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Brian Fallon walks on stage full of smiles with his band The Howling Weather, which features the familiar face of Ian Perkins, and they quickly burst into ‘A Wonderful Life’. After the song someone within the crowd responds by shouting “where is the checked shirt Brian” to which he responds with how he brought the polka dot shirt out especially for Manchester, one of the many exclusive treats he has up his sleeve for us. Next up on the setlist is the catchy ‘Rosemary’ and one of the brand new songs ‘Forget Me Not’ which goes down a treat. |
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Having seen the tour de force of Trembling Bells backing The Incredible String Band’s Mike Heron back in January and then hearing their newest material aired on Radio 6, I couldn’t resist a return visit to Preston’s Continental to see them perform in their own right. Trembling Bells have an eclectic musical palette. They’ve developed rapidly from their folky roots and they mix musical genres like no other band. What’s more, they are really exciting live performers. |
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Martin Carthy and his daughter, Eliza Carthy, are folk royalty. They are known for their long and successful solo careers, as members of family band Waterson:Carthy (with mother Norma Waterson) and as members of 'world-folk' ensemble, The Imagined Village. But while father and daughter have frequently worked together they have never previously made an album as a duo. |
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Martin Carthy and his daughter, Eliza Carthy, are folk royalty. They are known for their long and successful solo careers, as members of family band Waterson:Carthy (with mother Norma Waterson) and as members of 'world-folk' ensemble, The Imagined Village. But while father and daughter have frequently worked together they have never previously made an album as a duo. |
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At last, after a gestation period that makes the average Elephant birth seem a tad premature (apparently it takes around 2 years between getting jiggy and wetting the baby’s trunk...who’d be a lady elephant eh?) this year will finally see the release of Goodnight Lenin’s debut album. Definitely. 100%. No question at all. Hurrah! To prove they can deliver the goods against the clock a few weeks back they set themselves the challenge of recording, mixing and mastering a single for Record Store Day in just one mammoth 24 hour session. The resulting recording, just 24 copies of which have been pressed, will be sold on Record Store day itself, this Saturday 19th April (hence the timing of this gig I guess). |
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Summer is upon us and music festivals abound. These days there’s no shortage of such events to choose from and Shrewsbury Folk Festival is an excellent way to spend the Bank Holiday weekend. |
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Two genuine 100% guitar legends for the price of the one. Not bad eh? Whilst Thurston Moore, one of the poster boys of the alt rock scene and founder of Sonic Youth, might be the bigger name of the two Chapman’s been a folk hero for coming up to six decades now with none other than the mighty John Peel muttering his praises and playing his records (no doubt occasionally at the wrong speed) over the years. So what do you get when you bring a 70 something folk/jazz musician from Yorkshire together with an American noise rock icon? We had to wait until the end of the gig to find out... |
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It's not often that you're more excited about the support act than the main event when you attend a gig - especially when it is to see the flavour of the moment Ben Howard - but that's exactly how I felt as we made our way to a sodden O2 along with a multitude of other gig goers all anticipating a cracking night of folk/pop fusion with Messrs’ Ben Howard and America’s little known Willy Mason. |