There’s always been something about a gig filled, summer evening in Bristol. As the day cools and the last rays of sun roll down Park Street there’s a sleepy, smiley laziness, a hand beckoning you over, the promise of fun as the night unfolds. There’s a gentle hum about the place, a buzz, a thrumContinue reading “Steve Earle – St George’s – June”
Category Archives: Country/Folk
Laura Cortese – Folk House – May 2023
“This is a lovely idea”, says Nick Hart, about three songs into Laura Cortese & Friends at the Folk House. The idea, as all the best ones are, is a simple one – choose a musician from the town in which you’re touring and collaborate with them throughout the evening. Laura Cortese is a fiddleContinue reading “Laura Cortese – Folk House – May 2023”
Pokey LaFarge – The Fleece – April 2023
Talk about a gathering of the tribes. There are Rockabilly quiffs mixing with dreads, polka dot dresses with biker boots, Motorhead tee shirts with old fellas in anoraks. This is eclectic stuff, but why are this lot in the same room at the same time? Simple. They are all here to worship at the altarContinue reading “Pokey LaFarge – The Fleece – April 2023”
Kassi Valazza – The Louisiana – April 2023
Clearly, when you are on your first proper UK tour, driving around this country is a bit scary. Portland, Oregon singer songwriter Kassi Valazza mutters “you’re all crazy” and tells us about driving on the wrong side of the road. She, very obviously, wants to create a little bubble around herself, one that keeps herContinue reading “Kassi Valazza – The Louisiana – April 2023”
Morganway – The Louisiana – April 2023
Do you think that there’s some sort of a rule when a band chooses their support band for a tour? A complicated equation? One that balances the band being good but them not blowing you away? No one wants the audience leaving their gig solely enthusing about the support act, do they? Whatever that equationContinue reading “Morganway – The Louisiana – April 2023”
Noble Jacks – Lost Horizon – April 2023
Should you be able to have this much fun on Good Friday? Is there some sort of moral or philosophical law against smiling and manically jumping up and down two days before Easter Sunday? If there is a big chap sitting on a cloud up there, did he look down as Noble Jacks whirled LostContinue reading “Noble Jacks – Lost Horizon – April 2023”
Anais Mitchell – The Fleece – November 2022
Mondays are rubbish. Too far from the next weekend, a day for an early night and a desperate hope that tomorrow will be better. Except, of course, that makes Mondays tailor made for an evening of hushed, gentle, beautiful alt-folk. Memorial are a Simon and Garfunkle-y two piece, clutching acoustic guitars and harmonies to meltContinue reading “Anais Mitchell – The Fleece – November 2022”
Lady Nade – The Church of St Thomas the Martyr – October 2022
Some of us must have walked past St Thomas the Martyr about a million times and never really noticed it. Tucked into the square just before The Fleece it’s an anonymous looking place. Even though it’s a little church it doesn’t really look like a safe space, a place for friends and love. The wonderfulContinue reading “Lady Nade – The Church of St Thomas the Martyr – October 2022”
Tenille Townes – The Fleece – October 2022
With just a tiny bit more ambition Charles Dickens might have written A Tale of Two Countries. Had he joined the queue snaking around the side of The Fleece this evening he might even have managed A Tale of Two Countrys. Y’see, on this beautifully clear October night, there were two bands, both female fronted,Continue reading “Tenille Townes – The Fleece – October 2022”
Slocan Ramblers – Folk House – September 2022
If the very best authors can conjure a sense of place with a beautifully descriptive turn of phrase so the very best bands can do it too. The Slocan Ramblers are a Canadian Bluegrass band and with the merest pick of a banjo string or pluck of a double bass they lift you up, whizzContinue reading “Slocan Ramblers – Folk House – September 2022”
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