was core to the Scorchers development. You could say they were country’s crazy cousin. All this was boldly put in front of a Birmingham audience once again. Jason Ringenberg loves the Kitchen Garden and the faithful from across the ages love him back.   The recovery from a frenetic three minutes may take longer, but moves, fire and an accentuated style still re...

Experience tells you that there are no half measures when Rhiannon Giddens gets in full flow. The debate may be out there, but a starting gambit that she is the most prominent contemporary advocate of American roots music from a colour perspective has solid foundation. The stage package overflows with stories, passion and a spirited audience connection interspersed with technical brilliance and a fluid musical presentation style. The uplift from a team up with Italian musician Francesco Turrisi has been notable. He mentioned on stage that today was the 5th anniversary of their first show together. Rhiannon Giddens pre-2018 was immense. Now their duo performance ranges between faultless and absolute inspirational.  A quick glance around the Birmingham Town Hall this evening suggested a healthy near two-thirds capacity which is respectable for a genre that requires the audience to meet the performer half way. It wasn't quite at that level for the opening 30 minute set from Philippa Z...

  www.angelicarockne.com Loose Music has an exceptional track record of unearthing talent across the roots spectrum and gift wrapping it to new audiences. From the fiery merging of punk into alt-country to the heavenly tones of gorgeous singer-songwriter folk, artists jump on and off the vehicle of promotion always significantly well served with new listeners in tow. California singer-songwriter Angelica Rockne absolutely falls into the latter camp perpetually coaxing listeners into a spirited bloom of reverie. THE ROSE SOCIETY is rinsed in cinematic sensation as ten meticulously self-written songs spiral upwards into the cloud-laced mind of an artist hooked into the zone. It is all too easy to be caught in a trickle of drip fed splendour and open your own senses to music blessed with a spiritual presence. If you seek a couple of contemporary associations, the surefire starting point is being serenaded by shades of Courtney Marie Andrews in the achingly elegant opener ' Age of the ...