Three Chords and the Truth UK

The setting was magical. The show was engagingly eclectic, showered with alluring creativity. If you sought an evening of live music to bring the curtain down on a busy gig year, Dan Whitehouse and his talented team of collaborators had the perfect all-encompassing gift. From the grand tier level of Birmingham Symphony Hall, the view onto Centenary Square was illuminated by the big wheel in perpetual motion with the rhythm of the show. Inside, a packed room was transported from futuristic Tokyo Bay to the post industrial Black Country with a few stops in between. One moment beat boxing filled the air, the next it was piano ballads. The common bonds were words, ideas and imagery; music with multi-media intent. Different facets took the performance in several directions. A solo beat boxer mixing poetry with music, a guest guitarist, a percussionist and pianist weaving their instrumental prowess plus an all-star cast finale, yet the gel was Dan Whitehouse: electric guitarist, lone vocalis...

Three takes from this show: a lovely tribute at the start for Greenwood bassist Dave Sutherland who sadly passed away earlier this year; the teasing comment of maybe a return to the studio and a timely reminder to how special the music of Kim Lowings has been over the last dozen years. Life has put the promotional side of her music on hold since the pandemic with no new recorded material and gigs a scarce occurrence. Such is the local love, she can always pop across the A449 to Ashwood Marina and guarantee a full house where Woodman Folk Club have championed her for many years. After an entertaining opening set from local duo Lintel, the stage was set for Kim Lowings and the Greenwood circa December 2025, namely a trio format with Andrew Lowings on bouzouki, guitar and bodhran (not simultaneously), Tim Rogers on percussion and Kim herself on guitar and trademark dulcimer. Through a combination of traditional, original and cover songs, the music laid the ground for a wonderful display ...

  Tradition has to start somewhere, so why not early December in Kings Heath. The sample of two consecutive years may be small but a ritual is born. Chris Cleverley produces seasonal EP releases with a difference: short, focussed and unique. Following the launch of In the Shadow of John the Divine last December, the Hare and Hounds was once again the Birmingham venue of choice as this year’s God of All Things gently eased its way into the world. These evenings are accurately headlined Chris Cleverley and Friends as they evolve into something of a festive folk revue with the spotlight shared by an assorted gathering of similarly styled musicians. For the second successive year the manic month of December was warmly ushered in leaving the audience refreshed with a gentle glow. The line up was the same as last year with a notable addition. Joining Sam Kelly, Kathy Pilkington, Minnie Birch and Kim Lowings was Midlands singer-songwriter Dan Whitehouse who has collaborated with Cleverley...

Twelve months ago the review of My Darling Clementine’s Kitchen Garden show featured a short paragraph and inspired poem, sufficient to sum up an emotional evening. A year later, and the stage is set to assess where the careers of Lou Dalgleish and Michael Weston King are within the spectre of publicly focussed grief. The immediate future lies in the cathartic process of two individual albums, a bold move powered by mutual support. Two highly personal approaches will direct the content, with Michael slightly more experienced in light of his 2023 record.  We had six solo songs shared during the second half of this annual Birmingham renewal. As expected Lou’s had the piano accompaniment and possessed the full emotive sheen. They were fairly explicit about the events of summer 2024, and the aftermath, with a couple getting a first public airing. The full complement is planned to be available in 2026 as the duo aim to forge a new normality. Michael’s three songs each offered a differe...

  Jaywalkers induce a sense of satisfaction from an audience savouring fine musicianship at a close proximity. Hailing from North West England, Mike Giverin, Jay Bradberry and Lucille Williams have been plying their trade the length and breadth of our isles for many years, yet fly under the radar to recruit new fans left wondering why it’s taken so long to jump aboard. The trio retains a humility, just doing what comes naturally and making music capable of extending far from the current boundaries. Joy emanates from the breathtakingly tight virtuoso playing and is received with awe. The Kitchen Garden, buoyed by an authoritative display of stringed eminence, was in its element.  The focal point of 2025 has been the band’s fifth album, Move On, and dates supporting it have run right up to the end of the year. Birmingham concert goers making a wise choice had the pleasure of the album played in its entirety as all ten tracks were built for a live airing. Mix in some innovative c...

Katie Fitzgerald’s and the 3 Daft Monkeys are a good fit. They’ve met before and likely will do again. The latest acquaintance had the bonus of a sold out Saturday audience and a boisterous atmosphere to celebrate the positive energy of a proudly independent folk band. This oxymoron-quartet is renowned for a live show full of connective synergy, and many excursions from a Cornish base are met by a fanbase full of vocal verve. Songs of Anger and Redemption are established promoters at this Stourbridge venue and were no doubt chuffed with how the evening panned out. Katie’s secret garden, the performing space within the grounds of this former active pub, was just starting to fill up when support act Brad Dear and the March took to the stage. They were similar to 3 Daft Monkeys in set up with stand-up double bass replacing the electric version of the headline. The songs and presentation were built for busy Saturday night venues and a 45-minute stint suitably warmed folks up on a damp and ...

EPs, solo appearances, festival sets and support slots are merely the building blocks up to the point where you take your full band on a debut album launch tour. Steady Habits have arrived at that moment after a lengthy run up period with a short tour of UK dates in support of the recently released Deviate. Sean Duggan has been a respected player on a tight-knit music scene for around a decade but is starting to blossom now he’s found the right vehicle to express an identity. Originally from New Haven Connecticut, Duggan is an honorary Brit and first came to prominence in the duo Loud Mountains with his brother Kevin. Many subsequent live appearances have honed a style which has been giftedly modelled by assembling a fine band for studio and stage work. When in the full complement of Duggan (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica), Joe Coombs (electric guitar), Cathy Ife (bass) and Jamie Dawson (drums), Steady Habits are at their best and this came to the fore on the opening night of the t...

With its hordes of Brummie summer visitors and propensity to flood, Bewdley is far from a normal town. However, for one night only it became one, twinned with Didcot in Oxfordshire. Now, Didcot is a normal town as proved by the metrics and such an honour is ripe for commemoration. Step up a band soaked in Oxfordshire tradition to write a concept album based on hometown normalcy. 2025 has seen The Dreaming Spires storm back into the spotlight after a lengthy hiatus. The year began with an AMA UK showcase in Hackney (not that the band needed such a reminder exercise) and climaxed with the release of the album Normal Town in November. This brings us right up to date and the concluding night of the album launch tour in Bewdley.  St.George’s Hall has been kind to the Bennett brothers over the last decade. Almost ten years to the day, it hosted The Dreaming Spires celebrating the most recent previous album Searching for the Supertruth. This evening was Joe’s fifth visit and Robin’s fourt...

Ranagri posses a wondrous allure lifting you from humble surroundings to spacious settings such as coastal splendour, idyllic Ireland and the warmth of a gracious Highland community. Fleeting moments took you from a social club in Bromsgrove to a swaying festival field or a grand theatre with every corner filled by the magnified tones of four splendid musicians. Each applies a personal touch to a sound rooted in folk tradition yet transcending into rays of popular music. Nights like these redefine the folk club parameters as Donal Rogers, Eliza Marshall, Eleanor Dunsdon and Jordan Murray orchestrate the magic of Ranagri’s magnetic appeal. From 8:40 to 10:50 this spot where the urban West Midlands spills into rural Worcestershire hosted a prime exhibition of unified musicianship and engaging narrative. Even the regulation twenty minute break and obligatory raffle whetted the appetite for a sumptuous dose of Ranagri round two. From an opening instrumental titled ‘Fort of the Hare’ defin...