Mark Whitfield

Son Volt release video for new track “Devil May Care”

Son Volt’s new album is on the way next month and our over-excitement isn’t being helped by the drip drip of material from the record, including now a new video which focuses on the daily grind of being working musicians in their new video for the track ‘Devil May Care’, which premiered yesterday on Rolling Stone Country. RS describes the track as “Cruising along with breezy acoustic strumming, the carefree Americana tune soundtracks a montage of road scenes, featuring frontman Jay Farrar and his longstanding alt-country crew moving from gig to gig. The vintage-hued footage unfolds like a scrapbook of tour memories with shots of highway signs, stage time and laughs over backstage beers. Continue reading “Son Volt release video for new track “Devil May Care””

Red Rooster returns! Full line-up for Suffolk festival is announced

What we’re learning this week is that there are quite a lot of americana festivals in the UK that feature the letter “R” – yesterday we had the Ramblin’ Roots Revue and today we have news that Red Rooster is returning at the end of May for its annual weekend-long celebration of contemporary American Roots music. Continue reading “Red Rooster returns! Full line-up for Suffolk festival is announced”

Ramblin’ Roots Revue returns! Here’s the full line up

Now in their third year, The Ramblin’ Roots Revue, one of the UK’s biggest weekends of Americana, roots and alt-country music (and there are a few of them now) have announced their line up which includes 40 acts from the across UK, USA, Canada, Ireland and mainland Europe. The full line up which takes place in Bucks from 12th-14th April 2019 is listed below but includes UK americana luminaries including William the Conqueror (much nicer than the historical figure), Curse of Lono (a curse you would actually want to be afflicted with) and Peter Bruntnell’s band featuring the superb BJ Cole. Continue reading “Ramblin’ Roots Revue returns! Here’s the full line up”

Son Volt release first track “The 99” from new album – Listen

Rolling Stone are today carrying a new song from Son Volt taken from their upcoming album ‘Union’ which will be released on March 29th, and it sees them going all political which here at AUK Towers we heartily approve of. ‘The 99’ begins with the line “Journalists in jail covering the scenes; The profit columns rise for the corporate machines” and goes on from there to tackle trickle down economics and the criminal justice system. Continue reading “Son Volt release first track “The 99” from new album – Listen”

Wilco announce UK dates for September

Er we’re a bit late to the party with this one sorry but exciting news from the tail end of last week that Wilco are on their way back to the UK – Jeff Tweedy’s band have announced a new European tour for September, in addition to their existing shows in June. The new tour takes in three UK dates which will take place at the end of the September. Here are the dates along with a classic cut from ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ or YHF as we like to say round these parts. Continue reading “Wilco announce UK dates for September”

Ryan Adams album cancelled following allegations

Variety has reported over the weekend that although Ryan Adams recently announced the release of three new albums due out this year, that number looks to be rapidly shrinking: “The first of his planned 2019 releases, “Big Colors,” which was to have come out April 19, has been “put on hold,” according to sources close to the situation. Continue reading “Ryan Adams album cancelled following allegations”

Franc Cinelli returns with new single – every two weeks!

Leaving you this weekend dear dear readers with news that Italian-born songwriter Franc Cinelli has returned with his first new music since 2015’s ‘The Marvel Age’ album. Starting today, Franc will be releasing a new ‘single’ every two weeks. Continue reading “Franc Cinelli returns with new single – every two weeks!”

Angus McOg head to UK for dates next week

Italian alt.folk and Americana band (not a phrase we use that often) Angus McOg return to the UK for the first time in six years to play dates in support of acclaimed third album ‘Beginners’. Angus McOg is the group project of singer-songwriter Antoni Tavoni from Modena, in the north of the country, renowned as the home of the high-end sports-car industry. Continue reading “Angus McOg head to UK for dates next week”

Songs for the apocalypse: Fountains of Wayne “Fire in the Canyon”

Fountains of Wayne will always be known for ‘Stacy’s Mom’ which is kind of unfortunate when it means people will overlook absolute gems in their back catalogue such as ‘Hey Julie, The Summer Place’ and this cut from their 2007 album ‘Traffic and Weather’. For some reason the end of it always reminds me of the theme to The Littlest Hobo, a country road song whose jangle guitar belies the foreboding lyrics describing “an eerie kind of sadness on the highway today” and describing hotel rooms as “air-conditioned cable-ready cold padded cells”. More The Band than Weezer, FOW are on a long term hiatus at the moment. If they don’t return, this still lives on in my mind as one of the best country songs ever by a non-country band.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings record Buster Scruggs song – Listen

A nice story RS Country are carrying today about that wonderful song from the first story in the Coen Brothers’ “Ballad of Buster Scruggs” movie. They report: “One of those most important traditions, the cowboy song, is captured in the pair’s plaintive Academy Award-nominated tune, “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings,” for which they’ve released their own recording. Continue reading “Gillian Welch and David Rawlings record Buster Scruggs song – Listen”