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Great American Trainwreck are a five piece band operating out of Seattle who have been playing for a couple of years, time enough to get their eponymous debut album together – it’s out on May 23rd. The band formed when Stephanie Ward and Chuck Dunklin decided to take a new approach to the music they … Continue reading “Great American Trainwreck “Hell On The Rise” – Listen”
Frank Zappa asked the question in 1986, “Does Humour Belong In Music?” I don’t know if that was a rhetorical question or not, but to head uncertainty off at the pass, the answer is yes. Flight of the Conchords and the national treasure (TM John Peel) that is Half Man Half Biscuit, are just two … Continue reading “The Burning Hell “Baby” (BB*Island, 2018)”
Michelle Lewis makes folk music. This is a broad and unhelpful description. You’re welcome! It’s true though that at the root of this record is a solo performer with acoustic guitar and a rich, sweet voice. However, Lewis infuses this simple, time-tested formula with subtle yet lush electronic and organic musical arrangements.
Joan Shelley is no stranger to Glasgow’s Glad Cafe. Returning to the venue for a fourth time, the Kentucky-born artist has built up a loyal following. Whether a long term fan or a relative newbie attracted by Shelley’s 2017 self-titled album, a sell-out crowd filled the intimate south side room anticipating a night of fine … Continue reading “Joan Shelley + Maiden Radio, The Glad Cafe, Glasgow, 10th October 2018”
Described in the press release as the “Godmother of Americana”, the sometimes excellent Michelle Shocked returns to our shores next month, hopefully in a less biblical mood than 2013, for a series of dates. The tour promises “small, intimate venues and combining tracks from her sizeable back catalogue with stories from the road, and a … Continue reading “Michelle Shocked returns to UK for dates”
Talitha Rise are Jo Beth Young and Martyn Barker. Their songs are a combination of Art Pop and Progressive Folk inviting the listener into a world of ethereal landscapes and bohemia. Accomplished live performers, their chemistry together offers any audience an opportunity to step outside of their heads and witness a psychedelic, raw and tribal … Continue reading “Dirty Dozen: Talitha Rise”
Diana Jones is a well-respected singer-songwriter with admirers on both sides of the Atlantic. Steve Earle is on record as saying “Diana Jones is one of the best songwriters I have heard in a long, long time” and she is able to bring the true spirit of her family’s Appalachian culture to her modern-day recordings. … Continue reading “Interview: Diana Jones on channelling Appalachian culture and refugees”
AKA – Live music returns, how was it for you? So it came to pass that on a chilly late Sunday afternoon, we tentatively headed for Saltaire with a sense of expectation not felt for some time but also lugging a whole array of new Covid, social-distancing, face mask related baggage along for the ride. … Continue reading “Peter Bruntnell Trio, Caroline St. Social Club, Saltaire, 27th September 2020”
Welcome once again to the latest selections in AUK’s ongoing search for the ‘top 10 americana albums ever’. You know the format by now: each week a different AUK writer chooses their own personal top 10. When they are all collected and counted, we will draw up a shortlist of the most frequently cited choices. … Continue reading “AUK’s top 10 americana albums ever: Keith Hargreaves”
Ryan Hamilton is a Fort Worth native, steeped in country music since birth, who just happens to have a UK backing band, The Harlequin Ghosts, who play music that shows the influence of classic rock as well as that of country and roots music. The group record for Stevie Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records, established … Continue reading “Interview: Ryan Hamilton talks about Jack Kerouac, Geordies and John Prine”