As one of the news editors for AUK and, latterly, the Podcast creator, I very often have the good fortune to meet musicians that I greatly admire or respect. And I can happily report that, of all the artists I have spoken with or bumped into, I have yet to meet someone who has disappointed or caused me to abandon listening to their work. Is this just our genre? Part of me thinks so. The majority of acts we champion here on the site are regularly working musicians who plough their own furrow, unhindered by the trappings of the Instagram society. For sure, all artists must engage with social media, and some do most spectacularly, but the majority are working artists trying to make a living through their art. They have done or are doing the hard yards. If they’re not juggling jobs, they are gigging relentlessly.
Recently, I have had conversations for the Podcast with the likes of Josh Rouse, Chuck Prophet, Willie Vlautin, Jerry Joseph, Patterson Hood, John Stirratt, Pat Sansone, Kathleen Edwards*, and Courtney Marie Andrews, to name a few. These are major established artists, and yet in every case, they have been excellent company and appeared to be thoroughly decent people. I believe this is not a coincidence. For sure, you could argue that in each case they have a product to sell, and that would be true, but our conversations ranged far and wide, and there has never been a sense of the ‘Graham Norton’ plug in any interview.
The above list, interestingly, is all American artists – of course, you say – this is Americana UK, but I have also met or spoken with the likes of Elaine Palmer, Jack Browning, The Wandering Hearts, My Girl the River, and Luke Tuchscherer, all of whom appear to be cut from the same cloth as their American counterparts. Decent, honest folks making music. With upcoming Podcast interviews featuring Jesper Lindell, Sam Beam, Katherine Priddy, Maggie May Treanor, Alex Pianovich (Greazy Alice), and Wesley Stace, I’m fairly confident that I’m not going to be disappointed anytime soon. If this article has whetted your appetite and you want to venture beyond the Podcast interview and see the full chat in widescreen glory, then sign up as an AUK supporter (£2.99 a month), and you will have access to all the interview videos – some last twice as long as the published podcast and make for very interesting viewing!
This week’s listening has been an interesting one as I’ve come across a couple of new artists, Book of Churches and Slow Autumn, both artists at different stages of their careers, but I’m sure they fit the template described above. The radio show is laced with class. Lots of new stuff, some classics, and the album of the week is Bonny Light Horseman. As ever…
*Kathleen Edwards was interviewed by me for Black Deer Radio, but will hopefully be a Podcast guest in the near future.
