Cerian releases her wonderful debut EP 'Caught In The Dark'

‘Caught in the Dark’ is the highly anticipated debut EP by London-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Cerian. Described as “the purest voice on radio” and tipped by Music Republic Magazine as one of their “ones to watch” in 2019, Cerian now releases her debut EP ‘Caught in the Dark’ - a series of songs written in the middle of the night. A lifelong insomniac, Cerian is almost completely nocturnal, and these profoundly personal songs have grown out of her struggle with both the literal and internal darkness felt in the isolation of the early hours of the morning, when she would stay awake writing until dawn. The intensity of these emotions can be heard in the powerful songs that grew out of this struggle.

Written just as she was trying to gain the confidence to share her own music with the world for the first time, the first track on the EP -’Wasteland’ - explores the feelings of loneliness and paralysing fear. Cerian explains: “In the dead of the night, terrifying existentialism takes over: seemingly frozen in time, you feel unable to traverse the space between where you are and where you want to be. The precipice of the unknown future is calling, but you don’t know if you’re going to fly or fall if you can find the courage to jump.” Building on the EP’s themes of time, light and dark, second track ‘Seasons’ is a haunting and ethereal ode to lost time and a first love, opening on five-part harmonies reminiscent of a vocoder, and a perpetual motion guitar part which underpins this uniquely dark piece of moving dream-pop.

The title track of the EP ‘Caught in the Dark’ is a darkly powerful song with a cinematic build showcasing Cerian's incredible range and vocal dexterity. Written at a time of personal darkness, this song explores the colours within that darkness and the search for light. Ending with a ray of hope in its last line “I felt the sunrise from a darkened cry”, fourth track ‘Our Love’ Is picks up from this point and represents the lightest moment on the EP, both thematically and sonically, as a celebration of love and light. ‘Our Love’ Is is a beautifully delicate, rousing and life-affirming acoustic pop song showcasing a duet of two perfectly matched voices singing of the triumph of their love. As with Wasteland, it was recorded with collaborator Robert Taira Wilson, and features Wilson’s intricate guitar playing intertwined with Cerian’s piano playing. The final track, ‘Carry Me Home’, is a beautifully poignant pop ballad, recorded live with just voice and piano. Inspired by the words “time hath overtaken me”, ‘Carry Me Home’ is an evocative reminder of the fleeting fragility of life.

This group of brooding songs are tinged by the mystery and beauty of the night, and this is echoed in Cerian’s innovative and atmospheric songwriting and production. Cerian brings together epic soundscapes of vocal harmonies, harp, piano, orchestral drums and electric guitar, featuring a cinematic palette which may be likened to London Grammar and Active Child. Lyrically, Cerian draws inspiration from literature and poetry to craft her own vivid and poetic lyrics which make every song a compelling story. Her combination of crystalline vocals and heartfelt delivery take the listener on a raw and honest journey which is a triumph of dark ethereal indie folk-pop.

Further to writing and producing all the songs on this EP, Cerian has also created all the art, paintings and visuals that accompany it. Each song is represented by a colour, and the EP journeys through the different colours sought and found in the search for light. The EP image is a photo with a projection of one of Cerian’s paintings encompassing every colour in that journey.

Cerian has sung with an impressive array of artists, including U2, Radiohead, Sam Smith, Thom Yorke, Imogen Heap, Neneh Cherry, Tom Chaplin, Nakhane, Charlotte Church, Laura Mvula and Amber Run. Once she began performing her own work as a solo artist, her vocal dexterity and range - combined with emotive and truthful songwriting - quickly resulted in comparisons to Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush. Her first four singles have garnered glowing reviews, BBC Introducing support and extensive radio play and Cerian has quickly gained a reputation as a captivating live performer from appearances at Glastonbury Festival, Bush Hall and two sold-out headline shows at The National Portrait Gallery.

Cerian is celebrating the EP launch with a live-stream from her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/cerianmusic) on Saturday 4th April at 7pm, in place of the gig which was originally planned. Everyone is welcome to watch for free!

You can listen or purchase a copy of Cerian’s new EP from the links below >>>

https://smarturl.it/caughtinthedarkep?fbclid=IwAR0UyZvTPdNl-5GNp9hzaa_l0c3w1WLPhanp9xd52VrJHMR67ZIZxxAwBfk

"Absolutely wonderful.” - BBC Introducing

“Gorgeous.. fantastic.. quite sensational.. the purest voice on radio." - Justine Greene (BBC Radio)

“Nothing short of stunning.” - Paul Sexton (Journalist, BBC)

“A range to her voice that angels dream of.” - BBC London

“Cerian has that rare type of compelling vocal that effortlessly captures its listener's attention with its extraordinary range and purity.” - When the Horn Blows

The AMA UK announces award nominees for 2020

On a wonderful night in Islington yesterday Mary Gauthier and Baylen Leonard announced the nominations for the AMA UK awards for 2020. The theme of the event for 2020 is ‘Collaborate and Cross-Pollinate’, reflecting how Americana artists work together across different genres and art forms.

With an excellent series of conferences and showcases planned in Hackney, the event culminates on January 30th with the AMA UK awards show at the art deco Troxy in Limehouse, East London.

The special awards for 2020 are:-

• Lifetime Achievement Award - Joan Armatrading

• Legend Award - Lonnie Donegan

• Trailblazer Award - Nick Lowe

• Grassroots Award: Mark Whitfield - Americana-UK.Com

• Emerging Artist Award: Ferris & Sylvester

UK Instrumentalist Of The Year

• Ben Smith

• Jim Maving

• Sian Monaghan

• Will Page

UK Song Of The Year

• Little Piece Of Heaven - Elles Bailey

• The Fire - Jamie Freeman

• Hear Your Voice - Danni Nicholls

• Amy - Roseanne Reid

UK Album Of The Year

• Here There’s No Sirens - Pete Gow

• Chasing Lights - Ida Mae

• Bleeding On The Soundtrack - William The Conqueror

• Walk Through Fire - Yola

UK Artist Of The Year

• Jade Bird

• Bear’s Den

• Frank Turner

• Yola

International Song Of The Year

• Turn Off The News (Build A Garden) - Lukas Nelson & The Promise Of The Real

• Letter To Madeline - Ian Noe

• Saying Goodbye - J S Ondara

• Me and The Ghost Of Charlemagne - Amy Spence

International Album Of The Year

• Undress - Felice Brothers

• Highwomen - Highwomen

• Songs Of Our Native Daughters - Our Native Daughters

• Mint Condition - Caroline Spence

International Artist Of The Year

• Brandi Carlile

• The Dead South

• Larkin Poe

• Marvis Staples

The 2020 AMA UK conference starts on January 28th at the Hackney Picture House. The keynote speaker this year is Joan Armatrading. On the evenings of January 28th and 29th, 75 artists from the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and Europe will showcase across eight Hackey venues. This will include showcases hosted by Yep Rock (Canada), Canada House (Canada) and House Of Songs (USA). The line-up is excellent this year and reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the Americana world. Personal highlights include Blue Rose Code, Danni Nicholls, Ferris and Sylvester, Irish Mythen, Kyshona, Matin Harley, Rob Vincent, Roseanne Reid, Stephen Fearing, Worry Dolls and The Secret Sisters.

January 27th also features an extra special charity kick-off event at OSLO celebrating the meeting of Texan roots rocker Joe Ely with London punks The Clash. ‘Americana Clash’. It will also celebrate 40 years since the release on the iconic Clash album ‘London Calling’. Guests include Frank Turner, Grace Petrie and Danny Champ.

Tickets to all events are available through the AMA UK website >>>

https://theamauk.org

Emily Mae Winters to release brand new second album 'High Romance'

The multi-award wining Cambridge based singer-songwriter Emily Mae Winters is releasing her brand new second album ‘High Romance’ through Pledge Music…and she needs your help and support.

For the release Emily has also been supported by the PRS Emerging Artist Fund in association with Pledge Music as well as through EFDSS (English Folk Song and Dance Society) Creative Seed Funding.

The new album will be recorded this December at London’s Urchin Studios with award winning producer Matt Ingram (Florence and the Machine, Laura Marling, Rae Morris, Lianne La Havas, Lewis & Leigh, Benjamin Francis Leftwich).

The album pre-sales and other exclusives can be found at Emily’s Pledge page at the link below.

Emily will also be on a UK album pre-release tour. Catch her if you can.

https://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/high-romance

Photo credit: Elly Lucas

Saskia GM to make new album with an undiscovered collective of Scottish musicians

Saskia Griffith Moore has just announced a Kickstarter campaign and pre-order for her new Scottish themed album. Ssakia will be working in Scotland with an undiscovered collective of Scottish musicians. It's one everyone here at LCM HQ is very interested in hearing when it is completed.

All the details and introduction video are in the links below for you

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/musicsongsoul/saskias-scottish-album

The excellent The London Roots Festival grows bigger and better for 2018

The London Roots Festival 24th October - 18th November (formerly The London Folk & Roots Festival) is now in it’s fifth year. It’s grown from doing 6 shows in the first year to 32 in 2017 year across various size venues such as The Palladium, Bush Hall, Union Chapel, Shepherds Bush Empire, Oslo and many more.  Growing from strength to strength each year, 2018 promises to be bigger and better than ever.

This year's great line-up includes:-

• Tom Baxter
• Blind Boys Of Alabama
• Joshua Burnside
• Callaghan
• Bruce Cockburn
• Fisherman's Friends
• Finbar Furey
• Jake Morrell
• Lindisfarne
• Over The Rhine
• Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys
• John Smith
• Sound Of The Sirens
• Trampled By Turtles
• Robert Vincent

In 2014 David Messer having promoted roots music for a number of years through DMP UK, decided to start a festival to give a platform for new and up and coming artists to play with known and established artists and to bring the best in roots music to London under one banner. So he teamed up with his friends at National Promotion company Kilimanjaro Live and created the The London Folk & Roots Festival, a multi venue event over two weeks in Oct/Nov.

It’s grown from doing 6 shows in the first year to 32 last year across various size venues such as The Palladium, Bush Hall, Union Chapel, Shepherds Bush Empire, Oslo and many more.

They have changed the name this year as they feel that folk comes under roots and they have an eclectic mix of folk, country, Americana, blues, singer songwriters and world music. We are very pleased here at LCM that this festival, is becoming a great part of London’s musical calendar.

If you are interesting in playing at the festival please send your info to david@dmpuk.com.

https://www.seetickets.com/tour/the-london-roots-festival

The excellent Music Makers Festival in London on October 6th and 7th announces artist line-up

The excellent Music Makers weekend festival set for the 6th & 7th October in the wonderful Half Moon in Putney, has just announced it's artist line up and stage times. This is a super London festival, if you haven't already discovered it before. It's organised and curated by Albert Mann and Manoja Ullmann. The full review of last years event is included for you on our LCM website.

This years line-up includes long term LCM favourites Danni Nicholls, Two Ways Home, Michele Stodart and Albert Mann and his band. As well as Hope, Jack O'Rouke, Jacko Hooper, Treetop Flyers, Aka George, Lucy May Walker, Declan Greene, Mide, Howard Rose and Kim Hayden.

Limited 'Early bird' full weekend passes are very reasonably priced at £20. All available tickets options including day tickets are included in the link below for you.

http://www.musicmakersfestival.com/tickets/

New Release: The Undercover EP - Maz O'Connor

One of our favourite London based singer-songwriter Maz O'Connor is set to release a collection of cover songs in a very special limited edition EP entitled 'The Undercover'.  This seven track extended EP will be available exclusively from Maz on her upcoming UK tour days.

Tickets are available from this link and all the dates are below for you

http://showsnear.by/mazjacktour

Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith to release 3rd studio album

We are delight to announce that our friends Sid & Jimmy are set to produce and release a new help. But they need your help. After 7 years of developing and playing their own brand of folk music Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith are set to produce their 3rd studio album  ‘Many a Thousand‘.

They have have been busy writing, collecting, arranging and recording for a while now and recently enlisted the help of some incredible musicians to play on the album. This was such a success that they are planning to take the whole band on tour with them when they launch the album through September and October.

Jimmy & Sid’s last album ‘Night Hours’ was widely acclaimed, particularly the duo’s ability to discuss topical subject matter. This third album develops this strength further while showing their respect for the traditional material that inspires their music

“To be a great folk singer, you have to be a great storyteller, as Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith are clearly aware. The duo are both fine singers and multi-instrumentalists.” The Guardian

Jimmy & Sid are self releasing this album which means they need to pay for all the recording/production/administration costs upfront. To help recoup some of this money they are running a crowdfunding campaign where you can pre-order the new album and receive it weeks before the release date. There are a whole load of other rewards available for your support including your very own house concert. 

Jimmy and Sid will be on tour this summer and you can catch them at Bude Folk Festival, Chester Folk Festival, Fire in the Mountain, Ely Folk Festival, Warwick Folk Festival, and Fieldview Festival. They are then launching their album with a major UK tour, kicking off on 6 September at Kings Place, London. The album, Many a Thousand, is released 6 September.

Tour Dates

• 6 Sept  LONDON   King’s Place
• 7 Sept  BRIGHTON  TOY & MODEL MUSEUM
• 8 Sept  WINCHESTER HYDE TAVERN
• 9 Sept  BATH  CHAPEL ARTS CENTRE
• 13 September  STROUD Prince Albert
• 14 Sept  RUGBY  Sheep Dip House Concerts
• 15 Sept  WHITCHURCH  Talbot Theatre
• 16 Sept  LEEDS  Live at All Hallows
• 18 Sept  GLASGOW  The Glad Café
• 19 Sept  EDINBURGH House Concert
• 20 Sept  LANCASTER The Storey
• 22 Sept  CHARD  Chaffcombe Village Hall
• 23 Sept  BARNSTAPLE  St Anne’s Arts Centre
• 28 Sept WINGFIELD  Wingfield Barns
• 29 Sept  MILTON KEYNES  The Stables Theatre
• 30 Sept  BRISTOL  Bristol Folk House
• 02 Oct  BIRMINGHAM  Kitchen Garden Café
• 03 Oct  COTTINGHAM Cottingham Live
• 04 Oct  SHEFFIELD  Live at Sam’s
• 13 Oct  DERBY  Village Folk
• 17 OCT  PONTYCLUN  Llantrisant Folk Club
• 20 OCT  CHEPSTOW  Brockweir Events
• 26 Oct  NARBETH Span Ar
• 09 NOV  WOODBRIDGE Blaxhall Village Hall
• 14 NOV  ELY  Ely Folk Club
• 22 NOV LONDON Illuminate Rotherhithe
• 24 NOV COOKHAM, BERKS Holy Trinity Church

You can support their crowdfunding campaign here :

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jimmy-aldridge-sid-goldsmith-new-album-band#/

For more details visit http://www.jimmyandsidduo.com/

Excellent Americana/Folk harmony duo O&O to release new single 'Tears In The Rain' on May 25th

London-based Americana/folk duo O&O, one of the highlights among C2C Festival's homegrown acts earlier this year, have confirmed the May 25th 2018 release of their latest single 'Tears In The Rain' along with a run of UK festival appearances throughout the summer including Black Deer, Buckle & Boots, and Cambridge Folk Festival. In their own words: “We wrote this song after being away from each other for a few weeks while visiting our respective home countries. ‘Tears In The Rain’ started as a song about missing someone you love but developed into a darker theme about being in a state of denial after being left in a relationship. The evening we returned to London, Obadiah was noodling on an acoustic guitar and started playing the intro, which instantly conjured a melancholic mood and reminded us of Leonard Cohen. As we put the song together, we drew on influences from 70s Country and Rock bands like America and The Eagles.” Catch the duo live at the following dates, with more to follow later in the summer:

• 13 May - World's End, Finsbury Park
• 20 May - Wood Festival, Oxfordshire
• 23 June - Buckle & Boots Festival, Manchester
• 24 June - Black Deer Festival, Kent
• 18 July - Sofar Sounds, Liverpool
• 5 August - Cambridge Folk Festival

O&O are comprised of Colorado-native, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Obadiah Jones, and Israeli vocalist, Orian Peled. “The shared dream of a career in music led us both halfway across the world to the classrooms of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), where we met for the first time.” While performing together in various projects during their three-year course, O&O established their deep connection as a songwriting partnership and were awarded the unique opportunity of a one-on-one songwriting session with Sir Paul.

“Upon graduating and with student visa expiration dates looming, we knew there would be no country where we could both live and work together,” Obadiah recalls. Determined to overcome the bureaucracy, they found an unlikely solution – to live and perform on cruise ships. A six-month stint in the Caribbean ultimately led them on a two-year journey, performing for thousands, honing their distinct sound and learning their craft, while touring far reaching parts of the world, from Alaska to the Greek Isles.

This long and winding road led the truly international act to their current home, London, where they hope to become a mainstay in the fast-growing Country and Americana music scene in the UK. Although relatively new to the London scene, O&O have already made their presence felt on the local live music circuit over the last twelve months, with support slots for artists incuding Australian Music Award nominees, the Germein Sisters, and a number of club and festival appearances. Their live show features the duo's distinctive, close-harmony sound with an Americana flare - Fleetwood Mac meets The Civil Wars.

Their self-released debut single ‘Traveling’ - with the “perfect harmonies” praised by sites such as The Daily Country and Building Our Own Nashville, showed all the signs of early success, with support across the British music scene, while proceeds from the single and donations raised during a series of pop-up concerts in collaboration with Busk In London and Network Rail went towards raising awareness of national charity Youth Music and its music-making projects for children and young people experiencing challenging circumstances. More recently, the duo were one of the highlights of this year’s Country to Country festival at the O2 Arena, with W21 Music describing their “lovely harmonies”; and one of a handful of acts chosen to record an exclusive Under The Apple Tree acoustic session at the event, aired in a special edition of the show on Chris Country Radio.

Following the release of previous single 'Some Days' in January, O&O’s new track ‘Tears In The Rain' comes out May 25th 2018, and the duo are set to appear at a number of major UK festivals throughout the summer.

Lucy Ward to release her excellent fourth album 'Pretty Warnings' on 15th June + UK Tour

Pretty Warnings is the captivating fourth studio album from Lucy Ward. Rich with tradition and exquisitely penned original songs, this album weaves it’s way effortlessly through matters of love, darkness, longing and joy. It confirms what we already knew – that Ward’s unique ability to inhabit the very heart of a song is bewitching, beguiling and beautiful. Ward is a story teller at heart, concerned with expressing truth and the human condition. She can paint a picture with her words and this album is an expressive collection of true stories and evocative imagery. As well as innovative arrangements of traditional songs such as the ballad Bill Norrie, Ward has delved into the tradition to come up with beautiful retellings of traditional forms. The Cruel Mother is re-spun in her song Mari Fach (meaning Sweet Mari), the true story of a young welsh woman pregnant, unmarried and afraid. The archetypal rover becomes Ward’s yearning Silver Morning, a taste of her inimitable nu-folk originality. She has also addressed the recurring theme of the night visitor with the insistent Cold Caller. Pretty Warnings has a sublime quality; an enchanting warmth that runs through it. It feels as though Ward’s song writing has evolved with a richness born from her experience and time away from the studio; songs like Sunhine Child and The Sweetest Flowers being prime examples of her exquisite skill in their quiet and involving beauty. Lucy Ward will be touring Pretty Warnings throughout 2018. For more information and tickets head to www.lucywardsings.com Produced by Stu Hanna & Stephen MacLachlan

Rita Coolidge releases great new album Safe In The Arms Of Time + London residency

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.

And so it was only fitting that Rita and producer Ross Hogarth, along with an all-star lineup of top musicians – guitarist Dave Grissom, bassist Bob Glaub, keyboardist John “J.T.” Thomas, and drummer Brian MacLeod – assembled at L.A.’s Sunset Sound, the famed recording studio where she recorded her first solo albums on A&M Records 30 years ago. “Going back to Sunset Sound was taking a journey into the past – there was a memory down every hallway,” Rita says.

Along with nostalgia, there was a hopeful eye toward the future, beautifully rendered on 'You Can Fall in Love' which Rita wrote with former Tom Petty drummer Stan Lynch and Joe Hutto. The track explores reconnecting with an old flame, and it embodies one of the album’s paramount themes: It’s never too late. “People need to have an awakening that you can fall in love at any age and it will feel right, like you’re 15,” Rita says. “I really wanted to have that message come across on the record.”

Rita wrote two of the album’s standout cuts – the sparky blues number 'Naked All Night' and the smooth-soul gem 'Walking on Water' – with Grammy-winning blues star Keb’ Mo’ and singer-songwriter Jill Colucci in Nashville. Trading vocals with Keb’ Mo’ on 'Walking on Water' was a thrill for Rita who enthuses, “I literally have every Keb’ Mo’ CD. I’ve been a fan for decades”

'Safe in the Arms of Time' also gave Rita the chance to reunite with one of her real-life past flames, one who has remained a cherished friend, Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills & Nash)  Nash and drumming legend Russ Kunkel had offered Coolidge their smoky blues rocker Doing Fine Without You two years before she began recording. When she and Hogarth started the project, it would be one of the first songs they picked.

The ‘Delta Lady’ (as she is known amongst friends and fans) has captivated audiences during her astonishing 50-year career, selling millions of copies of signature hits such as 'We’re All Alone', 'The Way You Do the Things You Do', 'All Time High' and '(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher'. Her eight-year relationship with former husband Kris Kristofferson yielded three top-selling albums (including the No. 1 hit Full Moon) and multiple Grammy Awards.

'Safe in the Arms of Time' marks the first new music Rita has recorded since the tragic death in 2015 of her beloved sister Priscilla, a recording artist and member of Walela, the Native American trio she and Coolidge founded with Priscilla’s daughter, Laura Satterfield. The recording of the album also coincided with Rita's relocation from Southern California to a new life in Tallahassee, where in the 1960s, as an art major at Florida State University, she discovered her true calling as a musician and never looked back. 

With 'Safe in the Arms of Time', Rita's musical journey from the hills of rural Tennessee to the recording studios of Los Angeles and concert stages around the world comes full circle. She predicted such an odyssey with stunning prescience in her memoir, writing, “Sometimes the path is surrounded by rainbows, and sometimes it's buried in the mud. I’m still here and I still have a lot of gratitude for the whole process of being able to make music.”

'Safe in the Arms of Time' will be released on multiple formats (including a three-sided white vinyl collector’s edition with a special silkscreen on the fourth side) on May 4th via Blue Élan Records. In March, Rita will debut select songs from 'Safe in the Arms of Time' at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, and she’ll celebrate the album with a very special record release performance at L.A.’s historic Troubadour nightclub on April 30, before heading to the UK for a 4 night residency at The Boisdale Club, London from 14th – 17th May.  Ticket information via:  http://www.boisdale.co.uk

Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage to release new album 'Awake'

We are thrilled to announce that Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage are set to release a great new album entitled 'Awake'. They are running an album pre-sale and they are currently in touching distance of their target. The campaign ends at the end of the month. If you would like an advanced copy of the new album or other exclusive goodies the link is below for you.

 
'AWAKE' is going to be everything you have come to expect from our music – resonant, crafted, a thing of rare distinction. We truly believe this is our best work yet and we are making something quite special for you. 

The distinguished award winning Producer/Engineer David Travers-Smith (who worked with us on Before The Sun) leapt at the chance to produce us again. And to add colour to our duets, we have the best musicians from both sides of the Atlantic giving the album a real transatlantic feel – double bass, pedal steel and some gorgeous vocals. 

This level of production scale and artistry is a relative rarity at a time where album recordings are made cheaply in kitchens and bedrooms but we truly believe that this craft and skill shape the kind of music we make. We strive to make something unique and beautiful that moves you! 

In the spirit of this artistry, we have collaborated with renowned psychedelic artist Alan Forbes to design our album art (below), and photographer Rosie Hardy has taken the images to accompany the album.

Hannah & Ben

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)

View fullsize

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

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.

CC Smugglers announce new single and UK Tour

Following the success of their single ‘Rhythm’, which made BBC Radio 2’s playlist, along with live sessions on the station and BBC 6 Music, and an incredible couple of years on the live scene - with sold-out headline shows across the UK and Europe, festival appearances including a headline set on Latitude Festival’s BBC Introducing Stage, and opening for the likes of Old Crow Medicine Show, Bruce Springsteen and Ward Thomas, among others - CC Smugglers have released their brand new single ‘Dirty Money’ to stream and download worldwide. The band have also announced a UK tour in October/November 2017:

• 18/10  Sticky Mikes Frog Bar, Brighton
• 19/10Junction 1, Cambridge
• 20/10  Club 85, Hitchin
• 21/10  Esquires, Bedford
• 25/10  The Crescent, York
• 26/10  Zephyr Lounge, Lemington Spa
• 28/10  Union Chapel (w/Keston Cobblers Club), London
• 29/10  Waterfront Studio, Norwich
• 2/11    Gullivers, Manchester
• 3/11    Old Market Assembly, Bristol
• 4/11    The Cookie, Leicester
• 6/11    The Bullingdon, Oxford
• 8/11    Bodega, Nottingham
• 9/11    Hug & Pint, Glasgow          
• 10/11  Sneaky Petes, Edinburgh
• 11/11 Bogbain, Inverness

Tickets onsale Wednesday 21st June at 9am. Support from All Our Exes Live In Texas (Aus) on all dates except London & Scotland.

In the words of lead vocalist & songwriter Richie Prynne: “[Dirty Money] is about remembering that even though in today’s consumer-driven world, it’s easy to think that having enough money will make you happy. Happiness is a state of mind, not a collection of possessions or a certain number in your bank account.

As touring musicians trying to make a name for ourselves this is very competitive and demanding industry, it is important to remember. Someone recently said to me “Richie, why the hell are you writing songs like this, we badly need some more money.” My response is, yes a business needs capital, but if I really needed money, I would probably go and get a job that paid lots.

Happiness goes way deeper than business capital and I think it’s good to remind ourselves. This song is us reminding ourselves.”

Early live session and interview by Bob Dylan (1961)

An excellent very early live session and interview from Bob Dylan on Oscar Brant's Folk Song Festival recorded in 1961. Bob must have been around 20 years old at the time of the recording. Find out about Bob's early influences and his early life with travelling carnivals.

He was in the studio to promote his first public concert.

Very early live Joni Mitchell compilation from 1965 and 1966 (Let's Sing Out)

From 1963 to 1967, folk singer Oscar Brand hosted “Let’s Sing Out” on Canadian television. Filmed on university campuses across Canada, the show launched the careers of important folk singers — singers like Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell, to name just a few. During this compilation above, all shot in black and white, you can watch Joni Mitchell’s career come into bloom. In the first clip, recorded at The University of Manitoba in 1965, Joni Anderson — as she was named before her marriage to Chuck Mitchell in ’66 — sings “Born To Take The Highway.” On the same episode, Dave Van Ronk appeared along with The Chapins (Harry included). Now scroll to the 15 minute mark, and we find Joni in 1966, taking on a different look and a different last name and performing for students at Laurentian University. The next year, the Canadian singer-songwriter moved to New York, then onto LA where, with the help of David Crosby, her career got off the ground. 

Very exciting news as Kat Gilmore joins the 5* supergroup The Willows

One of our favourite award winning Cambridge based bands have this morning announced a very exciting new member, the very talented  Katriona Gilmore (of Gilmore & Roberts, The Albion Band) http://www.gilmoreroberts.co.uk/

Kat has been working extremely hard over the past few weeks learning the songs and The Willows are all set to debut their new line up this Saturday at the Spring Arts Centre in Havant.

This 5* Folk and Americana #Supergroup is definitely one to watch this year with their new 'all star' line-up. Catch them if you can on UK tour or at a festival near you.

Tickets are still available here: 
http://thespring.co.uk/whats-on/music/the-willows/