Israel Nash proved tonight that not only can he rock out with the best of them, but his big musical sound also draws from the desert folklore of that part of Dripping Springs in Texas where he currently resides that’s the inspiration for so much of his muse nowadays. Opening with ‘Rolling On,’ the first track from latest album, ‘Lifted,’ its appeal is as immediate as it is on the record – the swell of pedal steel growing throughout this singalong number, its warm harmony vocals leading to a stirring climax. It’s towards the end of this song that you realise why Israel Nash has been receiving glowing praise on this tour – the band immediately locking onto a groove that demonstrates the harmony at the heart of this outfit. Continue reading “Israel Nash + Treetop Flyers + Brent Cowles, Scala, London, 22nd November 2018”
Gill Landry had it all – he was in the Old Crow Medicine Show, had just won his second Grammy with that band, and moreover he was in love – not just in love but all set to be married. Feeling a need to move on musically he decided to go solo, recorded an album and hit the road with it. And then the bottom fell out of his world – the girl left, heartache moved in and seemed to have settled down to stay. The songs on this new album reflect this turn of fortune’s wheel – and also acted as a form of therapy for those bruised emotions. 
This was the second of two packed nights at Bush Hall and Courtney Marie Andrews and her band took to the stage and launched into Rookie Dreaming, the opening track from her current album Honest Life. Andrews’ vocals and her appearance at once suggest that you could be watching a young Joni Mitchell but it does not take long to be swept up into Andrew’s world. And although you occasionally get a jolt of how Joni Mitchell like she is on certain tracks, this does not detract from the enjoyment of listening to Andrews and her band.