Joan Baez to release a brand new album 'Whistle Down The Wind'

Legendary singer, songwriter, activist and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Joan Baez' brand new album Whistle Down The Wind . Produced by three-time Grammy® Award winner Joe Henry and recorded over ten days of sessions in Los Angeles, Whistle Down The Wind gathers material by some of Baez's favourite composers. The album is due for release on 2nd March.

Whistle Down The Wind is Joan's first new studio album in a decade, since 2008's critically acclaimed, Grammy®-nominated Day After Tomorrow, which was produced by Steve Earle. Its release ignited an extraordinary decade of achievement by Joan, including: the PBS American Masters series premiere of her life story, Joan Baez: How Sweet The Sound (2009), which underscored the 50th anniversary of Joan's debut at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival. Joan's seminal debut album of 1960 was honoured by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in 2011, which inducted it into the Grammy® Hall Of Fame; and subsequently by the Library of Congress in 2015, which selected it to be preserved in the National Recording Registry. That same year, Amnesty International bestowed its highest honour on Joan, the Ambassador of Conscience Award, in recognition of her exceptional leadership in the fight for human rights and she was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2017.

Joan Baez remains a musical force of nature of incalculable influence. She marched on the front line of the civil rights movement with Martin Luther King, shined a spotlight on the Free Speech Movement, took to the fields with Cesar Chavez, organized resistance to the Vietnam War, inspired Vaclav Havel in his fight for a Czech Republic, saluted the Dixie Chicks for their courage to protest the Iraq war, and stood with old friend Nelson Mandela in London's Hyde Park as the world celebrated his 90th birthday. Joan's earliest recordings fed a host of traditional ballads into the rock vernacular, before she unselfconsciously introduced Bob Dylan to the world in 1963. Thus began a tradition of mutual mentoring that continues on Whistle Down The Wind, and which will reverberate long into the future across Joan's lifetime of recordings.

The excellent 'No Petticoats Here' by Louise Jordan to tour with a new production

A wonderful WW1 project not to be missed this year is from award winning singer, songwriter and musician Louise Jordan, who tells the stories of inspirational women who challenged expectations. From the woman who dressed as a soldier on the Western Front to the women football players banned by the FA, the ambulance drivers running the gauntlet of enemy fire in Flanders and the so-called ‘surplus million’ single women. Inspirational women, working in a time of conflict, leaving a legacy. 'No Petticoats Here’ tells the stories of remarkable women from the First World War. Based on extensive research and combining original live music with recorded sound, this one-woman performance is a theatre concert like no other; a rich visual and auditory experience that truly connects the audience with the past and the words of these remarkable women.

Following two successful tours Loiuse was granted Arts Council England funding to develop the performance working with theatre director Lizzie Crarer (Over The Top, Bronte, we’re here because we’re here) and sound designer Jules Bushell (Platform4, Hoodwink Theatre). Louise says, “This performance is very different to most concerts: it is enhanced by technology with pre-recorded sound tracks bringing the words of the women and the sounds they experienced to life. This soundscape weaves around the original songs I have written and I also present framed images of the women and perform in costume to help the audience visualise the stories.”

'No Petticoats Here' tells the real life stories of varied and remarkable women of the Great War and was inspired by the story of Dorothy Lawrence; an orphan whose guardian lived in Salisbury Cathedral Close. Dorothy dressed as a soldier in order to visit the Western Front and pursue her journalistic ambitions. Louise quickly became fascinated by the stories of female ambulance drivers, scientists, footballers and spies.

'No Petticoats Here' is the culmination of twelve months of research that has taken Louise to the battlefields of France and Belgium including the Somme and Ypres as well as countless museums and historic research centres across the UK and western Europe. Through contact with the relatives and biographers of some of these extraordinary women Louise has been able to add greater depth and detail to their stories bringing to life their courage and compassion.

Now a familiar face on the UK music scene, Louise Jordan has used her classical music background and her seven years’ experience of touring to arts centres, theatres, folk clubs and festivals in the UK and Europe alongside her earlier career as a secondary school history teacher to produce No Petticoats Here.

“The First World War too often remembers women as the mourners of the fallen, as frugal housewives ‘making do’ or angelic nurses caring patiently for the men who returned from the Front Line. Through 'No Petticoats Here' I remember some of the many women whose stories do not fit conveniently into boxes and whose experiences are both astonishing and relatable one hundred years on.”

From the driving, rhythmic piano of ‘Queen of Spies’ which captures the story of the charming and bold Frenchwoman Louise de Bettignies, to the intensely personal ‘Mairi’ about the disintegration of a devoted friendship, this is a performance as musically diverse as the women’s stories it tells. ‘Ripple and Flow’ captures Hertha Ayrton’s patient pursuit of change through her scientific achievements, the elegant interweaving clarinet and piano mirroring the ebb and flow of the water motions she studied. By contrast the resolute march of the army of women workers ‘Toil, Women, Toil’ is accompanied by a single snare drum.

• www.louisejordan.co.uk
• www.nopetticoatshere.co.uk
• Twitter: @nopetticoats and @ljordanmusic
• www.facebook.com/louisejordansings

“This is a gutsy and meticulously researched project… an arresting album and an important historical document.” (Songlines, January 2017).

“Compellingly sung, with expert, often classically-inflected arrangements.” (fRoots, December 2016).

“Jordan has approached her subject with the diligence of a scholar and the heart of an artist …It is in responses like this set of songs that our collective cultural memories are kept alive…” (R2 Magazine, November –December 2016). 

“Inspired by the stories of the many remarkable women who served in the Great War, Jordan has produced one of the most touching and powerful folk albums of the year so far. Sounding at times like the late, great Sandy Denny, Jordan is also a remarkably inventive piano player, a skills that comes to the fore on the stridently haunting Perhaps and beautifully structured Ripple And Flow. “With courage to kick out convention, you were laughing in a lion’s den”, she sings on Endless Days: the bold spirit of these heroines captured in a single line.” The Sunday Express, October 2016 “If there’s one album you really should own, then this is it.” FolkWords, September 2016 “a terrific and highly accomplished piece of work” fruk, September 2016 “an album that matters” (FATEA Magazine, October 2016)

“Jordan has produced one of the most touching and powerful folk albums of the year so far” (The Sunday Express, October 2016)

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The City Roots 2018 Festival, Cambridge (22/02-06/03)

Cambridge Folk Festival have announced the line-up for their second city-wide winter folk and roots festival

THE spirit of the world-famous Cambridge Folk Festival will inject the city with winter cheer in February and March, when Cambridge’s second city-wide winter folk and roots festival opens for two weeks of exceptional music and events.  

This great line-up includes McGoldrick, McCusker & Doyle, Wilko Johnson, Tom Robinson, Knight & Spiers, Megson, Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, Ward Thomas, Wildwood Kin. Rich Hall and many more.

An all-encompassing Corn Exchange line-up includes: the soaring, Gambian sun-drenched chords of stunning Kora virtuoso and opening Festival headliner, Sona Jobarteh performing alongside Cameroon’s blues and jazz artist Muntu Valdo; the Americana-tinged sound of Wildwood Kin – crowned this year as legendary broadcaster Bob Harris’s ‘Emerging Artist of the Year’ -supporting Cambridge Folk Festival summer headliner, Ward Thomas; award-winning comic Rich Hall performing Hoedown– a withering dissection of Trump’s America which finishes as a celebration of Americana with stand-up, improvised ballads, and amazing musicianship...’Blissfully funny’ (The Guardian) and Cambridge born Tom Robinson with the 2-4-6-8 Motorway 40th Anniversary show. Tom is one of the founding team for BBC Radio 6, where he hosts three shows a week and has become known as a champion of new emerging artists via BBC Introducing.

At Cambridge Junction, an array of City Roots music is on offer: Chouk Bwa Libète bring drums, poetry and trance from Haiti’s vodou heartland; BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards winners Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys rediscover and renew the music of Sam’s gaelic heritage, transcending boundaries of trad and popular music; Cambridge Folk Festival favourites and three of the world’s finest folk musicians, Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle set the stage alight playing material from their latest album, The Wishing Tree and legendary ex-Steeleye Span fiddle player, Peter Knight joins forces with John Spiers, one of the leading melodeon players of his generation for an unmissable gig. Cambridge Junction also presents a very special evening at St Barnabas Church featuring BBC 2 Radio 2 Folk Award nominees Megson.

Appearing at renowned city music venue, The Portland Arms will be folk festival Club Tent sensation, Darren Eedens & The Slim Pickin’s - whether they’re held spellbound by a poignant ballad or jumping up and down as one to a stomping groove, Darren’s command of an audience is absolute!

Following the success of last year’s Creative Roots, the festival’s valuable professional development day will be held at The Portland Arms. Music industry professionals will once again gather to offer a career development day of workshops, talks and sessions, offering gems of advice and a wealth of experience.

Drop-in music sessions around the city; a special City Roots Family Day with free attractions including craft workshops, face-painting, storytelling, ‘Come and Try’ ukulele workshop and fun walkabout characters; plus what promises to be a sell-out City Roots highlight - a fascinating live interview, in association with the Cambridge Union Society, with charismatic Canvey Island rocker Wilko Johnson - and it’s safe to say City Roots will be one of the most anticipated events in Cambridge in 2018! 

Website: https://www.cambridgelivetrust.co.uk/folk-festival/city-roots

Dan Tyminski to release brand new solo album 'Southern Gothic"

Dan Tyminski has just announced that his brand new solo album 'Southern Gothic' will be released on the 20th October. This highly anticipated, exciting and interesting new album looks great from it's initial teaser trailer. 

The new album sees Dan mixing his roots music pedigree with a wide range of contemporary influences on 13 songs he co-wrote with some of country's best and brightest talents. Many of the songs were inspired by what Dan describes as his perceptions of "light and dark" and originally written for other artists, though he ultimately decided to record them himself. Co-writers on Southern Gothic include Sarah Buxton, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Monroe, Josh Kear, and the late Andrew Dorff.

Dynamic on stage, down to earth off stage, Dan Tyminski has the voice, instrumental chops, and charisma to be counted among the most recognizable and popular male vocalists on today’s bluegrass and country music scenes. Yet his demeanor – low-key and laconically sly – ensures that all the accolades are the product of his own innate gifts. 

Since 1994, his ace instrumental skill (mainly on guitar, but also on mandolin) and burnished, soulful tenor singing has been a key component of Alison Krauss and Union Station, arguably the most visible and successful bluegrass band in the modern era. 

'Southern Gothic' is out October 20th. Here is the full track list:-

1. "Southern Gothic" (Dan Tyminski, Jesse Frasure, Josh Kear)
2. "Breathing Fire" (Dan Tyminski, Cary Barlowe, Will Weatherly)
3. "Gone" (Dan Tyminski, Kyle Fishman, Nick Bailey)
4. "Temporary Love" (Dan Tyminski, Cary Barlowe, Jesse Frasure)
5. "Perfect Poison" (Dan Tyminski, Jesse Frasure)
6. "Devil Is Downtown" (Dan Tyminski, Ashley Monroe, Paul Moak)
7. "Hollow Hallelujah" (Dan Tyminski, Sarah Buxton, Jesse Frasure, Amy Wadge)
8. "Good for Your Soul" (Dan Tyminski, Sarah Buxton, Jesse Frasure)
9. "Wailing Wall" (Dan Tyminski, Sarah Buxton, Tofer Brown)
10. "Haunted Heart" (Dan Tyminski, Andrew Dorff, Cary Barlowe, Jesse Frasure)
11. "Bloodline" (Dan Tyminski, Cary Barlowe, Jesse Frasure)
12. "Wanted" (Dan Tyminski, Brad Rempel, Seth Mosley)
13. "Numb" (Dan Tyminski, Kyle Fishman, Nick Bailey, Ryan Ogren)

The Secret Sisters announce new London gig

The Secret Sisters have just announced a new date on the 5th November at London's prestigious Union Chapel in Islington. 

Advance tickets £21 are available from Music Glue

https://www.musicglue.com/union-chapel/events/1deb2e40-43cb-0135-1462-22e4bb2e4b25

There are two ways of handling a dangerous, raging river: you can surrender and let it carry you away, or you can swim against the flow. For The Secret Sisters, there was a point after the release of their last record when they could have chosen to do neither – instead, sinking to the bottom as the weight of the world washed away their dreams. They went from touring with Bob Dylan to losing their label, purging their team, filing bankruptcy and almost permanently trading harmonies for housecleaning.

But there's a mythical pull to music that kept sisters Laura and Lydia Rogers moving forward, and they came out with a biting and beautiful third LP, produced by Brandi Carlile , You Don't Own Me Anymore . Their first as New West signees, it's a document of hardship and redemption, of pushing forward when it would be so much easier to drown in grief. And it's a story about how passion and pure artistry can be the strongest sort of salvation – how art is left, like perfect grains of sand, when everything else has washed away.

Yola Carter releases a wonderful new demo of 'It Ain't Easier'

Demo from the upcoming album "Orphan Country"

Yola Carter has just released a demo from her forthcoming album to stream on Soundcloud - 'It Ain't Easier'. In her own words: "Here's a demo of the song 'It Ain't Easier' from my new album. As I get closer to the end of writing it the more I'm falling in love with it. Falling in love doesn't make it easier though - just means you've gotta try harder to do right by it."

Yola is on tour throughout June, July & August, starting this Thursday at the Borderline in London. 

YOLA CARTER UK, EUROPEAN & CANADIAN TOUR DATES:

• 8th JUNE - London, The Borderline
• 21st JUNE - Banchory, Woodend Barn
• 23rd JUNE - Lerwick, Shetland, British Legion
• 24th JUNE - Sandwick, Shetland, Carnegie Hall
• 25th JUNE - Birnam, Birnam Arts
• 27th JUNE - Mull, An Tobar
• 28th JUNE - Stirling, Tolbooth
• 29th JUNE - Inverness, Eden Court
   
• 2nd JULY - Löderup, Solhällan – Rolling Rootsy Review, Sweden
• 4th JULY - Falkenberg, Hwitan – Rolling Rootsy Review, Sweden
• 5th JULY - Göteborg, Pustervik – Rolling Rootsy Review, Sweden
• 6th JULY - Oslo, John Dee – Rolling Rootsy Review, Norway
• 7th JULY - Stockholm, Kägelbanan Rolling Rootsy Review, Sweden
• 8th JULY - Uppsala, Katalin – Rolling Rootsy Review, Sweden
• 16th JULY - Bristol, The Lantern - River Town Festival
• 21st JULY - Barnsley, Under The Stars Festival
• 22nd JULY - Nottingham, Splendour Festival
• 27th-30th JULY - Calgary Folk Festival, Canada
   
• 5th AUG - Alberta, Canmore Folk Festival, Canada
• 10th-13th AUG - Edmonton, Edmonton Folk Festival, Canada
• 18th AUG - Winnipeg, Interstellar Rodeo, Canada

Exciting new London venue for Country songwriters in the round night the 'Round Up'

Alt-country duo Two Ways Home (Lewis & Isi) have confirmed that their popular monthly ‘Round Up’ song-writers night will move to a new Central London venue operated by 'CountryLine', the new online fan club for all of country music. As well as an app that puts country artists and experiences directly into your pocket, CountryLine has teamed up with the fine folks at Gail’s to launch a summer takeover of Gail’s Kitchen in London’s West End. CountryLine Café is a summer-long pop-up at Gail’s Kitchen, 11-13 Bayley St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3HD showcasing artists and experiences from the 'CountryLine' family. The 'Round Up' is usually held on the first Thursday of every month from 7:30PM

Starting with the next Round Up event on Thursday June 8th featuring Megan O'Neill & Owen Lloyd, and all through summer, the 'CountryLine' Cafe pop up will showcase the best of the UK’s thriving country music scene plus special guests from around the world, all fueled by an exclusive menu of the finest Southern hospitality from the award-winning team at Gail’s. Regular features will include songwriter rounds from the Round Up; live sessions from ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris’ Under The Apple Tree; and showcase sets from the most exciting artists in country music. 'CountryLine' Café aims to become London’s very own version of Nashville’s legendary Bluebird Café.

Follow CountryLine on Facebook and Twitter and download the new app from June 8th to keep up with everything country.

The new EP from Two Ways Home ‘Closest Stranger’ will be released to stream/download on June 2nd, and is available to pre-order now - more info at www.twowayshome.com.

Carolynne announces UK tour dates

Following the release of her debut EP 'Coming Back To Me' - which landed at #2 on the iTunes country chart and has been streamed over 40,000 times to date - and much-hyped return to live music at the Bob Harris-curated Under The Apple Tree night last month, Yorkshire country-pop singer Carolynne has announced two UK dates, co-headlining with The Abrams (Canada), with further tour dates to follow:

May 31st - London, The Borderline - TICKETS
June 1st - Manchester, Gullivers - TICKETS
 

"‘Coming Back To Me’ has hit written all over it and it will no doubt be a huge success" - CelebMix

"Her use of lyrical imagery and country instrumentation bring an authenticity to this release that can’t be faulted" - Lyric Magazine

"This EP goes on to cement Carolynne’s reputation as one of the UK’s finest country singers." - Outline Magazine

ABOUT CAROLYNNE:

For country singer-songwriter Carolynne, music has always been a priority. Though she's now had over 6.5m views on Youtube to date and has been featured extensively on national radio, print and television across the UK, her story starts at the age of just fourteen, when her family of “country music fanatics” inspired her to hit the road joining five-piece Country band 'Sundown'. After several years of touring the UK, at eighteen she left her family home in Yorkshire, heading for London to pursue her career in music, before long signing a contract with BMG and starting to work as a published songwriter. The next couple of years took her abroad to Sweden, where she spent time writing for other pop artists while developing her own songwriting style & sound, a blend of country, rock and pop. As well as collaborating with some great songwriters she continued to work as a touring performer across the U.K.

This allowed Carolynne to hone and develop her unique style of performance, which would eventually catch the eyes and ears of X Factor judge Gary Barlow when she later appeared on the show as a finalist. Gary described Carolynne as “supremely talented” with a voice that “just oozes Country”. With the X Factor propelling her into the public eye in front of millions of viewers & being the first UK contestant to bring Country music to the X Factor stage, Carolynne’s next move was unexpected for someone in her position; knowing she wanted to fulfil her dream as a songwriter, she headed to the heart of country music and the home of many of her influences - Nashville, Tennessee.

During her five months spent travelling across the USA, from Nashville to Arizona and L.A., she performed at every opportunity, and had the chance to work with, among others, Grammy award-winning songwriter Jeff Silbar (Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson), who as well as penning songs for the country elite in Music City also wrote the award-winning hit ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ .

Carolynne's debut single 'I Love You But Shut Up' was released in 2015, attracting strong support from the mainstream and country media - including a slot on the BBC Radio 2 playlist and a live acoustic session on Terry Wogan’s Sunday show; national TV appearances including Channel 5's The Wright Stuff - and publicity across high-profile press and magazines such as Maverick, Country Music Magazine and The Independent, Since then, Carolynne has taken time away from the spotlight to work on new material, an EP written and produced with longtime collaborators The Elements and mixed by Ash Howes (One Direction, Ellie Goulding, The Corrs).

She’s continued to perform live in between writing and recording, including, to much acclaim, an appearance at London’s Country to Country (C2C) 2016 festival at the O2 arena for the third consecutive year, and a two-night residency at London’s Live at Zedel, prompting Jennifer Selway at the Daily Express to describe her songs about heartbreak and desire as having “true country style”.

Thanks to the attention she draws at her energetic live shows and extensive media coverage, Carolynne's music has been heard by country fans all over the UK and beyond, building up a combined social media following of over 133k followers in the process, so it’s safe to say fans are eagerly awaiting her next move. As she told Country Music Magazine, who highlighted her as a ‘Shooting Star’ artist early in 2017, the title of her brand new debut EP ‘Coming Back To Me’ is “about coming back to music, because I’ve lost my way with music at points in my life, I’ve fallen in and out of love with it but it always finds its way back to me…”

Carolynne's ‘Coming Back To Me’ EP is out now.

www.carolynneofficial.com

Martin Simpson to release new solo studio album - Trails & Tribulations

• Artist: Martin Simpson
• Album: Trails & Tribulations
• Genre: Folk, Americana, SInger-Songwriter
• Released: 1st September, 2017
• Record Label: Topic Records
• Tracks: 13 (+6 Deluxe edition)
• Formats: Standard & Deluxe CD, Digital Download & Standard Vinyl.

World-renowned guitarist, singer and songwriter Martin Simpson releases his 20th solo album  ‘Trails & Tribulations’ on September 1st, 2017 via Topic Records. The new studio album is his first new solo work since 2013’s critically acclaimed ‘Vagrant Stanzas. 

‘Trails & Tribulations’ is a collection of songs about nature, about travels and about real life stories. There are traditional songs, poems and contemporary songs by great writers, and songs that I had to write because nobody else knew what I wanted to say. I travel, I learn songs, I write and try to get better at the skills required for me to do my job. I look at the world as I pass by, on the road, out of the train window, or as I stop and pay close attention to the square foot under my nose. There is so much to see and to hear and to inspire and to try and understand. I had a huge amount of fun playing and recording these songs, using different instruments, different noises, old friends and new ones, all of whom brought so much to the mix.    Martin Simpson, April 2017.

Produced and engineered by the renowned Andy Bell, ‘Trails & Tribulations’ features some of Martin’s most innovative playing yet, showcasing his virtuosity on a variety of instruments including acoustic guitars, resonator guitars, lap steel guitar, electric guitars, 5 string banjo and ukulele.

The album also includes a host of excellent guest musicians including Ben Nicholls (Double bass and electric bass guitars), Toby Kearney (drums and percussion), Nancy Kerr (fiddle and viola), Andy Cutting (diatonic accordion and melodeon), John Smith (electric guitar and backing vocals), Helen Bell (strings), Amy Newhouse-Smith (backing vocals) and for the first time on record his daughter Molly Simpson on vocals.

Hand in hand with his long and storied solo career, Martin has been central to seminal collaborations like The Full English, The Elizabethan Sessions and Simpson Cutting Kerr. He has worked with a dazzling array of artists from across the musical spectrum: Jackson Browne, Martin Taylor, June Tabor, Richard Hawley, Bonnie Raitt, Danny Thompson, David Hidalgo, Danú, Richard Thompson and Dom Flemons, to mention a few. He is consistently named as one of the very finest acoustic, fingerstyle and slide guitar players in the world and is the most nominated musician in the history of the BBC Folk Awards, with a remarkable 31 nods. A true master of his art.

As a small taster of the new album we have included the audio of Martin's new cover of Jackson C. Frank’s ‘Blues Run The Game’.