the UK home for americana music
Considering I’m With Her performed at the Bush Hall and Union Chapel when they toured the UK back in 2018, the choice of venue this evening could be interpreted as a measure of this trio’s ambition, or is perhaps a testament to their burgeoning popularity, or maybe it’s just a desire to play in arguably the most attractive venue in London – or it could be a combination of all three. Continue reading “I’m With Her + John Smith, Hackney Empire, 19th March 2019”
Previous showcases at the AMAUK conference had run for just a single night – expanding to two nights had more than doubled the excitement. And if the previous evening had offered some hard choices then this second night of the AMAUK showcase upped the ante by bringing in Moth Club as a venue, which meant that most time slots now offered a chance of three bands or artists. This cold wet evening started once again at Hackney Empire Bar with the superb sound of The Hanging Stars. Continue reading “Americana Music Fest 30th January, Hackney, London”
Prince Edward Island, just off the coast of Nova Scotia, for a small place sure does punch above its weight in terms of musical talent. Rose Cousins, a native of that beautiful island now based on the mainland, released one of last year’s finest albums. A delicate, thoughtful, adventurous and at times fragile album, ‘Natural Conclusion‘ sees the folk pop songstress throw off the shackles and head into a project driven by notions of danger, vulnerability and creative exploration. Americana-UK speaks to Cousins ahead of a short run of UK dates supporting John Smith. Continue reading “Interview: Rose Cousins”
John Smith has announced the release of his new album ‘Hummingbird’ which features appearances from Cara Dillon, John Mccosker and Ben Nicholls, and will be released on October 5th on his own Commoner Records (via Thirty Tigers worldwide). He had also announced a fairly huge UK headline tour of 29 dates throughout October & November and made the track ‘Willy Moore’, taken from the new record available to stream – you can give your ears a treat below. Continue reading “John Smith announces new album, track, autumn dates”
While there are several “specialist” Americana festivals like Maverick and Ramblin’ Roots, for the Americana fan Cambridge Folk Festival has for many years always had much to offer. It rightly prides itself on its eclecticism – both Joe Strummer and Nick Cave have played there in the past – and interpreting “folk” very broadly and this year was no different with Patti Smith, Songhoy Blues and St Paul & The Broken Bones all performing. Continue reading “Cambridge Folk Festival, Cherry Hinton Hall, Cambridge, 2nd-5th August 2018”