Our new supporters playlist comes out later today featuring a specially curated selection of the best new Americana we’ve heard over the last month, including new music by Darlingside, Blitzen Trapper, Rachel Garlin and Hiss Golden Messenger among others, and for this month’s giveaway we have a pair of tickets for one lucky supporter to see celebrated Canadian singer-songwriters Matt Andersen and Adam Baldwin, who have announced a welcome return to the UK and Ireland for shows this autumn. The September shows will feature Matt playing solo, showcasing his impressive voice and incredible guitar playing. (You can watch a stripped back version of his song “Shoes”, live at Sonic Temple, below). You can find out more details on how to become an AUK supporter here.
Andersen’s latest album, ‘The Big Bottle of Joy’, is all about hard-won celebration; a dozen songs infused with raw blues-rock, rollicking Americana, thoughtful folk, and ecstatic gospel. Andersen’s stage presence is informed by decades of cutting his teeth in dusty clubs, dim-lit bars, and grand theatres all over the world, delivering performances that run the gamut from intimate to wall-shaking. In the studio, he’s always brought the same attention to detail and commitment to craft as he has to his live show, and the result—a multi-faceted body of work—has led him to amass over 23 million streams on Spotify and 26 million views on YouTube. In addition to headlining major festivals, clubs and theatres throughout North America, Europe and Australia, he has shared the stage and toured with Marcus King, Beth Hart, Marty Stuart, Greg Allman, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Randy Bachman, Jonny Lang, Serena Ryder, and more.
Andersen is accompanied for the double bill shows by Adam Baldwin. Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Baldwin has been a mainstay of the Atlantic Canada music scene for over a decade. Starting as a member of rock combo Gloryhound before joining Matt Mays & El Torpedo in 2009, Baldwin’s own music has continued to evolve since his award-winning self-titled solo debut EP in 2013.
His current LP ‘Concertos & Serenades’, as Baldwin tells it, wouldn’t have been written without an encounter with fellow musician Martha Wainwright. In January 2020, Baldwin had “a foot out the fucking door of this whole racket” but had some final commitments to honour. One of those commitments was playing some songs for a French-Canadian TV show that Wainwright was hosting. When they broke for dinner, as she sat beside him in a north-end Halifax restaurant, he got real with her. “I was like, ‘I don’t think I got this in me anymore. I can’t write anything. I feel like I can’t get anything out of the place that I live, and I can’t move because my family’s here. So, I think it’s time for me to tap out.” Baldwin says. “And she scolded me in that restaurant, like a dog.”
Dates which take in London, Belfast and Dublin (which is not in the UK, we know!) are as follows:
Sep 27 – Dublin – The Grand Social
Sep 28 – Belfast – The Black Box
Sep 29 – London – Boston Music Room
