“Can’t Do Much” was the refrain of the last Chain Gang piece, and indeed there are times when the odds are overwhelming, and you will not overcome. What music can express this and provide the soundtrack to a calm acceptance of fate? Here is the answer. `Hope of a Lifetime’ is from The Milk Carton Kids’ second album “The Ash and Clay” and never has the extinguishing of dreams sounded so gorgeous. The album itself has an honest focus on passing moments and loss, and it’s exemplified in this song. The voices meld together in quiet resignation with a backing of intricate guitar work, and provide us with these lyrics; “In the newfound reverie / Of quiet peace I found / Freedom comes from being unafraid / Of the heartache that can plague a man”. This a duo that use words with a thought, and in this song they express a dry-eyed stoic acceptance that also provides solace.
Tag: Milk Carton Kids
The Milk Carton Kids with Josh Ritter “Losing Battles”
We leave you this week dear reader with a song that actually came out a few months ago but has been re-released today in an acoustic format on Spotify, and since Spotify is uber-irritating to embed into posts, you can have the original version instead (which also gives you a chance to visualise the wonder of Kenneth and Joey’s playing). The song was originally included in Ritter’s ‘Fever Breaks’ album from last year. Have a good one whatever you’re up to.
UK Americana Awards 2020 adds Shingai to its line-up
The AMAUKs are only 2 weeks away and there are still a handful of tickets left if you haven’t got yours yet. It’s the fifth annual shindig which forms part of AmericanFest which returns to Hackney for 3 days at the end of this month. The theme of the event is “Collaborate and Cross Pollinate” reflecting on how Americana artists work together across different genres and art forms. The event culminates on 30th January in the prestigious UK Americana Awards 2020 which after 4 sold-out years moves to a bigger venue for 2020 – the gorgeous art deco Troxy in Limehouse, East London. Continue reading “UK Americana Awards 2020 adds Shingai to its line-up”
Happy Christmas to all our readers from Americana UK
Well that’s a wrap from us for this year dear readers. Thanks so much for all your support for the site which we still manage to scrape along on a shoestring budget, but it happens firstly because of the generosity of all our writers across the UK and beyond who give their time freely to make this happen each day, and secondly because you keep logging on as it were. Continue reading “Happy Christmas to all our readers from Americana UK”
The Milk Carton Kids “The Only Ones” (Thirty Tigers, 2019)
With ‘The Only Ones,’ The Milk Carton Kids go back to their roots: acoustic guitars and ethereal harmonies delivering lyrics that detail all the emotions love evokes. Musical duos will inevitably be compared to those that came before, and while The Milk Carton Kids conjure everyone from Simon and Garfunkel to the O’Kanes, ‘The Only Ones’ prove they can confidently hold their own, alongside their influences. Continue reading “The Milk Carton Kids “The Only Ones” (Thirty Tigers, 2019)”
Black Deer 2020 announces Wilco as headliner
Black Deer Festival have announced their first names for next year’s festival and the line-up is already something of a mic drop moment, including as it does The Waterboys, Canadian folk and bluegrass ensemble The Dead South, Grammy-nominated folk duo The Milk Carton Kids, Arizona’s Courtney Marie Andrews, New York natives The Felice Brothers and the headline act of none other than Wilco, an exclusive for the South of England. Here’s the line-up poster so far: Continue reading “Black Deer 2020 announces Wilco as headliner”
Milk Carton Kids announce new album, UK dates
The Milk Carton Kids are almost too good for the world as it is right now, certainly for the UK, but as a sign of their magnanimity they are returning to our crazy shores in January to promote their new (mini) mainly acoustic album ‘The Only Ones’ which comes out December 6th on all formats (digital, CD & Vinyl) via the band’s own Milk Carton Records imprint in partnership with Thirty Tigers. Continue reading “Milk Carton Kids announce new album, UK dates”
AMA announces its line-up for 2019 awards ceremony
The 18th annual Americana Honors & Awards is happening next month over in Nashville and they have announced the performing lineup for their big ceremony which takes place on the 11th. The list includes (deep breath…) Continue reading “AMA announces its line-up for 2019 awards ceremony”
2019 Americana Honor and Awards Nominees are announced
So this happened last night although they didn’t send us a press release so we’re reporting this via Rolling Stone. We do by the way love the Milk Carton Kids – don’t forget to catch them in the UK in a couple of weeks’ time: “Nominees for the 2019 Americana Honors & Awards were announced Tuesday afternoon, with multiple women being recognized in the top categories. The Milk Carton Kids (and, later, Mavis Staples) read the names of the nominees during a rehearsal for the “Mavis & Friends: Celebrating 80 Years of Mavis Staples” concert set for Wednesday in Nashville. Continue reading “2019 Americana Honor and Awards Nominees are announced”
The Milk Carton Kids announce UK dates
The wonderfully named and wonderful sounding Milk Carton Kids have announced their return to the UK and Europe for a tour, the first time since the 2018 release of their Grammy-nominated album ‘All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do’. The new project marks the first time that acoustic duo Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale have brought a band into the studio with them. On this short tour, songs new and old will be played by the duo without accompaniment. Continue reading “The Milk Carton Kids announce UK dates”