Three Chords and the Truth UK

If first impressions carry a large weighting then Lachlan Bryan and the Wildes set off on the right footing. Parading their wares on the outside stage at last year’s Maverick Festival proved an instant hit with many folks and the scene was set to make serious inroads into the UK country and Americana community. It can sometimes be perplexing assessing a non-US act taking inspiration from a land many thousands of miles from home, but this does not preclude a successful re-enactment especially with any pseudo content banished. Further proof of Lachlan Bryan’s impressive tilt into the genre lavishly displays right across his new album, strikingly titled SOME GIRLS (QUITE) LIKE COUNTRY MUSIC. The relevance of this artist hailing from Australia is one that you can choose to apply or not, although characters and surroundings from his homeland play a significant part in the record. The secret to this release, his fourth since commencing recording under this name in 2009, is the honest ...

It has been a contrasting couple of days at the Kitchen Garden. On the rebound from a two-night sold out ‘residency’ by Beth Nielsen Chapman it was normal service resumed as Lucy Ward bounded back into Birmingham to stoke up some fire and fury in folk fans. It is a credit to the venue that such diverse nights can be successfully staged. Some may say – tongue in cheek – that this night reflected the soul of the venue, but the gig platform is a spacious zone. This zone is vibrantly consumed when Lucy Ward sparks a feisty passion and exudes an offbeat enthusiasm. This is folk music in its purest form, give or take the frequent strum of the guitar and ukulele or the odd squeeze of the concertina. As linear, controlled and structured the two previous evenings were, tonight was a return to the maverick ramblings of a left field performer purveying hypnotic powers to lure her audience into a wonderful world of traditional fantasy and gritty political resistance. Starting with an ode to soc...

The creaking wooden staircase, stone floor and bricked interior of the Kitchen Garden have witnessed a seemingly lifetime of musicians share their craft over the years. Many nationalities have brought a variety of music styles, all tightly bound by a vision to connect with an audience on the most intimate levels of interaction. Throughout this period, a soul has formed and a special bond has adhered between those laying their money down and those accruing the crumbs. The venue has become a triumph of content over message, a refreshing state of play in these superficial times. However, when Beth Nielsen Chapman anoints it as the “Bluebird Café of the UK”, then maybe it is time the message had at least a day in the sun. To say that this two-night sold out stint by one of Nashville’s most revered songwriters moved the goalpost of the Kitchen Garden is an understatement. A change in dynamics was the order of the evening as a dedicated audience filed in to experience a Beth Nielsen Chapma...

From small acorns, the saying goes, but playing a small part at the outset of what could prove a fruitful journey is a decent place to be. Hopton Wafers is a sleepy location on the Shropshire/Worcestershire border and now can add the location of the Beardy Folk Festival to its claim to fame. A gently sloping walled garden rectangular amphitheatre provides the natural landscape to house a smart diversity of UK acts representing a broad range of folk music styles. Whether the organisers have opted for a touch of irony, or an attempt at stereotypical reclamation in naming their operation, tapping into a winning formula suggests that more has gone right than wrong in treading the tricky waters of festival promotion. The caveat to such an analysis stems from only attending the Saturday of this three-day event, but adopting a ‘speak as you find’ approach reaches a favourable conclusion. A slick operation presented nearly twelve hours of continuous music from thirteen scheduled perform...

Early into her first set, Kim Richey commented that the configuration of the Kitchen Garden partially reflected the world famous Bluebird Café in Nashville. This was apt to the extent that seeing her play that iconic venue back in 2016 re-ignited an immense appreciation for such a measured and accomplished talent. In contrast to an evening where the limelight was shared with fellow songwriters Matraca Berg, Don Henry and Bill Lloyd, Kim reverted to her de facto solo touring mode and injected a stark reminder of the many fine songs to have surfaced from her deep creative well over the years. 2018 is shaping up to be a significant year for this artist originally hailing from Ohio, but more than making a mark a couple of states further south where the good and great in music gather. EDGELAND, her first studio album in five years, has accrued heaps of attentive praise since emerging in the spring on the Yep Roc label and a raft of dates supporting Gretchen Peters in the UK has seen a re-...

There is precedence to a Danni Nicholls album having multiple lives and the scene is set for a repeat process now that the songs are in the can for the next album. The cycle may still be in the embryonic untitled stage regards the upcoming album, but tracks are beginning to emerge in a live setting. Fresh out of a latest stateside stint to bring the songs to near fruition, she has undertaken a few dates around the country to break them in gently. Birmingham’s Kitchen Garden has hosted Danni on a couple of previous occasions and it was a posse of familiar faces greeting her for this latest visit. Grander stages will feature ahead as the record nears release, but it is good for the new songs to be road tested and it can be unequivocally stated that treats are on the way to fans new and old. A distinct theme characterised the two sets Danni played this evening. The bulk of the new material featured after the break, following a widely spanned selection in the first set from a recor...

The duo format has been a winning formula for as long as country and roots music has sought popular appeal. This has even proved the case when only a single name is used to front the act. What worked well for Gillian Welch alongside Dave Rawlings is perfectly set for Vivian Leva and her musical partner Riley Calcagno. The inaugural tour of the UK is billed as a duo event, although the route of their famed associates is repeated in a solo titled album acting as the focal point to direct folks to some recorded output. Vivian Leva’s TIME IS EVERYTHING was released to critical acclaim earlier this year and it did not too long to deduce the positive critique when finally tracking it down. Riley is intrinsically involved on the record and the way the pair sparred and blended on stage did more than suggest that the chemistry is working. A progressive move in recent times to establish Thimblemill Library in Smethwick as a hotbed for American roots music has proved a hit. A periodic yet suc...