The hills are alive, with the sound of bluegrass!
Summertime is Festival time and that includes La Roche Bluegrass, Europe’s largest bluegrass festival, taking place around La Roche-sur-Foron, in the stunning French Alps of the Haute Savoie, transforming the area into a global stage for bluegrass players from around the world. The festival actually gets under way today, the 30th July, and will run until August 2nd, presenting 21 groups from 19 countries and 5 continents for 28 concerts, and you get all that included in your festival pass for a, frankly, unbelievable price of just 20 euros! Insanely good value. And if you wanted to splash the cash, an equally paltry 200 euros buys you the VIP pass, with access to the VIP Area, a guaranteed seat in front of the stage and free meals and drinks. It’s no wonder that this festival is now celebrating its 21st year. Needless to say, it’s a total immersive experience, with jamming sessions going on around the village, a crafts market, and luthiers from around Europe offering some beautiful instruments to tempt musicians of all abilities, along with the concerts going on throughout the festival days. Unsurprisingly, we hear that the festival has just been nominated for the IBMA Event of the Year Award for no less than the 6th time. One of Europe’s premier events. You can find full details about the event, along with all the artists featured, at the festival website. You’ll also see daily bulletins and updates on their Facebook page.
Also taking place over much of July and August is the Sani Festival. This is another long-standing event that takes place near the tower of Stavronikita, better known as the tower of Sani, which is located in the hotel complex of Sani Resort. It is built on a hill of a small, peninsula overlooking the entire Thermaic Gulf and the wider land area. The hill has been inhabited since prehistoric times and the acropolis of the ancient town of Sani of Pallene is also located there. The tower of Sani belongs to the Greek State and it is a listed archaeological monument by the Ministry of Culture and Sports. It isn’t an americana specific festival, but we thought it worth a mention, given the beautiful location and the fact that this year’s festival features a rare appearance from The Waterboys. The festival runs from the 11th July to the 15th August and you’ve already missed Robert Plant and Saving Grace (sorry!), but The Waterboys appear on August 1st and there are full details of the event on the festival website.
That’s enough of great festivals in beautiful places (if announced a little late!). This month also sees plenty of new music from some of continental Europe’s best artists. First up we have a new single from Track Dogs, the Madrid-based roots/americana group made up of two Irishmen, a Brit and an American. Their latest single comes out on August 6th and features bass player, Dave Mooney, on lead vocals for the first time! And if that wasn’t enough to make you take notice, it’s an excellent cover of that great Texas Tornados track, Who Were You Thinkin’ Of? That same date will herald the pre-sales of their new album, Still At The Music, which celebrates 20 years of making music together. The single features great contributions from two significant guest musicians. Simon Care, known for his work with iconic British folk-rock bands like the Albion Dance Band, Banter, and Edward II, guests on melodeon, while dynamic Spanish fiddle player, JaviLin (Javier Linaje), contributes a fine violin solo in the latter part of the song. It’s a great choice for a summer single. We don’t have a sharable version of the new single available, but we do have the title track of the forthcoming album for you to enjoy. The band are appearing at a number of UK venues through the late summer and autumn and you can find all details on their website.
We can also look forward to a new album from Italy’s longest running americana and roots band, the excellent Mandolin Brothers, headed up by the irrepressible Jimmy Ragazzon. The new album, their first since 6, which came out in 2019, is due for release at the end of September, and is called Restless, coming out on Ultrasound Records on both vinyl and cd, as well as being available on streaming services. There is currently a crowdfunding campaign going on, offering a number of different packages, but if you want to get in on that you’ll need to move quickly, as it finishes on the 31st July! The album features 7 new original songs from the band, along with a cover of Bob Dylan’s Blind Willie McTell, which effectively acts as a calling card for the new album. The band are planning three special gigs in support of the albums release, and these are –
- October 24 – Black Inside, Lonate Ceppino (VA)
- October 26 – Teatro Comunale di Rivanazzano (PV)
- November 11 – Nidaba Theatre, Milano
Find out more about the gigs, and the album, at the band’s website.
It’s always exciting when we get new material from a new artist. Singer-songwriter Björn Johansson is an independent Swedish artist whose music is inspired by his own interest in nature and the emotions of everyday life. He has been writing songs for most of his life and plays a variety of instruments, having started out on trumpet and then mastering guitar, keyboards and harmonica. He is releasing two singles, Two Bullfinches and The Story in Bloom. Johansson told us, “I’m inspired by many different musical styles, but I’m especially drawn to acoustic music where strong melodies and meaningful lyrics are at the heart of every song. My aim is simply to write honest, heartfelt songs that people can relate to. Two Bullfinches was inspired by watching two bullfinches sitting together in nature, symbolising loyalty, love and companionship, while The Story in Bloom is a song about hope, love and believing that some stories are simply meant to unfold in their own time“.
These recordings are the culmination of a long held dream, to actually rerecord some of his own songs, and they deserve to do well. They’re well written and particularly well sung, and you can feel the emotion and craft that has gone into making the recordings. You can find both songs on Spotify, and they’re well worth your time, and you can follow Björn on his Instagram page.
Crossing over the border we also have news of a new single release from Norwegian country artists Birgitte and The Dusty Trails. By All Means was released earlier this month on the Coastal Sounds label and is a song about being an understanding person without losing yourself along the way. The band have a good country sound, and Birgitte’s delivery feels like she could be straight out of Nashville. Emma Birgitte Ovlien, her full name, has played in bands since she was 12 years old and formed Birgitte and The Dusty Trails in 2022. She made it to the finals of Norway’s The Voice 2024, and was also nominated for the Fjording Prize as ‘Newcomer of the Year’ for 2025. It’s unusual to hear such a pure country sound from a Scandi band, and it’s easy to see why they’re becoming a popular draw at festivals around the region at this time of year. It looks like their debut album, Walkin’and Talkin’, will be out later this year and we’ll certainly be looking out for that one. By All Means is available on all the usual streaming services and the band have a great website, with plenty of information about their music and upcoming gigs. You can find it here.
Staying in Scandinavia, sort of, we have a new single from Kensie & Stiko, Ash & Flame, and this is a very interesting collaborative work. Kensie Coppin is an award winning Texan songwriter and a rising star of traditional honky tonk and classic country music. Stiko Per Larsson is one of Sweden’s most respected live performers. Originally a folk artist, with more than 1,500 concerts and over 27 million streams, his songs combine honest storytelling with strong melodies. In recent years he has also become increasingly connected to the americana scene, and has toured throughout Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and the United States. This is the second single from a planned collaborative album that will come out later in the year. The two singers and songwriters met through songwriting and found a lot of common ground, both writing songs that are rooted in real emotion rather than following musical trends. Their voices combine beautifully, and this is a genuinely exciting partnership that promises great things for the future, and just the sort of collaboration that we love to see here at Vox Continental. Ash & Flame is about discovering common ground in places that seem worlds apart. Texas, and the forests of Dalarna, in Sweden, where this song was first conceived, may be separated by an ocean, but both are places where music, stories and tradition continue to shape everyday life. The song celebrates those shared roots while creating something entirely its own. The single comes out tomorrow (31st July) and will be available on the usual streaming platforms, and the two musicians have an extensive tour coming up across Sweden and Denmark. You can catch them at the following venues:
- August 6 – Café Hallarp, Falkenberg, Sweden
- August 7 – Bruket i Viared, Borås, Sweden
- August 8 – Topperyd, Nässjö, Sweden
- August 14 – Mary’s Café, Eskilstuna, Sweden
- August 15 – Cassels, Grängesberg, Sweden
- August 16 – Carlsson på Kajen, Västerås, Sweden
- August 29 – Virkelyst Saloonen, Denmark
- August 30 – Vejle Fjord Festival, Denmark
- September 3 – Forsamlingshus, Hellested, Denmark
- September 4 – Bartof Station, Copenhagen, Denmark
- September 9 – Medley, Malmö, Sweden
- September 10 to 13 – Nashville Nights Festival, Denmark
We don’t have a shareable version of Ash & Flame but this is the previous single, Call On Me, released earlier this year. Definitely a duo to watch.
We’ll be back again at the end of next month, August 27th. In the meantime, stay safe. Europe is now the fastest warming of all the continents and that is bringing increasingly erratic weather patterns. Heed the warnings and follow the directives for the hot weather we have now, and let’s all try to make it to the cooler months, happy and unharmed.
Please remember – if you are an americana-influenced artist operating out of mainland Europe and have new music or a tour to promote, let me know. Contact information is on the webzine page under ‘Info’. This column is published on the last Thursday of every month throughout the year.
