Sadly in the end there were none – all the hopes americana festival-goers had for a late summer blow out were dashed by news earlier this month that Red Rooster wouldn’t in fact be going ahead as planned with social distancing, but the organisers have announced another virtual version of it (they previously did something in May) which will take place from 4th-6th September.
Nick Lowe will be joined by Cedric Burnside, Luther Dickinson from North Mississippi Allstars, Ian Siegal, Bob Log, Marcus Bonfanto, Little Barrie and other performers. The format will be the same as the May virtual event: each artist will play a 2-3 song session with an exclusive live video which will be dropped on the Red Rooster socials over the weekend.
The DJ bill booked for September will be replicated for the 24-hour Red Rooster takeover of Totally Wired Radio. David Holmes will headline, playing a tribute to his friend and very sadly missed Andrew Weatherall. Jonathan More from Cold Cut/Ninja Tune returns with new additions Eddie Pillar from Acid Jazz and club legend Rocky and Ross Allen. The takeover kicks off at midday Saturday 5 September and goes on until midday Sunday 6th. You can listen here. And throughout the virtual festival you can use the code ROOSTER10 to get 10% off tickets for next year’s festival here.
Also taking place that same weekend, End of the Road have announced ‘In the Garden of Streaming’ which will be broadcast live from Larmer Tree Gardens from 6.30pm on Sunday 6th September from this link. To be fair, the line-up isn’t very rootsy but if you’re not too genre focussed there are always some real treats to be found, and they’ve promised “unique performances from Squid, Billy Nomates, Katy J Pearson, The Golden Dregs, Modern Woman, plus an array of electrifying surprises to disrupt your living room (and your neighbours).”
In the meantime, if you want something to cheer you up this bank holiday Monday, the Over the Hill Americana & Roots Festival which took place at Cogges Farm Witney last year have announced what they’re calling a “nifty bus replacement service” – they will be streaming exclusive performances from the lineup that was due to appear in person this year, with sets from artists including Elles Bailey, Tony Poole (Bennett Wilson Poole), Lady Nade, Sean Taylor, Demi Marriner, Kerri Watt and from the USA Native Harrow and Kaitlyn Baker.
The lineup will air on the festival’s YouTube Channel on Monday 31st August from 6pm – 8pm. It’s free to view but people can donate on the day and support in advance the costs of staging it here. The event is sponsored by Wychwood Brewery and partners with Cogges Farm and The Edge Eatery, and you can find full details of all the shenanigans over on the festival’s official website here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhp-facY-0M
