Well, we’re up and running and this is the second article in the new Vox Continental column that will be appearing on the last Thursday of each month. The column aims to promote americana music happening in continental Europe and highlight some of the many excellent bands making americana music on the European mainland.
Just a reminder that, if you’re an americana band/musician based in continental Europe, and if you have gigs to publicise, or new recordings to promote, you should contact me using the AUK standard email format on the contacts page so that I can spread the word.
This month is still a little quiet. One of the things that takes some adjusting to over here is that gigging activity isn’t an all-year-round thing in some European countries and Winter and Spring can be quiet on the live circuit, but a few things are happening, so get out and support your local venues where you can.
Here in France, Bordeaux based American singer/songwriter Martha Fields has a few dates coming up next month (18th – 26th April) with her full touring band, and that’s a treat not to be missed. Martha has been mentioned several times on this site and always draws great reviews. Her most recent album, “Bramble Bridge”, topped the European Americana charts when it came out in the summer of last year and she’s in the process of finalising a new live recording to be released later this year. That should be very special, because her all French band are outrageously good. Full details of all tour dates, and details of her recordings, can be found on her website.
Also in France, we have an early announcement of some of the artists appearing at this year’s La Roche Bluegrass Festival. Widely acknowledged as continental Europe’s largest bluegrass festival, this year marks its 20th anniversary and, while the festival doesn’t happen until the end of the summer (July 30th – Aug. 3rd), the organisers have announced that some of the artists that have appeared over the last 10 years of the festival will be returning for this special occasion. From the USA they’re, so far, expecting Pete Wernick, Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band, Tanasi (featuring Anya Hinkle) and Grammy nominees, Della Mae. From Europe, expected guests include Estonia’s Curly Strings and Johnny & the Yooahoos from Germany. Full details can be found at the festival website.
Madrid-based Syrah Morrison, whose debut album, “The Road“, recently picked up a glowing review on these pages from Chris Lacey, who praised the quality of their musicianship, have a gig coming up on their home turf. They’re playing the popular El Plata Club on April 26th, details are available at the event booking website. Lead guitarist, Pepe Olmedo, tells me they’re currently writing new songs in preparation for their next album, so this may be an opportunity to hear some new material. The band will also be appearing at a very interesting looking festival in the summer, the Pueblos Blancos Music Festival in Andalusia. I’ll say more about that nearer the time.
Also happening in Spain, this time around the Valencia region, we have news of a new album from Northline, a recording band built around musician and songwriter Enric Manez, and named after the title of Willy Vlautin’s first novel. Their work has also been reviewed at AUK in the past, being noted, at the time, as “pleasantly upbeat” by Viv Fish. The new album, “All Things Done”, is a noticeable shift in direction, being darkly atmospheric and dealing with some bleak subject matter – mental health, the death of a friend, the inevitable passing of time – and was largely written immediately after the Covid pandemic. For all the dark subject matter, it seems a very rewarding album with some outstanding playing from the musicians involved. It’s out now and you can hear it for yourself on their Bandcamp page.
Finally, for this month, we have news of a new album, and tour dates, from Italy’s The Blues Against Youth, the recording identity of country blues singer/songwriter Gianni Tbay. The new album, “Gianni Tbay’s Blues Against Youth”, has recently been released to his home market, on the Torino-based record label Escape From Today, and is scheduled for a UK release on the 2nd May. This is the follow up to his 2022 album, “The Tide Gets High and Low’”, which I reviewed at the time, and I remember being very impressed by it. The new album is also impressive, but with a more muscular, band feel about it largely due, it seems, to a longtime friend, the poli-instrumentalist and sound engineer Guglielmo Nodari. Gianni Tbay kicked off his extensive European tour earlier this month and is currently in Switzerland, with dates coming up in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. He’ll be heading to the UK in the summer for a short tour that includes appearances at the Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival. Look for tour details, and information about the new album, on his website.
That’s it for this month. Check out these tracks from some of the artists mentioned above and I’ll see you in a month’s time.
