Laurel Canyon Music

24 Blackbush Avenue Chadwell Heath, Romford, England, RM6 5TU United Kingdom

For fans and musicians of Folk, Americana, Country, Blues, Singer-Songwriter, Rock, Roots & Acoustic and music from the Laurel Canyon late 60’s/early 70’s era.

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Filtering by Category: Folk Music

Shorebound - Ben Glover (04/05/18)

June 05, 2018  /  Gary Smith

  • Artist: Ben Glover
  • Release Date: 4th May, 2018
  • Genre: Folk, Singer-Songwriter
  • Record Label: Proper Records
  • Tracks: 12
  • Website:

The newfound sounds and shapes that comprise Shorebound mark a moment in Ben Glover's musical history - a moment that nods to the past decade of his artistry even while pivoting into the next era. "I'm a believer in cycles, and 2018 will mark ten years since I released my first album," Glover says, "so it feels very much that this album is a major turning point in a cycle. Shorebound is an acknowledgment of where I am and a celebration of the people who I've gotten here with."

Indeed, collaboration has long filled Glover's career including co-writing the Americana Music Association UK's 2017 International Song of the Year ("Blackbirds") with Gretchen Peters. Playing well with others is something Glover both excels at and enjoys. He joins forces with friends on both sides of the Atlantic for Shorebound, including Peters, Ricky Ross (frontman and songwriter from Scottish rockers Deacon Blue), Mary Gauthier, Kim Richey, Angel Snow, Robert Vincent, Amy Speace, Anthony Toner, and others.

Not only does Shorebound pull together Glover's favorite musical collaborators, it also culls his best life lessons. Where previous albums Atlantic and The Emigrant witnessed him searching for his place in the world, geographically and otherwise, Shorebound finds him more settled, within himself, his career, and his two hometowns of Glenarm, N.Ireland, and Nashville, Tennessee.

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categories / Folk Music, Singer-Songwriter
tags / Ben Glover, Shorebound, LCM New Releases 2018, May 2018

Dancing With The Beast - Gretchen Peters (18/05/18)

June 05, 2018  /  Gary Smith

Gretchen Peters - Dancing With The Beast.jpg
  • Artist: Gretchen Peters
  • Release Date: 18th May, 2018
  • Genre: Contemporary Folk, Singer-Songwriter
  • Record Label: Proper Records
  • Tracks: 11
  • Website:

Dancing with the Beast, the new album from Gretchen Peters, puts female characters at the fore, from teenage girls to old women. And intentionally so. With the 2017 Women's March and the #MeToo Movement as bookends to her writing time, Peters knew that a feminist perspective would be the critical core of the record. She admits, "You can trace the feminist DNA in my songwriting back to 'Independence Day' and probably before. The thing that 2017 did is just put it front and center." Though Peters doesn't consider herself a political writer, she is politically minded and, therefore, knew she had to address the 2016 election and all that has happened since... but in her own way.

There's a bittersweet beauty to the passing of time -- the changes it brings are just as often heartbreaking as they are heartwarming. The inevitable tension that arises from that sway is Gretchen Peters' most trusted muse. With melody supporting that melancholy, the songs on the new album combine to lift the effort over the high artistic bar set by her last outing, 2015's award-winning Blackbirds.

Whether a single sentence or a simple setting, once planted, even the tiniest seed can grow into a vision unto itself. Strung together and populated with strong and broken female heroines, those vignettes make up Dancing with the Beast and, indeed, Peters' entire discography.

Beauty tempered by dread, sorrow buoyed by hope, these are the ever-present tugs of war that make life worth living and songs worth writing. And they are the over-riding themes that make Gretchen Peters one of her generation's most compelling singer/songwriters.

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categories / Folk Music, Contemporary Folk, Singer-Songwriter
tags / Gretchen Peters, Dancing With The Beast, LCM New Releases 2018, May 2018

Pretty Warnings - Lucy Ward (15/06/18)

May 09, 2018  /  Gary Smith

Lucy Ward - Pretty Warnings.jpg

  • Artist: Lucy Ward

  • Release Date: 15th June, 2018

  • Genre: Folk

  • Record Label: Betty Beetroot

  • Tracks: 9

  • Website: www.lucywardsings.com

  • Review By: Gary Smith (LCM)

Pretty Warnings is the captivating fourth studio album from multi award winning Derbyshire singer-songwriter Lucy Ward. Rich with traditional folk and self penned original songs, this album explores matters of love, darkness, longing and joy. While Lucy’s previous albums dealt with larger more sweeping themes. With Lucy now married with a small child, Pretty Warnings seems more intimate and personal.

Lucy’s ability to inhabit the very heart of a song is bewitching and very beautiful. She is an excellent storyteller concerned with expressing truth and the exploring the human condition in all its facets. Lucy creates rich soundscapes, painting a vivid picture with her lyrics. The new album is an expressive collection of true stories and evocative imagery produced by the very talented Stu Hanna (Megson) & Stephen MacLachlan.

As well as innovative arrangements of traditional songs such as the ballad ‘Bill Norrie’, Lucy has delved into the folk tradition further to come up with beautiful retellings of traditional songs. ‘The Cruel Mother’ is the basis of her song Mari Fach (meaning ‘Sweet Mari’), the true story of a young welsh woman pregnant, unmarried and afraid. The archetypal rover becomes Lucy’s yearning ‘Silver Morning’, a wonderful taste of her originality. She has also addressed the recurring theme of the night visitor with the insistent ‘Cold Caller’. Pretty Warnings has a sublime quality, a real enchanting warmth runs through the album.

Lucy’s songwriting has evolved with a new richness born from her new life experiences and time away from both touring and the studio. Songs like ‘Sunshine Child’ and ‘The Sweetest Flowers’ being excellent examples.

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categories / Folk Music
tags / Lucy Ward, Pretty Warnings, LCM New Releases 2018, June 2018

Safe In The Arms Of Time - Rita Coolidge (04/04/18)

May 06, 2018  /  Gary Smith

Rita Coolidge - Safe In The Arms Of Time.jpg
  • Artist: Rita Coolidge
  • Release Date: 4th May, 2018
  • Genre: Folk, Singer-Songwriter
  • Record Label: Blue Élan Records LLC
  • Tracks: 12
  • Website: https://ritacoolidge.net

One of music’s most enduring voices and composers, Rita Coolidge returns to her roots with a stunning new album ‘Safe In The Arms Of Time’, released on May 4th on Blue Elan Records. Along with Rita this musical work of art features the songwriting talents of Graham Nash, Chris Stapleton, Stan Lynch, and Keb’ Mo’.

The album marks the two-time Grammy winner’s return to songwriting, drawing  inspiration for her new material as she often does, from her personal journey and what an epic journey it’s been!

“I’ve written so many songs assuming a role like an actor, but this time I got to write from experience,” says Coolidge, who co-wrote three of the album’s 12 wondrous cuts. “This is the best record I’ve ever done. I’m extremely proud of it.”

In many ways, 'Safe in the Arms of Time’ is both a reflection and a continuation of Rita's remarkable history, one that took flight during the heyday of the ‘70s L.A. music scene when she sang backup on Stephen Stills’ 'Love the One You’re With' and Eric Clapton’s 'After Midnight' (Astute music fans are also well aware of how she contributed the classic – and uncredited – piano coda to Derek & the Dominoes’ Layla) “The idea was making an album that had the same appeal of my early records, to make a roots record about my own roots,” Coolidge says.

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categories / Folk Music, Singer-Songwriter
tags / Rita Coolidge, Safe IN The Arms Of Time, LCM New Releases 2018, May 2018

Awake - Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage (11/05/18)

May 04, 2018  /  Gary Smith

Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage - Awake.jpg

  • Artist: Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage

  • Release Date: 11th May, 2018

  • Genre: Folk, Americana

  • Record Label: Sungrazing Records

  • Tracks: 11

  • Website: https://www.hannahbenmusic.com

  • Review By: Gary Smith (LCM)

Spellbinding UK folk duo release the follow up to acclaimed debut Before The Sun, included in numerous 2016 Albums of The Year lists including the fRoots Critics Poll. Joining back up with Toronto producer David Travers-Smith (Wailin Jennys, Madison Violet, Ruth Moody) the pair create exquisite transatlantic soundscapes on which to base their beguiling, intimate indie-folk duets. A duo who delve into the mysterious and often like to release music in line with the lunar calendar, their live show sees them huddled around a single microphone, drawing the audience in. And so it is with this magnetic album, where their own intensely moving songs flow seamlessly among reinvigorated traditional gems and the Guthrie/Bragg americana classic Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key. Alongside their own guitars, mountain dulcimer and dobro they are joined by an all-star cast from both sides of the big pond including double bass from Jon Thorne (Lamb, Scott Matthews), vocals from Oh Susanna, Jess Morgan and Gilmore & Roberts, percussion from Evan Carson (The Willows, Sam Kelly), pedal steel from Burke Carroll (Kathleen Edwards, Justin Rutledge) and Chris Coole on banjo.

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categories / Folk Music, Contemporary Folk, Americana Music
tags / Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage, Awake, LCM New Releases 2018, May 2018

Edgeland - Kim Richey (30/03/18)

April 21, 2018  /  Gary Smith

  • Artist: Kim Richie
  • Release Date: 30th March, 2018
  • Genre: Folk, Americana
  • Record Label: Yep Roc
  • Tracks: 12
  • Website:

Brand new Kim Richey studio album "Edgeland" Produced by Brad Jones. Since appearing on the Nashville music scene in the mid-90s, Kim Richey has been nominated for two Grammy awards, recorded seven studio albums, and collaborated with everyone from Trisha Yearwood to Jason Isbell. After a nearly five year hiatus, Richey returns with her eighth studio album Edgeland The term, "Edgeland," is defined as the lost zone between urban and rural environments, a concept which mimics Richey's constant fluctuation between the rigid genre definitions of country and Americana music. Richey naturally settles between the two, ignoring convention and instead allowing her own intuitive musical progression to shape her sound. On her latest record, Richey teamed up with producer Brad Jones at his studio Alex the Great Recording in Nashville during the summer of 2017. Following in the collaborative footsteps of her 2013 album, Thorn In My Heart, Richey brought in a few of her most talented friends to record Edgeland, filling the tracks with accompanying vocals and instrumental contributions that make for a pleasant surprise at every turn. The result is a 12-track collection of work showcasing both Richey's musical adaptability and knack for collaborative songwriting. Edgeland is Richey's second Yep Roc Records release. "Richey's doe-eyed, bittersweet approach perfectly captures the hurt and regret in her material…" - American Songwriter

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categories / Folk Music, Americana Music
tags / Kim Richey, Edgeland, LCM New Releases 2018, March 2018

Utopia & Wasteland - Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar (13/04/18)

April 13, 2018  /  Gary Smith

It could be their pull-no-punches songwriting. It could be Russell's remarkable voice and Algar's distinctive, fluid fiddle. It could be their inventive takes on traditional songs, their unseen empathy, infectious tune sets or the way they tackle topical issues. Whatever it is, Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar have got it, making a huge impact from the first moment they emerged on the UK folk scene.

Still only 24 and 22, Greg and Ciaran released their first album The Queen's Lover in 2012 and enjoyed a remarkable rise, landing the Young Folk Award at the 2013 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. In 2014, they found themselves at the Royal Albert Hall clinching the Horizon Award and in 2015 they were nominated for Best Duo.

Drawing on a range of influences, Russell and Algar released their second album The Call in 2014 and, in 2016, the acclaimed The Silent Majority. Now with solo albums under their belts and performances in other line-ups (Algar with Sam Kelly's The Lost Boys and Russell in The Transports and his own multi-artist protest song project Shake the Chains) they are back. Utopia and Wasteland marks another milestone in their short but exceptional career. Recorded at The Green Room Studio, Devon, producer Mark Tucker adds percussion, bass and backing vocals to Greg's unmistakable voice and acoustic guitar and Ciaran's fiddle, tenor banjo, electric tenor guitar, bodhran and vocals. 9 of the 11 tracks are originals, marking a bold departure from their largely traditional back catalog

Utopia And Wasteland
By Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar
Buy on Amazon
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categories / Folk Music, Contemporary Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Acoustic Music
tags / Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar, Utopia & Wasterland, LCM New Releases 2018, April 2018

Freedom Singer - Khari Wendall McClelland (27/04/18)

March 23, 2018  /  Gary Smith

  • Artist: Khari Wendall McClelland
  • Release Date:27th April, 2018
  • Genre: Folk, Americana, Gospel, Roots Music
  • Record Label: Afterlife Music
  • Tracks: 7
  • Website: http://www.khariwendellmcclelland.com/

A modern-day interpretation of songs that have accompanied Khari´s great-great-great grandmother, who escaped US slavery through The Underground Railroad into Canada in the mid 1800s.

Khari Wendell McClelland is set to release the "Freedom Singer" album on April 27th. A true celebration of black history, the album is a collection of rare and forgotten songs that McClelland interprets through the many styles and genres that helped to shape him. Using folk, gospel, country, hip hop and soul to reinvigorate these songs and build a bridge from the 1800's to the present. Khari Wendell McClelland is a diversely talented and everevolving artist. Originally from Detroit, Khari has become a darling on the Canadian music scene with reviewers lauding his performances as a clever mix of soul and gospel. Khari’s songwriting crosses genres and generations, joyfully invoking the spirit of his ancestors who straddled the US-Canadian border in efforts to escape slavery and discrimination. His music draws from this rich history, integrating the rhythms and folklore of early African-Americans with contemporary sounds and stories of struggle. Recently, Khari received critical acclaim for his "Freedom Singer" project, recreating the music fugitive slaves carried on their journey north into Canada.

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categories / Folk Music, Americana Music, Gospel, Roots Music
tags / Khari Wendall McCelland, Freedom Singer, LCM New Releases 2018, April 2018

Solo Duo Trio - Luke Jackson (09/02/18)

February 10, 2018  /  Gary Smith

Luke Jackson - SDT.jpg
  • Artist: Luke Jackson
  • Release Date: 9th February, 2018
  • Genre: Americana, Blues, Folk
  • Record Label: First Take Records
  • Tracks: 15
  • Website: http://www.lukepauljackson.com

Luke Jackson organised a show in his hometown of Canterbury and decided he would record the whole thing and release these recordings as a CD. The night included a solo, duo & trio sets showing the different sounds and contrasts of Luke's music and live performances. He took tracks from all his previous albums, breathing new life into old songs, others he has been performing every night for the last few years. It also includes a few tracks, that although may have been performed, never made it onto any records.

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categories / Americana Music, Blues Music, Singer-Songwriter, Folk Music
tags / Luke Jackson, Solo Duo Trio, LCM New Releases 2018, February 2018

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