the UK home for americana music
Mark Underwood continues with the fifth in his irregular feature on music by great songwriters with great lyrics, this time taking you through classics from the likes of Amy Speace, Alejandro Escovedo, Neil Young and Gretchen Peters. Continue reading “10 Americana songs with great lyrics”
At AUK we are now well into our quest to find the ‘Top 10 Americana Albums Ever’. Over the coming weeks and months each AUK writer will in turn, present their own personal selections. When each writer has had their say, a shortlist of the most frequently chosen albums will be drawn up and voted on, in order to generate the definitive AUK writers top ten. So whilst we put ourselves through this hell, you get to sit back and admire or despair as suits your own tastes. This week’s tortured soul is Peter Churchill. Continue reading “AUK’s Top 10 Americana albums ever: Peter Churchill”
Mark Underwood continues with the fourth in his irregular feature on music by great songwriters with great lyrics, this time taking you through classics from the likes of Gretchen Peters, Kathleen Edwards, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits. Continue reading “10 Americana songs with great lyrics”
Following on from Peter Churchill’s excellent choice last week I was thinking that what I particularly love about Americana is the quality of the songwriting. With that in mind I’ve decided to post a track from another Peters – Gretchen Peters (no relation), who I think has consistently been one of the best songwriters in this genre since she first came to prominence back in the mid-’90s. This is the title track from her 2012 album ‘Hello Cruel World’ and it epitomises the quality of her songs – great storytelling, great melody, a little wry humour.
Mark Underwood continues his irregular feature on music by great songwriters with great lyrics.
Continue reading “10 songs for lovers of great writing”
Gretchen Peters has composed hits for Etta James, George Strait, Neil Diamond and Shania Twain to name just a few, she has been nominated for Grammy Awards and was inducted to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014. Brandy Clark has said of her, “Gretchen Peters is a songwriter’s writer – the kind of inspiring artist and writer we strive to be like and one we use as a measuring stick for our own work.” She’s also an inspiring performer and all of the above was in evidence tonight with a career spanning collection of songs whose captivating quality could not be denied. Aside from appearing with her band the show also featured a string quartet, a concept originally devised for Peters’ performance at last year’s Southern Fried Festival in Scotland’s Perth, hence the quartet’s name and the banner – “The Strings Attached Tour.” Continue reading “Gretchen Peters with The Southern Fried String Quartet, Cadogan Hall, London, 20th April 2019”
Eleven years old this year Southern Fried continues to occupy its position as the best Americana and roots music festival in Scotland and perhaps the best of its kind in the UK (although there are three contenders who might challenge that assumption). The festival doesn’t rest on its laurels however and this year saw its headline shows expanded to include the Thursday night while there was the welcome return of the renovated Perth Theatre to the roster of venues as it hosted ticketed and free events. What doesn’t change however is the mixture of world famous acts, the cream of international and UK roots music and a generous helping of more local musicians all adding up to four days of joyous music concentrated within the centre of one of Scotland’s most beautiful cities. Continue reading “Southern Fried Festival, Perth, Scotland, 26-29th July 2018”