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Our latest posts
  • [ September 21, 2026 ] Stamping on the passion: Why AI written PR is a bad thing for music Features
  • [ September 21, 2026 ] Carla Gover and Friends “Williams Branch is Hard to Find” Album Reviews
  • [ September 21, 2026 ] For the Sake of the Song: Grateful Dead “High Time” Features
  • [ September 21, 2026 ] Genre changing Buena Vista Social Club album 30th Anniversary Edition out now Previews
  • [ September 21, 2026 ] Paper Verses “Windstill” Album Reviews
HomeAuthorsGordon Sharpe

Articles by Gordon Sharpe

About Gordon Sharpe
Retired music fan longing to get back to the Lakes and hoping to visit Scotland before much longer - somehow South Cheshire just doesn't cut it. Still seeking the grail in terms of a convincing description of what Americana really is but really enjoying the search. And still wondering when Kenny Rogers will get his just deserts
Book Reviews

Book Review: Ralph Brookfield “On the Trail of Americana Music”

September 15, 2021 Gordon Sharpe 1
A laudable stab at the difficult task of grasping the many-headed beast that is Americana Music. Author Ralph Brookfield trained as a molecular physicist worked as a copy editor, software engineer, freelance writer, ran a software […]
Cover for Daviid Fergusons Nashville No More
Album Reviews

David Ferguson “Nashville No More”

September 2, 2021 Gordon Sharpe 0
Relaxed enjoyment from a 40-year veteran and his many friends, on a debut release. I can’t say I’m not liable to get a frisson of amusement at the potential for furrowed brows if I start this […]
Album Reviews

Anton O’Donnell and the Clydes “Where Art Thou April”

August 27, 2021 Gordon Sharpe 0
AUK’s Twang Factor winner returns with fleshed-out sound. Anton O’Donnell won the inaugural AUK Twang Factor competition which gave him the opportunity to record this set which is worth listening to as an example of what […]
Book Reviews

Paperback Riders: Woody Guthrie “Bound for Glory”

August 26, 2021 Gordon Sharpe 0
An engrossing self-penned account by one of Americana’s key figures. When starting this series I said something about not wanting to review biographies of any sort – and here I am about to renege on that […]
Album Reviews

Sam Allison, Chris Coole, Adrian Gross, Mark Kilianski, John Showman “Adeline”

August 13, 2021 Gordon Sharpe 0
Lots of fiddling but no lack of purpose and quality in a lively enjoyable set from a group of musicians steeped in old-time, bluegrass, and folk music. ‘Adeline’, (a feminine name meaning noble or nobility and […]

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our latest posts

Stamping on the passion: Why AI written PR is a bad thing for music

Features
September 21, 2026 2

Carla Gover and Friends “Williams Branch is Hard to Find”

Album Reviews
September 21, 2026 0
Ad for American Beauty album 5th December 1970

For the Sake of the Song: Grateful Dead “High Time”

Features
September 21, 2026 0

Genre changing Buena Vista Social Club album 30th Anniversary Edition out now

Previews
September 21, 2026 0
Album art for Paper Verses Windstill

Paper Verses “Windstill”

Album Reviews
September 21, 2026 0
Features

Stamping on the passion: Why AI written PR is a bad thing for music

September 21, 2026 2
If a music writer opens ten press releases this month, they’ll spot something odd. They all sound like the same person wrote them. Not because the artists share a publicist, or because there’s a house style […]
Album Reviews

Carla Gover and Friends “Williams Branch is Hard to Find”

September 21, 2026 0
A cycle of Appalachian folk songs from writer and activist Si Kahn, subtitled Songs for Strong Kentucky Women The subtitle for this album is “Si Kahn’s Songs for Strong Kentucky Women”. Si Kahn is one of […]
Ad for American Beauty album 5th December 1970
Features

For the Sake of the Song: Grateful Dead “High Time”

September 21, 2026 0
“You told me goodbye, how was I to know/You didn’t mean goodbye, you meant please don’t let me go?” Well. It’s the age of nostalgia, so it feels just about right to reminisce about an old […]

  • Stamping on the passion: Why AI written PR is a bad thing for music
  • Carla Gover and Friends “Williams Branch is Hard to Find”
  • For the Sake of the Song: Grateful Dead “High Time”
  • Genre changing Buena Vista Social Club album 30th Anniversary Edition out now
  • Paper Verses “Windstill”
  • Sounds from beyond the Shed 245 “Stop….thief…”
  • Brown Wimpenny “Shady Grove” – chugs like a fast train
  • Video: Ethan Setiawan & Fine Ground “Ships at Sea” – wonderfully-warm and woozy
  • Something for the weekend: Teenage Fanclub “Be With You Tonight”
  • Benjamin Tod “Country is Dead”
Billy Bragg Bob Dylan Bruce Springsteen Chuck Prophet Courtney Marie Andrews Dean Owens Drive By Truckers Emmylou Harris Jason Isbell Johnny Cash John Prine Lucinda Williams Margo Price Neil Young Peter Bruntnell Robert Vincent Ryan Adams Steve Earle Sturgill Simpson The Band The Byrds The Delines Tom Petty Wilco Willie Nelson
  • Jonathan Smith: Bravo! Thoughtful and smart piece of writing, on a subject that matters. Thanks, Tim
  • keith hargreaves: Great article Tim
  • Patrick Hurley: A most unexpected list to kick things off with. It seems only reasonable to repeat here a definition I’ve come…

Latest interviews

Behind the Songs

Behind the Songs: Maya de Vitry – “All My Faith”

September 15, 2026 0
Behind the Songs: Maya de Vitry – “All My Faith”If you arrive at All My Faith looking for something that sounds like Gillian Welch, you might find your thirst briefly satiated by No Time to Rush, the final […]
Interviews

Interview: Adam Chaffins on what is great about flea markets, dive bars and trailer trash

August 28, 2026 1
As one of the most resourceful songwriters in americana, Adam Chaffins welcomes you to the latest from his wacky, witty world in Trailer Trash: Doublewide (Spirit Nashville Recordings, 2026), a collection of narratives about schemers, dive […]
Interviews

Video Interview: Richard Olson of the Hanging Stars and Tim Prottey-Johns of the First Time Flyers on the Long Road Festival

August 26, 2026 0
Why musicians love the Long Road Festival. In preparation for Americana UK’s David Jarman‘s preview of the Long Road Festival, he interviewed Richard Olson of the Hanging Stars and Tim Prottey-Jones of the First Time Flyers. […]

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Videos

Video Premiere: Katy Vernon “Suit Of Hearts”

May 13, 2019 0
Here’s a great video for a great song from UK-born, US-based Katy Vernon.  It’s the title track from her latest album, which is out on Friday May 17th.
artwork for Tony Trischka interview
Interviews

Interview: Just 16 notes, that’s all it took to hook Tony Trischka on the banjo

October 7, 2024 0
The banjo chose me. Like the iconic poster of Uncle Sam pointing a finger over the bold statement “I want you,” aimed to encourage military service during WWII, Tony Trischka declares the banjo chose him and […]
News

Bob Dylan reveals the Shadow Kingdom

April 17, 2023 0
What is ‘Shadow Kingdom‘?   It’s an act of taking control of his past, perhaps, it’s also a new album from Bob Dylan.  Released on June 2nd, with the video album of the release coming out on […]

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