Rhiannon Giddens@ Vicar Street 25th November 2017

Those of us lucky enough to have attended Rhiannon Giddens (above) sold out show at Whelan’s in early April of this year will no doubt recall her pledge to return to play Dublin again in 2017. True to her word she’s back in town this evening at an equally crammed Vicar Street, a further endorsement of the pulling power of the exceptionally talented Giddens and the outstanding band of musicians that travel with her. 

Very much part of her entourage at present is support act Kaia Kater (below), the 22-year-old Canadian virtuoso who studied banjo under the guidance of Rhiannon Giddens. Her set is both technically brilliant but also an indication of the distinction that Kater possesses as a songwriter in her own right. With two albums already under her belt the highlight of her set is the title track from her most recent release Nine Pin. "This is my first time in Ireland and I can’t understand a word anyone is saying but wow you are livelier than the English crowds" she jokes opening her set. Her impressive appearance will no doubt boost sales for her appearance at The Temple Bar Trad Festival in January 2018.

Freedom Highway, released by Rhiannon Giddens earlier this year, is without doubt one of the most politically charged albums of the year, tackling issues such as racism and immigration head on and while there is much pent up anger on the album, Giddens, in the live environment, delivers the material in a non-judgemental yet questioning manner. Early in the set and by way of introducing the albums most powerful song At The Purchasers Option, she speaks openly ("my biggest teacher is history") yet not overly hypercritically about slavery and the motivation for much of the album’s material, bemoaning the fact that ‘there’s still so much negative stuff out there at the moment’.

Capturing the essence of immigration in one sentence "Nobody leaves home without a good reason,"she proceeds to deliver a beautiful acapella style version of Coolings traditional Jazzmen’s classic blues lament Pretty Saro, aided by her sister Lalenja on backing vocals.

Despite the often-depressing topics featured in the core material the night is all about celebration rather than woe. "I’ve been coming to Ireland for ten years now and it’s the first time I’ve played this beautiful venue, don’t get me wrong though, I also love Whelan’s," Giddens adds, before reminding the audience, with a few words of Irish, that her two children attend Gael Scoil in Limerick.

It may only be less than eight months from her last Dublin gig but the setlist is refreshingly varied, having kicked off in fine style with Ola Belle Reed’s Going To Write Me A Letter she ups the tempo even higher with a melody of Fiddle Tune/Pateroller and Black Annie.

Similar to her Whelan’s show her band consist of Carolina Chocolate Drop colleague Hubby Jenkins (guitar, mandolin, banjo and bones), Jason Sypher (bass), James Dick (drums) and the albums co-producer and multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell. An additional two musicians are on stage this evening, a trumpet player and her sister Lalenja as backing vocalist. The family connection is further enhanced when she is joined on stage by her nephew Justin Harrington for the rap chorus on the gangland killing themed song Better Get It Right The First Time from the current album, establishing that rap actually can be sympathetic to folk and blues music.

A classic delivery of Waterboy follows, the traditional song immortalised by singer and human rights activist Odetta, now owned by Giddens whose striking vocal range is on full display before delivering another well-chosen cover Underneath The Harlem Moon written by the pianist and 40’s swing artist Bob Howard. She introduces Come Love Come as her platform to ‘give a voice to the voiceless’ before finishing the main set with a rousing Freedom Highway.

Back on stage for her encore she admits to be about to deviate from her setlist by having to ‘throw one in for my Irish friends’ and lets loose with the lively Gael/Scot instrumental S’iomadh Rud Tha Dhiath Orm before ending what has been an exhilarating nights entertainment and sending the house into raptures with Lonesome Road and Up Above My Head.

A different venue, different setlist and some additional personnel from her show earlier in the year in Whelan’s but the same result. Magnificent!

Review by Declan Culliton  Photography by Ronnie Norton

Take Root Festival @ Groningen, Netherlands - 4th November 2017

Groningen is the largest city in The Netherlands located north of Amsterdam and easily accessible from the airport by train, a journey which takes approximately two hours. Take Root Festival celebrated its twentieth anniversary this year and they certainly pulled out all the stops with a line-up that featured twenty acts appearing on five stages inside the most impressive De Oosterpoort complex.

The festival kicked off at 4pm and finished at 12am and to the credit of the organisers there were no hiccups with each act starting on time and the sound and lighting quality being of the highest quality at each venue. Unfortunately, with the number of acts performing -often three acts were on stage at the same time - hard choices have to be made in deciding which shows to attend, taking into consideration that if you get upfront at any particular set you are likely to be at the back of the following show, given that three thousand punters had purchased a ticket for the sold-out festival.

Lonesome Highway decided to take in full shows of six acts, including the three acts that were staged in the Grote Zaal, a spectacular theatre with tiered seating surrounding a large standing area. The three bands in question were Hurrah For The Riff Raff, Margo Price and Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit. The three other acts we caught on other stages were The Americans, Chuck Prophet and Jesse Dayton.

‘We’re American, but we come in peace’, announces Alynda Segarra as she takes the main stage with her band Hurrah For The Riff Raff.  Segarra and her colleagues are a totally different act both musically and in personnel from the band that played The Kilkenny Roots Festival in 2013. Back then the focus was on Segerra and her side man and fiddle player Yosi Perlstein, with a sound that was a blend of folk with loose country trimmings. Their latest album The Navigator and to a lesser degree 2014's Small Town Heroes took a different direction, hard edged, politically charged and the work of an artist growing into herself and finding her sweet spot. Gone is the diminutive and shy young lady to be replaced by a fiery, super confident artist taking full advantage of her opportunity to play the largest stage at the festival. Her stage presence and delivery are simply wonderful, prowling around the stage, shaking hips, theatrical facial expressions – reminiscent of a young P.J. Harvey - and powerful vocals backed by an equally impressive razor-sharp band. Understandably the setlist in the main featured material from The Navigator, a compelling concept album that finds Segarra reconnecting with her Puerto Rican roots and her early years as a young girl growing up in Brooklyn. It's a passionate and political body of work that acts out even better live than on the excellent album, the material taking on an even more weighty delivery.  Life to Save, Just The Way, Hungry Ghost all feature together with super charged versions of Living In The City and Palante before closing with a pumped up delivery Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark.

Margo Price's is currently being hailed as everything from the saviour of country music to the next Janis Joplin and despite the considerable pressure on her shoulders her performances suggest that she is taking it all in her stride. Taking the stage in a racy costume of shorts with a flowing dress to match and with her trusted five-piece band her set concentrates in the main on her current album American Made with Nowhere Fast, Weakness and A Little Pain all played in quick succession. Matching Alynda Segerra’s earlier performance, she is equally impressive both vocally and works every corner of the stage (and jumps off stage to sing among the audience towards the end of her set), belting out favourites Hands of Time and Hurtin' On The Bottle from her debut album together with Kris Kristofferson’s Me & Bobby Mc Gee.  

Having witnessed Jason Isbell's magical performance in Dublin a week previously it was worth sacrificing some of the other impressive acts on the line up to catch his set once more. He repeated that performance again this evening with his 400 Unit presenting a slightly varied set given his allocated time slot, a shorter set than his Dublin show. Opening with Anxiety and closing with If We Were Vampires his performance was equally well received as the Dublin show with 24 Frames, Cumberland Gap, Cover Me Up and a killer delivery of his Drive By Truckers classic Never Gonna Change all crowd pleasers.

Jesse Dayton also played a blinding set in Dublin last week - to a very small audience it has to be said. Not so this evening where he had the punters in the main foyer venue dancing and rocking from start to finish with a show featuring practically the entire The Revealer album, with lots of anecdotes and tales including the George Jones show that never happened when, as a young boy, he tagged along with his father for one of Jones’s legendary no shows. However, better fortune was to land at his door many years later, striking gold in fact, when film director Rob Zombie commissioned him to write the soundtrack for the film The Devil’s Rejects. The film died a death but the soundtrack was a huge success and Dayton rejoiced ‘the royalty checks keep dropping in my post box’. An artist that has played with Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash his guitar playing is dynamic and with his rocking rhythm section of Chris Rhoades on bass and Kevin Charney on drums they race through Daddy Was A Badass, The Way We Are and crowd favourite I’m At Home Getting Hammered (While She’s Out Getting Nailed) with killer playing and humour in equal measures. As was the case in Dublin Dayton hung around afterward having a drink, mixing and talking with the punters and in no hurry to move on despite having an early morning flight to catch to Spain the next day.

Earlier in the afternoon T-Bone Burnett favourites The Americans had kicked off the festival on the same foyer stage with a full on / in your face set of no nonsense rock and roll promoting their debut album I’ll Be Yours. Front man Patrick Ferris - with looks and style that would grace any Levi’s advertisement – leads the band through a high energy mix of rockabilly and blues with titles such as Nevada, Stowaway and The Right Stuff, all warming up punters as they arrived at De Oosterpoort for what proved to be a hectic eight hours of nonstop entertainment 

Fortunately, we did get to catch some of Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express on the same stage as The Americans had performed earlier in the day. Bad Year For Rock and Roll, Jesus Was A Social Drinker, In The Mausoleum and Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins from his current album of the same name were all delivered with Prophet’s trademark animated stage presence and humour. As we made our way to the main stage to catch the Jason Isbell gig crowd favourite Willy Mays is Up at Bat could be heard blasting away in the background.

Such a shame to have to miss so many other acts and you do wonder why the festival could not have started earlier in the day or preferably the evening before but credit again to the organisers for a smoothly run and wonderful festival with an entry fee of €36, the amount you might pay to see one of those acts at home.

The Line Up -

Hurrah For The Riff Raff / Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit / Margo Price / Chuck Prophet / The Americans / Tift Merritt/ Jim Lauderdale / The Secret Sisters / Baptiste W. Hamon / Jesse Dayton / The Cactus Blossoms/ Cordovas / The Como Mamas/ Joist Dijkema / Andrew Combs / Steve Gunn / Eilen Jewell / Curse of Lono / Sam Outlaw / Levi Parham

Review and photography by Declan Culliton.

Brandy Clark and Jim Lauderdale @ The Sugar Club, Dublin - 2nd November 2017

A lengthy queue has already formed outside The Sugar Club well in advance of door opening time, evidence of the attraction of having two songwriters of the calibre of Brandy Clark and Jim Lauderdale performing on the same stage. The release of Brandy Clark's 2013 album 12 Stories finally brought the Tennessee resident to the attention, as a performer, to the large numbers her song writing richly deserves. Her earlier career was focused more on writing material for others to record including successfully co-writing with Shane Mc Anally and Kacey Musgraves, a combination that produced hits for The Band Perry and Miranda Lambert.  Born and raised in the small logging town Morton, Washington (population 900) may or may not have generated the visionary landscape for Clark, an artist with the ability to create intriguing tales from the everyday mundane run of the mill occurrences.  She followed that debut album in 2016 with Big Day in a Small Town, another insight to the trials, tortures, lives and loves of the neighbours and inhabitants of small town America. Somewhat more heavily produced than its predecessor but Clark's gorgeous accented vocal and fearless writing impacted every bit as impressively as her debut and charted highly in both the U.S. and U.K. Country charts.

Her natural vocal is every bit as effective in a live setting as evidenced by her opening song this evening Hold My Hand, delivered solo acoustic before being joined on stage by her two-piece band. You're left in no doubt after that introduction, and the audience reaction, that the show is going to be something special and to suggest it lives up to expectation is an understatement. Commenting that this is the final night of a tour that started on September 26th she also adds that the reception she's receiving (‘and the Irish whiskey'!) is energising. 'Please sing along if you know the words or better still clap along cause I've no drummer on this tour' she jokes, but in reality the absence of percussion and her acoustic band gives Clark's honeyed vocal the space to blossom with every lyric crystal clear in delivery. That's not to detract from her superb band of Okie Myles Aubrey on acoustic guitar and Vanessa McGowan from Auckland New Zealand on upright bass, both of whose playing is wonderful and both of who add backing vocals creating stunning three-part harmonies throughout the set. Selection from both her albums feature with The Day She Got Divorced evolving into a sing along but also including some cracking guitar picking by Aubrey. ' I think I need to record an album of drinking songs' she teases before launching into a succession of substance abuse songs  Get High, Drinkin' Smokin' Cheatin', When I Get  To Drinkin, You're Drunk, Take A Little Pill and Hungover. The three way harmonies on Drinkin' Smokin' Cheatin' are particularly stunning. Commenting on the legendary drinking of the Irish she comments tongue in cheek ' What we call an alcoholic in the States you guys call a lightweight' adding that the same joke didn't go down as well in Belfast the previous night! Three Kids and No Husband, Big Day in a Small Town, Daughter (‘a good girl gone bad story and the best revenge song I'll ever write') and Stripes finish the set to a richly deserved standing ovation. The three-song encore consists of Carol King's Will You Love Me Tomorrow, a song that inspired Clark to attempt to follow suit, a new song entitled Apologies and the closer Pray To Jesus with the opening lyrics adapted to ‘We live in trailers and apartments too, from California to Dublin’.

Clark is undoubtedly one of the finest female songwriters in country music today with material that can shock, amuse and move in equal measures but what is also evident from this evenings show is her ability to deliver equally (if not to a greater extent) in a live setting with her gorgeous vocal, wonderful stage presence and perfectly suited accompanying musicians.

No stranger to Dublin having performed around the corner at The National Concert Hall with Beth Chapman Neilson in August, opening act Jim Lauderdale is a much loved, admired and charismatic artist, respected equally by industry punters and his peers. A prolific recording artist that seems to record (at least) one album annually he appears on stage immaculately turned out as usual in a colourful Dandy & Rose shirt and wine nudie suit trousers. Kicking off with Three Way Conversation after announcing Dublin as his favourite city to perform, his set includes Sweet Time from his current album London Southern and his Gram Parson / George Jones inspired The King of Broken Hearts.  You Don't Seem To Miss Me is introduced as ' one that I got lucky with', a reference to both Patty Loveless and George Jones recording it before he revisits his current album with the slow burning love ballad I Love You So, delivered with delicate pausing and punctuation to pin drop silence. Also recorded by Patty Loveless and indeed Dave Edmunds and included in the set is Halfway Down. Due to head into the studio in three days’ time he plays a new song from the album, a country ballad titled Rubs Off On Me. Lauderdale also kindly gives Lonesome Highway a generous call out from stage mentioning our ' very talented graphic designer Steve Averill' and also Ronnie Norton's latest radio show Route 650 before finishing with Hole In My Head, one of his co-writes with good friend Buddy Miller.

All in all, a standout evening of quality music from two wonderful artists hugely enjoyed by a large and enthusiastic audience at The Sugar Club.

Review by Declan Culliton  Photography bt Ronnie Norton

Eilen Jewell @ The Sound House, Dublin - 10th Nov 2017

Jewell’s crack band started to play the opening song before she stepped onstage to say “good to see you Dublin, it’s been awhile.” She then led the band through a series of numbers that spanned from the title song of her debut album Boundary County through to several titles from her latest release Down Hearted Blues. The range of music covered was equally diverse from the blues of songs such as the title track of the new album which featured drummer Jason Beek on washboard and guitarist Jerry Miller on Jewell’s acoustic guitar through a solo folk cover of Bob Dylan’s Kingsport Town where the clarity of Jewell’s voice was even more apparent. There was also the honky-tonk of Heartache Boulevard and the 50’s styled rock of I Remember You. She also revealed that a pre-gig preview warned she would be in some kinda trouble if she didn’t play a Loretta Lynn song in the show. “I don’t want to be in trouble in Ireland” she said and duly delivered You Want To Give Me a Lift.

Throughout the set Jewell engaged with the audience telling us about the origins of some of the songs. How she discovered her father’s collection of blues’ albums and noted that if her father had actually given them to her that she would have told him they were tedious. Also, that as a parent, that if you want your kids to like something it would be best to hide it from them! Raised in Ohio she, as a teenager, just wanted to find the quickest way to leave. However she now lives back in Ohio and loves the space the State offers. Some of her songs were inspired by that desert of the location, even though while she said she loved it, it was not a reciprocal relationship. As for musicians from Idaho she reckoned it was down to her and Josh Ritter (but one should not forget the Idaho cowboy Pinto Bennett who flew the flag for the State some years back).

Other songs form tonight’s 24 song set included High Shelf Blues, Santa Fe, Sea Of Tears Hallelujah Band, Wandering Signs, Another Night To Cry and Don’t Leave Poor Me. The latter three all from the new blues album. Theses songs showed the dexterous skill of Miller who was as much at ease with the blues as he was with every other aspect of the band’s roots related sound. Down Hearted Blues allowed upright bassist Shawn Supra to shine with a melodic solo. Both players received ovations for their abilities as did Beek who also took his turn in the spotlight with his rhythmic turn on the vintage washboard for the two acoustic based blues songs.

After her solo spot on the Dylan song Jewell brought the players on again for a crowd pleasing take on the Johnny Kidd and The Pirates classic Shakin’ All Over, a song that was requested by some audience members and of which Jewell noted that they hadn’t played in over 3 years but this being Dublin … well how could she refuse. It was a perfect end to the evening with many of the audience joining in on the chorus and applauding Miller inclusion of selections from other well known guitar riffs in the extended instrumental breaks. The Queen of the Minor Key and her band ruled and she promised to return to Dublin soon. A city she informed us that she had loved, even before visiting, from her love of James Joyce - whose Portrait Of An Artist was the subject of a thesis she had written in her 20s.

For many this was the first visit to The Sound House on Eden Quay and it proved to be a venue that should be added to the list of those suited to hosting Roots/Americana music. 

Review by Stephen Rapid  Photography by Kaethe Burt-O'Dea

Jesse Dayton@ Whelans, Dublin - October 30th 2017

Walking out onto the stage in the upstairs venue in Whelans Jesse Dayton, surveying the small seated audience, joked that while last night’s audience was a full house that night’s was closer to a dysfunctional family reunion. He joked that he had played to more people in his back room. However that didn’t effect the night’s performance one iota. The trio played like they were in front of a stadium crowd; except with a level of intimacy that such a (large venue) situation wouldn’t have provided. The set was a mix of cool covers mixed with a selection from his most recent album The Revealer. These included set and album opener Daddy Was A Badass, The Way We Are, I’m At Home Gettin’ Hammered (While She’s Out Gettin’ Nailed) and Possum Ran Over My Grave which showed off his vocal prowess as he tok on the mantle of the titular George Jones. He then told a tale of seeing “No Show” Jones. Wherein at the age of 7 on a second attempt to see the legend the man himself arrived on stage in what Dayton described as a “country pimp suit.” With drink in hand he proceeded to fall comatose on the stage. Dayton was then told by his father that “that was country.” I’m At Home Gettin’ Hammered (While She’s Out Gettin’ Nailed) was a song that first appeared on the Banjo and Sullivan album that Dayton released as the work of the fictitious duo who featured in the Rob Zombie directed film The Devil’s Rejects.

Throughout the show Dayton was also a genial and humourous master of ceremonies, telling tall Texas tales and stories that related to the songs and to his own life and experiences. There was story of his Nanny who was born in 1897 and who introduced him to many things including Cajun and Zydeco music, as well as Texas blues platers like Lightin’ Hopkins; or how when all his contemporaries were trying to ape Stevie Ray Vaughan his role model at the time was Jerry Reed on Hee Haw. What is readily apparent throughout the gig is Dayton’s talent and fitness on guitar. He blends many different styles together to create something exciting and endlessly entertaining. When your dealing with a trio, in the classic, send you have to rely on the bedrock talent of the rhythm section and Chris Rhoades and Kevin Charney on bass and drums respectively provide the kind of support that any soloist would require. In other words both are very talent and versatile players themselves. Tonight, being Halloween. both have painted their faces in the spirit of the occasion. Again it is the “show” aspect of show business that they understand and underscore.

There is little doubting the influence that George Jones had on Jesse Dayton. Not only are they native Texans but Jones’ delivery and songs of heartbreak are imbedded in Dayton’s DNA. He sang us The Grand Tour during the set before encoring with White Lightenin'. A solid, rocking’ version that ending the evening on a high. An evening that should have been packed, that would have been a great night out for many roots music fans. It was however a starting point that will hopefully see him return and that the word will have spread to a degree where he creates a decent crowd to reward his time in Ireland.

 Review by Stephen Rapid   Photography by Kaethe Burt O'Dea

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit @ The Olympia Dublin 27th October 2017

"But I sobered up and got off that stuff, forever this time" sings Jason Isbell mid-way through a thrilling one hour forty five minute set at The Olympia Theatre. The words and sentiment are from Cover Up, the opening track on his breakthrough album Southeastern, and don’t go unnoticed by large numbers in the audience, generating a warm response. The autobiographical song speaks of a life changing turning point for Isbell and not coincidentally the beginning of his ascension to his rightful position as the stand out songwriter of his generation. He’s travelled quite a journey from his initial introduction to Dublin audiences at a crammed Whelan’s eleven years ago as the young wildman in  Drive By Truckers, complete with a bottle of Jack Daniels on hand and an attitude to match. Further drunken escapes in Dublin, as recalled by him this evening, include ending up in a drunk woman’s apartment with keyboard player and cohort Derry De Borja, having been locked out of their hotel and seriously fearing they might not get out of the apartment alive. Water under the bridge now for the sober and extremely fit looking Isbell who takes the stage this evening with his loyal and trusted comrades (whom he individually introduces on four occasions during the performance), Jimbo Hart (bass), Chad Gamble (drums), Sadler Vaden (guitar) and Derry De Borja (keyboards).

He’s back in town barely six months after his last visit to Dublin where he performed at Bord Gais Theatre on stage with John Prine and his wife Amanda Shires. The anticipation at the Olympia this evening is palpable with Isbell on a purple patch with his current album The Nashville Sound striking gold on the Billboard Country at No.1 and No.4 in the Billboard Top 200 album charts. No mean achievement given some of the politically charged content on the album which would normally alienate the somewhat conservative Country music market.

Kicking off the evening’s entertainment is North Carolina’s Tift Merritt, an artist not unknown in Ireland having performed a number of times previously. Notwithstanding that, she is noticeably moved by the positive reaction to her set only a couple of songs in, with pin drop silence during her deliveries and requests shouts from early on. ‘I really can’t believe you actually know some of my songs, I’m moving here’ she jokes. Switching between acoustic guitar, electric guitar and piano her set includes her signature songs Stray Papers, Good Hearted Man and Travelling Alone. Responding to a request from the audience she performs Another Country on piano, introducing the song with the comment that ‘it’s terrible being an American today, you all know what I’m talking about’. Closing her thirty five minute set with The Feel of The World from her See You On The Moon album, I find myself scratching my head to recall a support act, particularly performing solo, that has earned such a positive audience response from a Dublin audience in recent years.

Twenty minutes later and Isbell is on stage with his crack 400 Unit and from the opener Anxiety  from his latest album, to his memorable final encore of Tom Petty’s American Girl you’re left in no doubt that you’re witnessing a musician and band at the top of their game. Great sound, striking stage lighting and a band that certainly live up to their billing by performing very much as a unit, note perfect and collectively as tight as you could imagine. Isbell, to his credit, never plays the same set list at successive shows, varying both the content and the order so the element of surprise always remains, unlike other artists who robotically follow the same listing show after show. Last of My Kind, Tupelo, White Man’s World and a cracking Cumberland Gap from Nashville Sound all feature together with the gorgeous If We Were Vampires. 24 Frames and Something More Than Free from the album of the same name also get an airing. Stockholm and Travelling Alone from Southeastern are also included with Isbell explaining  that unknowingly both himself and Tift Merritt both recorded songs titled Travelling Alone around the same time and noting that she had played her rendition earlier. Decoration Day, his classic from the Drive By Trucker days, is recognisable from the first few chords and the closing number and another Trucker’s anthem Never Gonna Change brings the house down, extended by a couples of minutes compliments of a sizzling guitar duel between Isbell and Sadler Vaden. Elephant is possibly the most striking and painful song in Isbell’s catalogue and is played as the first of two encores.  Leading in to it on acoustic guitar before being joined by De Borja on keyboards Isbell’s delivery is goose bumps inducing and further evidence of an artist that has the talent to create both uplifting and heart wrenching material. The final number as previously mentioned is appropriately Tom Petty’s American Girl and with the calibre of musicians on stage it’s no surprise that they absolutely nail it.

Ten minutes after the stage has been vacated and the stewards are trying to clear the venue you can sense that a huge number of punters are stunned by what they have just witnessed and the expression ‘gig of the year’ seems to echo around the hall. Gig of the year. Who am I to argue?

 After all the man is absolutely on fire!

Review and photos by Declan Culliton

Mark Olson @ Whelan’s, Dublin - 24th October 2017

Nearly three years previously at the same venue Mark Olson took to the stage accompanied by his wife Ingunn Ringvold and performed a set mostly comprising material from his album Good-Bye Lizelle, released earlier that year. Quite experimental by his standards, the album was recorded using non-mainstream instrumentation, full of Eastern and Asian influences and suggested a new departure for Olson.

Three years and one album later the pair return to the same venue and the advancement is quite noticeable in many ways. Olson’s latest album Spokeswoman Of The Bright Sun does not abandon the worldly feel of its predecessor but instead blends flawlessly with his talent as an inventive songwriter and creator of so many distinct songs.  It also retains the cottage industry feel of Lizelle with both his and Ringvold’s personalities firmly stamped on it. 

What has not changed is their interesting choice of instruments and the distinctive sounds they create as a two piece, whether it be a combination of Olson’s trusted Fender and Ringvold’s echoing Djembe drum or the sonic bonding of his Appalachian Dulcimer and her harpsichord sounding Armenian Qanon. Their chemistry on stage is sincere and uplifting, two people on stage quite obviously cherishing what they are doing and managing to create a house concert atmosphere in the room.

The set comprises of sixteen songs in total, six taken from his current album, three from Lizelle, six from his Jayhawk days and one from his career changing classic The Salvation Blues, recorded ten years ago. Introducing material from the current album, Olson points out early in the evening that it is genuinely his most favourite of all his work adding "Ingunn and I have a really good thing going at the moment." Their stage banter is gentle and relaxed, Ringberg explaining the lush floral landscape on the current album cover- photographed at their desert home in Joshua Tree - and how that greenery only occurs rarely and for a very short time while Olson recalled how he blocked up all the windows in their house and barricaded himself indoors in advance of the recent eclipse with dread of blindness on venturing out of the house, a sentiment not embraced by his wife who, ignoring the warning signs, boldly ventured outdoors and returned unscathed.

Seminole Valley Tea Sipper Society, Dear Elisabeth from that album feature early in the set with Olson on guitar and Ringberg on percussion before she switches to Qanon on the album’s title track, creating a delightful sound that falls somewhere between harpsichord and sitar. The selection of Jayhawks material is a reminder of the quality of Olson’s writing for the band with favourites Blue, Clouds, Over My Shoulder, Pray For Me and a particularly impressive remodel of Two Angels all featuring.

Somewhat apprehensively and solemnly he announces that the second last song is challenging to perform and that its "important I get this one right." The song in question is You Are All from his current album and you got the impression that his concern was not in a technical sense but that the song is dedicated to his wife and that the delivery is valuable to him.

Clifton Bridge from The Salvation Blues closes the show, ("We Came Here To Live, There’s A Hope In Our Hearts"), a touching and timeless melody and sentiment, fittingly written when Olson was recovering from rock bottom and about to rebuild a career that thankfully has gone from strength to strength since then. He is an artist that has certainly proven throughout his career that there is much to be gained by following your instincts and not merely settling for the easy option when navigating the numerous sign posts met along the journey. This leg of that journey unquestionably finds Olson as creative and vital as at any other stage of that musical pilgrimage.

Earlier in the evening the most impressive Wexford duo The Remedy Club played a storming and very well received opening set featuring material from their debut album Lovers, Legends and Lost Causes, released only two weeks ago. The duo consists of Aileen Mythen (vocals and percussion) and KJ Mc Evoy (guitar and vocals) and their combination of gorgeous harmony vocals, slick guitar playing and striking stage presence shone brightly on Big Ol’Fancy, Last Song, When Tom Waits Up, Bottom of the Hill and their current single Come On. Certainly an act worth checking out and further reassurance of the wealth of local talent that we are blessed with at present.

Full marks and a big shout out to local promoter Ray Rooney who continues to bring in a host of excellent artists that we may otherwise not get the opportunity to enjoy.

Review and photography by Declan Culliton and Paul Mc Gee

Ulster American Folk Park 26th Annual Bluegrass Festival - Omagh Sep1-3 2017

Richard Hurst and his team at National Museums NI near Omagh, Co Tyrone have pulled off yet another successful and enjoyable festival of Bluegrass despite the constraints of reduced budgets and sometimes inclement weather. It’s not for no reason that the festival was nominated for an International Bluegrass Music Award for Bluegrass Event Of The Year in 2017.

Utilising the park’s ready made sets of historic American and Irish homesteads, barns, shops and even a replica famine ship, the artists get to play in a variety of indoor and outdoor locations. Most of the stages have an excellent sound system installed for the occasion.

The main stage is a semi-open tented area, close to the bar and food stalls.

Regulars know by now that they can bring their own seating and set themselves up there for the day. The unique joy of this festival is being able to wander through the woods, corn fields and paddocks en route to finding another interesting act from Ireland, the UK, Europe and the Americas.

Wellies and an umbrella are sometimes needed, but this doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the crowds that turn up in their thousands every year.

Robirohi returned here from Estonia for the umpteenth time - and they are beloved by the locals. They mostly perform traditional and modern bluegrass covers in English, but this year one of their surprises was an Emmylou Harris song sung in Estonian. They closed out one of their sets with the gospel standard Get Down On Your Knees And Pray - which they did, literally.

Another Friday night highlight was the Sligo string band Old Hannah, who are going from strength to strength. Not bluegrass, no, but they are purveyors of mostly original material in the folk/country/swing realm. 

Flats and Sharps came in for the weekend from Cornwall - they performed six sets over the three days, always at breakneck speed. Each of the five band members are expert players and unusually they play mostly original material. 

Saturday provides a choice of six stages throughout the park, and the clever programming allows one to see most of the acts at least once. 

The Clew Bay Critters were paying their first visit from their Wesport base and impressed with their mix of gentle bluegrass, old time and gypsy jazz - perfect for a sunny(ish) afternoon gig while the punters relaxed on their deck chairs and picnicked.

Richie Foley & Paddy Kiernan are well known throughout the country among fans of the genre, and have played in various combos over recent years. This was my first time seeing them play extended sets together and they were one of my highlights. Paddy (Dublin) plays banjo, including a six-string model, while Richie is equally impressive on both bouzouki and mandolin. Their huge repertoire covered traditional bluegrass and old time tunes, original tunes and even modern covers like Springsteen’s I’m on Fire.

The undoubted highlight of the weekend was the return of one of the living legends of bluegrass, Dale Ann Bradley and her band. She was in fine form and her voice was stronger than ever. She and her band were clearly delighted to be back, and this time she had her son, John Fitzgerald Bradley, on bass. The band’s repertoire is so vast that they played an almost completely different set on each of the three occasions when they played (to very appreciative audiences). Dale Ann lived up to her reputation (five time IBMA Female Bluegrass Performer of the year) with her effortless, clear and pure vocals. And they didn’t just play the usual bluegrass standards and Dale Ann’s own compositions - they covered songs from other genres, for example an 80s hit song by the Gin Blossoms Until I Hear it From You. Dobroist Matt Leadbetter showed that he’s not just a mean dobro player when he took the lead vocals on a Reno and Smiley number. Mike Sumner on banjo is also a multiple award winning player (Winfield, Kansas, Merlefest) and Tennessean Scott Powers impressed on mandolin. There’s a strong gospel influence here and Dale Ann is not afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve. She admitted to getting “choked up sometimes when you’ve lived these songs”. She wasn’t the only one.

Particularly moving was her rendition of the Kenny Rogers song The Stranger, which was covered by Kenny and Dolly. Their cover of U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For was a complete surprise but it really worked!

The night was ended on high octane by the ever popular RackHouse Pilfer, who played a blistering set. They cleverly weave bluegrass with rock and roll into something indefinable but always very well received, even by the musical purists. There was disappointment all round, however, when they confirmed the rumour that they were to disband (or ‘take a sabbatical’) in two weeks time. Ironically, this coincides with the release of their new rockier album on vinyl and cd. Let’s hope we see them back again in the future.

Unfortunately I missed one of the popular Saturday events - the McLecture. This year, Dale Ann Bradley was interviewed by Frank Galligan, and sources report that it was a superb and moving experience.

Sunday dawned with more of the same wonderful musical offerings around the park, and although the drizzle arrived, this didn’t stop the families and music fans from turning up and making the most of the day.

Vancouver’s Viper Central were, for this reviewer,  another of the standout acts of the weekend. Despite the fact that they were at the end of a long European tour, and had to have a substitute bass player drafted in for the weekend, they were nothing short of superb in the many sets that they performed. Kathleen Nisbet’s vocals and fiddle playing were matched by the inspired Steve Charles’ flatpicking, and by Chris’s banjo playing. Each of the three of them were more than competent at taking the lead on vocals, although Kathleen’s rich and powerful voice is up there with the best of female vocalists of the genre - could it be something to do with her Irish heritage?! Look out for a review of their latest recording on this website in the near future.

The new addition of some outdoor games and themed photo opportunities was an inspired move and went down very well with children and ‘bigger kids’ alike.

The not-so-secret weapon of this annual festival just has to be mentioned - Frank Galligan. Frank is the best MC in these islands, full stop. His good humour and stories are matched by his deep understanding, knowledge and love of the music and of the characters that populate it, (and his sartorial elegance is equally renowned!)

The day was rounded off by the Spirit Of Bluegrass concert in the appropriate location that is the Mountjoy Meeting House. I just had time to sample a smidgeon of Robirohi’s set, in the atmospheric historic venue as the sun went down, and I was certainly envious of those who got to enjoy the sold out event, capped by the Dale Ann Bradley Band doing what they love best.

There were several more bands playing over the festival but unfortunately I didn’t get around to experiencing them all. And there’s a parallel programme of visits to local schools, nursing homes and churches that only the lucky local residents get to experience. Do put the festival in your diary for 2018.

Report by Eilís Boland  Photography by Ronnie Norton (except Clew Bay Critters from their website)

Marty Stuart & The Fabulous Superlatives @The Olympia, Dublin 12 oct 2017

Marty Stuart led his Fabulous Superlatives onto the Olympia stage to warm applause and great expectations; Expectations that were met in spades. The 22 song set was an expanded version of the one he played earlier this year at C2C in the 3 Arena and it was a masterclass in how country music should be delivered in 2017. The music touched on many different points in Marty’s four decade plus career, from hits such as Tempted, The Whiskey Ain’t Working and the closing Hillbilly Rock which is a song that could be said to sum up their ethos. As usual Marty was dressed in black with a long jacket and flared leather trousers. The band were attired in their blue sequinned, embroidered Manuel suits - which picked up the lighting and sparkled, as did the band.

Stuart said he’d played in bands since the age of 9 and this was the best he’s ever played with. Something that tonight’s show clearly underlined. Highlights were Kenny Vaughan’s sensitive and dynamic playing that saw him move from Rickenbacker to Telecaster to twin-necked 6 and 12 string Gibson (shades of Jimmy Page) to a Martin acoustic. His skill was breath-taking at times. It should be noted too that Stuart is no slouch and the note for note guitar duets the pair delivered were testament to that. However this band is perfectly balanced and Vaughan and Stuart allowed each other the space to play together with one taking the rhythm role if the other was playing lead. Chris Scruggs is an equally adept musician who plays a Fender Telecaster bass as well as an upright bass in the band. In his own work he also plays guitar and pedal steel amongst other instruments. Harry Stinson is a perfect example of the kind of drummer who understands how to drive the music without ever overpowering it, as so many these days do and he has subtlety and sensitivity in his playing.

All are strong singers in their own right and each took time at the microphone. Vaughan played Country Music Got A Hold Of Me and Nice Like That while Scruggs delivered Got the Bull By the Horns. Stinson played his showpiece, Woody Guthrie’s Pretty Boy Floyd, where he held the note on the word Oklahoma for an impressively long time to great applause. Of course they were able to provide stunning harmonies on the acoustic songs where around a single mic they excelled at three and four part close harmonies. During the set the band left the stage and Stuart told of his difficulties in writing a sing about his friend, neighbour, former bandleader and (for a brief period) father-in-law, Johnny Cash. The resulting song which finally came to him, Dark Bird, was a highlight. Also in this solo set he played a version of Orange Blossom Special that focussed on his mandolin playing dexterity. 

Another stand-out was their version of El Paso, a song they had originally agreed to perform as tribute when the legendary Grady Martin was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame. Stuart noted that after he had agreed to do the song he realised  just how long and complex it was but well, they are The Fabulous Superlatives and they could perform it as indeed they proved they could. Another tribute was Mama Tried at the request of an audience member. Stuart told of his being asked to preach at Haggard’s funeral and related what a loss Merle Haggard’s death was to him personally and to the world. Humorously he dedicated the song to an acquaintance, Rooster, whom he described as a real knucklehead who decided to start drinking again to honour Haggard’s passing and then decided he was going to jump a train to go to Hag’s California funeral only to discover the train was in fact only going to another part of the town!

There was a focus on the latest album, Way Out West, which Stuart said was the equivalent of spending 21 days on Willie Nelson’s tour bus. New songs included Air Mail Special, Whole Lot of Highway and the instrumentals Mojave and Torpedo. Other songs played included a great version of Endless Sleep written originally in 1958 Jody Reynolds and a hit for him as well as Marty Wilde in the UK. It was, Stuart said, one of the story songs that got him into country music. He is still there, but far from being stuck in a time warp. He and The Fabulous Superlatives keep the genre (in its many forms) vital and very much alive. Stuart promises to be back with the band next year and many of those who were there will be back again too.

Review by Steve Rapid   Edited by Sandy Harsch  Photographed by Kaethe Burt-O'Dea

Michael McDermott @ the DC Club, Dublin - Sun 1st Oct 2017

Sunday night at the DC Club and Michael McDermott is making a final stop on his European tour. His affiliation with and affection for Ireland are an integral part of his upbringing and he tells some terrific tales of growing up in an Irish-American household with some of that good old catholic guilt and religion circling the extended family members.

Not that it’s a case of running down old tradition and thrashing the past; this gifted artist takes these experiences and hones them into finely crafted songs that play out like short-stories in front of your eyes. He is a very lyrical writer and the words conjure up neighbourhoods and characters that we can all recognise and feel part of, with a sense that we have somehow known them already.

Michael McDermott has been an accomplished song-writer since his first recording back in the early 1990’s and has gone on to release close to 20 albums, either as a solo performer or with his band, The Westies. It is true to say that he has experienced both excess and hard times in the life he has lived.

He is a passionate performer, giving a great deal of energy and honesty to his vignettes on life and love. His stories from the stage tell of drug addiction and robbery, leading to some time spent in prison. This living life on the edge has shaped him and he speaks from a place of self-awareness and maturity about the journey taken.

The set tonight draws from all parts of his career, from A Wall I Must Climb, (released as a single in 1991) all the way through to Willie Rain, a song written for his daughter who was born in 2010. Indeed, these are personal songs and Shadow In The Window is about his father and the relationship they had over many years, defined by a degree of indifference. Ending with the lines "Now there’s a shadow in the window that’s missing; I’m having a hard time letting go – I love you …" Both poignant and powerful to witness live on keyboards.

He played a number of songs from the last album Willow Springs (2016) and Butterfly is a look back to his years as a junkie and the passing of an old friend. Solo acoustic versions of These Last Few Days and Getaway Car are mixed with earlier songs like Trains, A Deal With the Devil, The Great American Novel and No.49 while a new song, I Know A Thing Or Two About Being Knocked Down, is a quick-fire semi-rap that shows all the lyricism and verbal dexterity that his razor-like intelligence can conjure.

Many of the songs contain a naked honesty and if he sometimes uses the stage as a cathartic means to expel his demons, playing acoustic guitar, harmonica and keyboards like this; well, it’s certainly a trip worth taking. As Michael himself sings in the song I Know a Place;

"Yeah sometimes, you feed the darkness, Yeah sometimes, you heed the darkness,Yeah sometimes, you need the darkness in order to ever see the light."

At all points there is a deep humanity and humility at play and the attentive crowd pick up on every part of this compelling performance.

A word also for the opening act, Beki Hemingway who was a very welcome surprise. Living in Gorey, Co. Wexford by way of Denver, she appeared with her husband, Randy Kirkman on guitar and delivered a set of seven songs that highlighted her superb voice and vocal tone. A very engaging performer and someone to watch over the coming months as she tries to rebuild a career that she had stepped away from for a period of 10 years. She has a new release out now titled Whins and Weather and a number of the songs tonight are taken from it – watch this space … 

Review by Paul McGee  Photography by Kaethe Burt O'Dea

AMA Music Festival, Nashville - September 12th -17th 2017

With approximately 300 acts performing this year at The AMA’s, pre-scheduling your intended wish list is essential, notwithstanding that you’re likely to be thrown a few curve balls at the festival with additional events being announced, often at less than a days’ notice. The festival organisers have in recent years developed an incredibly user-friendly app which can be downloaded to an iPhone, listing artists, scheduled showcases, venues and other events, helping enormously with the selection process but also highlighting the numerous unavoidable clashes given the sheer volume of events taking place at various venues throughout the city.

While managing to squeeze in over fifty shows at the festival, I’ve bitten the bullet to select fifteen particular highlights in three categories.

  

J.P. Harris

There’s no show like a J.P. show and East Nashville’s most loved and most tattooed master of all things honky tonk played a blinder at his showcase at The Mercy Lounge. Not wasting a second of his forty-five-minute slot, he launched into material from his forthcoming album, yet to be named, which he’d spent the past few weeks recording in the studio. Hard Road, I Only Drink Alone, Lady in the Spotlight and South Oklahoma all registered as being up to his usual standard. Favourites Two For The Road and Maria also got an airing and with backing vocalists Kristina Murray and The Watson Twins on stage and accompanied by pedal steel, guitar, bass and drums, he transformed the room into a virtual Texas Dance Hall three songs in. You also have to love any artist who name calls his mother on stage and dedicates a song to her together with introducing her to his brethren after the show. A masterclass set from one of today’s finest ambassadors of traditional country music.

Zephaniah OHora

If J.P. Harris is the master he has a more than worthy apprentice in Zephaniah OHora. Hailing from Brooklyn, a location not renowned for fiddles, pedal steel guitars or nudie suits, his debut album This Highway has turned a lot of heads with nods in the direction of Ray Price, Ernest Tubb and Red Simpson.  On stage directly after J.P. Harris may have been daunting but OHora took full advantage of the warmed-up cowboys and cowgirls and gave them lots to dance about. His backing band The 18 Wheelers were vice tight and O Hora’s main asset, his baritone vocal, was used to full effect to deliver classic country tracks from his opening Way Down In My Soul to the title track from his debut album which closed his set. High Class Girl From the Country, Take Your Love Out Of Town and I Can’t Let Go also featured. He looked the part, sounded equally impressive and is riding on one of the best albums of the year. Watch this country space!

Lilly Mae

A musical child prodigy, Lilly Mae Rische has been performing with her family since childhood and is Jack White’s regular stage side person with her exquisite fiddle playing and unique style. Her recent album Forever and Then Some, released on Jack White’s Third Man Record Label, earned her appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Conan O’Brien Presents. An eagerly anticipated festival showcase for me, she more than lived up to expectation as Mae and her band, which included bother Frank on guitar and sister Amber on mandolin, delivered a faultless set. The venue was Jack White’s Third Man Records and the delightfully quirky and impressive room featured a striking lighting arrangement. Drenched in blue light Mae oozed class and stage presence, launching into Over The Hills and Through The Wood, Honest and True and Honky Tonks and Taverns from the album, switching from fiddle to guitar between numbers. Not just a prolific fiddle and guitar player, her song writing, vocal delivery, superb band and, it has to be said, wonderful fashion style, ticked a box as one of the festival highlights. She also possesses a lovely personality and a smile that could light up any room. Some people have it all.

Whitney Rose

Whitney Rose is yet another in the stream of quality female artists than Canada has produced in recent years.  Kathleen Edwards, Lindi Ortega, Lori Yates and Sierra Noble all come to mind and Rose most certainly has the formula to follow in their footsteps. Perfecting a South Texas sound rather than that of her native country and in many ways reminiscent of what Kacy Musgraves has been doing (with a bit more edge possibly), she mixes twang perfectly with a bit of rockabilly on the side and has the songs, the appearance and the band to get noticed. By coincidence I got to see her twice in the same day both at The Yee Haw Tent and later at The Mercy Lounge. Her set was drawn in the main from her current release South Texas Suite with a few numbers from Rule 62, an album she is about to release in the coming weeks. My Boots, Bluebonnets For My Baby and How ‘Bout A Hand For The Band all worked even better live than the studio versions giving the impression of an artist still honing her skills and determined to get noticed. Quite comfortable behind her acoustic Gibson guitar or with only a microphone in hand she’s blessed with a sultry twang and a young backing band that have no doubt covered a lot of road miles with her, given how tight their playing was.

Joshua Hedley

Taking the stage at Third Man records immediately after a dynamic set By Lilly Hiatt might be nerve wracking for most artists but Joshua Hedley took it in his stride, reminding the audience on a few occasions that what they were listening to was pure country music, no compromise. True to his word, dressed in a sparkling nudie suit and accompanied by a five-piece band including Jeremy Fetzer on guitar and the ever-smiling Eddie Lange on pedal steel he was, for me, the surprise package of the festival, delivering a set that had mid 60’s Merle Haggard stamped all over it. With a smooth baritone vocal, effortless fiddle playing by Hedley and some dreamy pedal steel and guitar playing by his band, this was pure honky tonk at his best. Hedley is yet another artist that is very much part of the East Nashville music co-op and has previously worked on stage with Justin Townes Earle and Jonny Fritz, served his time playing at Roberts Western World on Broadway and given that he’s not yet  25 years old, it’s not surprisingly he has been signed to Third Man Records. I’ll be first in line to pick up his debut album when it sees the light of day!

 

Drive By Truckers

Cannery Row was the venue for Drive By Truckers, one of the leading lights in what we define as Americana music, and was heaving in anticipation of their first ever showcase appearance at The AMA’s. Once in a while an act play a setlist that you could have penned yourself and this, for me, was one of those gigs. Including Marry Me, Surrender Under Protest, Hell No, I Ain’t Happy hit the spot but the inclusion of World of Hurt (quite poignant given the political turmoil in the States at present and seldom performed live) was the icing on the cake. Having seen the Truckers perform live on many occasions, including a number of times where they were so loud that some of the songs were unrecognisable, this evening performance was the best I’ve seen them. Patterson Hood was passionate, politically charged and in fine form and unafraid to ostracise some of his core following by speaking emotionally about the worrying degree of racism currently pertaining in America. Perfect setlist, sound and vantage position upfront and with Hood and Cooley in sparkling form resulted in yet another festival highlight. Overplaying their forty-five-minute set by an additional ten minutes was the perfect end to a great day’s music.

Aaron Lee Tasjan

A favourite performer at the festival, Aaron Lee Tasjan seems to appear at every venue whether playing with his band, solo or on stage with others. Somehow, he managed to play thirteen times in three days and we were fortunate to catch his showcase in the Yee Haw Tent on the Saturday afternoon. With his unique and individualistic fashion sense - he appeared on stage decked out in a white suit, white hat and black and white snakeskin shoes – you just knew his show was going to be full on entertainment, and he did not disappoint.  Kicking off with Hard Life and Memphis Rain from his 2016 album Silver Tears, his set not only accentuated his song writing skills but also his ass kicking guitar work. A twin guitar onslaught from Lee Tasjan and his side man Brian Wright (more from him later) on Ready To Die brought the house (tent) down. One of the best received gigs of the week by an artist that has it all with lots to spare. A modest and approachable young man he also hung around chatting and chewing the breeze before heading on to his next appointment.

Lilly Hiatt

Twelve months ago, Lilly Hiatt’s appearances at the AMA’s featured in the main material from her then current album Royal Blue, a mix of country, roots with just about the correct dosage of twang. This year’s sets found her ramping up a number of notches and featuring material – the whole album bar one track – from her 2017 release Trinity Lane, most definitely one of the standout albums of the year. Going down a more traditional rock path it’s songs are personal, honest and self-cleansing in equal doses and rock like hell with riffs and hooks to die for.  Kicking off the Thursday evening showcase sets at Third Man Records she manages to cram in ten of the eleven tracks on the album and no doubt have played the entire album given an additional five minutes. Highlights, of which there were many, included All Kinds Of People, I Wanna Go Home, Different I Guess and the monster track The Night David Bowie Died. Hats off to her killer young band whose enthusiasm mirrored that of Hiatt.

Los Colognes

The 5 Spot in East Nashville is the venue where most local artists cut their teeth on the path to bigger venues. It’s also a bar where you’re likely to be rubbing shoulders with as many musicians as local residents or tourists. Their weekly $2 Dollar Tuesday, hosted by Derek Hoke, offers two-dollar entry (free with festival wristband), $2 beers and $2 food. Nashville based Los Colognes were billed to perform Neil Young’s classic album Tonight’s The Night in its entirety. After two opening slots by the excellent Michaela Anne – classic young country vocalist, landing somewhere between Ashley Munroe and Zoe Muth, well worth checking out – and Derek Hoke, we were treated to a stunning performance by Los Colognes transforming what can be a quite depressing album into a celebratory evening. As expected given the venue, they were joined on stage by Margo Price (on her way home from performing at The Grand Olde Opry), Lilly Hiatt and Caitlin Rose whose delivery of Borrowed Tune silenced the room within twenty seconds.  An unexpected treasure of an evening in my favourite East Nashville hangout.

Brian Wright

Multi-instrumentalist and an artist that came to my attention at last year’s festival when he played in Aaron Lee Tasjan’s band, Texas born East Nashville resident Brian Wright played one of the rockiest and most enjoyable shows of the festival at the backyard of The Fond Object Record Store in glorious sunshine to an adoring crowd. I have to admit that I’ve come to his solo work late only picking up his 2013 album Rattle Their Chains in recent months. Mixing soul, blues and good old-fashioned rock with killer guitar licks and a backing band that included John Latham and Aaron Lee Tasjan was the perfect formula for a no-nonsense performance. Ending his set offstage and finishing his solo with guitar pointed skyward surrounded by an audience of all ages was a fitting image to a fun filled and head down rocking set.

Hayes Caryll

Not so many years back The Station Inn was surrounded by gravel surfaced car parks in a location primed for development known as The Gulch. Within five years the iconic venue has become dwarfed and overshadowed on all sides by high rise condominiums and commercial developments. The owners have stoically resisted the option of selling out the site which has been the hub for bluegrass in Music City for decades. Internally it’s a throwback to former decades as if time has stood still and it’s the venue for a terrific show by Austin troubadour Hayes Caryll, not his first appearance at The AMA’s, but his first time to play the hallowed venue. With a 175 seating capacity and possibly in a position to accommodate another 50 standing, it’s essential to get along early as it’s one of the few venues at the festival that invariably attracts large numbers. With this in mind we arrived ten minutes before the doors opened and positioned ourselves upfront for the impressive support act Caitlin Canty, who admitted to being light headed by both the opportunity to play the venue and to appear before Hayes Caryll.  You know exactly what to expect from a Hayes Caryll show, brilliant tales transformed into song, passionate delivery with lots of humour on the side and this evenings set delivered on all fronts with the inclusion of Drunken Poets Dream, Drive (written with Jim Lauderdale), Magic Kid (dedicated and written for his son) and the hilarious Bible on The Dash (a co-write with Corb Lund).  A particular highlight was his inclusion of a recently written song titled Wild Pointy Finger, which he went to great lengths to explain is not a euphemism for genitalia!

Emily Barker

One of the most versatile and diligent female artists on the circuit Australian born UK resident Emily Barker played a short lunch time set at Alley Taps, the same venue that she launched her album (yet to be released at that time) Sweet Kind of Blue at last year’s festival.  Recorded in Sam Phillips Studio in Memphis the album found Barker visiting her soul roots and was subsequently released earlier this year to glowing reviews. Barker has flirted with UK folk, roots and country soul ventures over the years together with writing the theme music for the TV drama Wallander and she has the ability to excel in whatever direction she chooses. With the voice of an angel and aided by a crack backing band, Barker treated us to a sampler of tracks from the album including the title track and the stunning Sister Goodbye, possibly the most beautiful song she’s written. The only regret was that her set had to wind up after four songs but waiting in the wings to perform were Mary Gauthier, Gretchen Peters, Shannon Mc Nally and The Orphan Brigade (featuring our own Ben Glover), which softened the blow somewhat!

Andrew Combs

Having had the opportunity to see Combs play at the festival the past number of years its noticeable how he has grown as an artist over those years both in his song writing and live performances. His latest album Canyons Of My Mind, released in Europe on the Loose label, is one of the most striking releases of the year. Our good friends at Loose Tom Bridgewater and Julia Grant hosted a lunchtime party titled The Loose Lounge featuring a number of acts on their label and giving me the first of two opportunities to witness Combs live. Facilitated by Americana UK the venue was attended in the main by UK and Irish punters and Combs, having performed to an audience that annoyingly talked through his set the previous day at The Thompson Hotel, opened up by noting how great it is to play to audiences from countries that come to gigs to actually listen to music. Playing solo emphasised his exquisite vocal and his short set was played to pin drop silence. His showcase performance took place two days later at The Mercy Lounge where he delivered a knockout set with his full band featuring mostly material from the current album with Dirty Rain, Heart Of Wonder and his anti-Trump masterpiece Bourgeois King hitting the spot.

Courtney Marie Andrews

An artist very much in the ascendancy and likely to make a major impact going forward, Courtney Marie Andrews was one of the most talked about artists playing the festival. Similar to Andrew Combs she is on the Loose label and the impact of her current album Honest Life, released in Europe by Loose, has resulted in it being rereleased in the States. She also featured in the Loose Lounge party performing three numbers solo which not only highlighted her stunning vocal but also her splendid guitar skills. Her main gig was at The City Winery where she performed at an all-female evening which also included sets by Erin Rae, Dori Freeman, Brandy Clark and Kasey Chambers. Understandably the majority of her standout set was drawn from Honest Life with Rookie Dreaming, Table For One and a rousing delivery of How Quickly Your Heart Mends all reinforcing exactly how special this young lady is. Material from her forthcoming album, to be recorded in the coming weeks, suggested a fuller and more country soul feel than Honest Life.

Dori Freeman

On the same bill as Andrews was Dori Freeman, a young lady from Galax Virginia. At last year’s festival Freeman was given the grave yard shift, performing solo prior to Rodney Crowell’s slot, and battling against an audience that did their best to talk over her performance. The City Winery is a seated and very much a listening room and Freeman, accompanied by a percussionist, took full advantage to deliver a gorgeous set visiting both her self-titled album and her sophomore album Letters Never Read, due for release later in the year.  Her song writing is simple, stripped back and personal, perfectly suited to her acoustic delivery with the emphasis on her natural crystal clear vocal. If I Could Make You My Own from the new album and Go On Lovin’ from her debut album were simply divine from an artist who is as authentic and natural as it comes. Who needs backing musicians when you possess a vocal that can silence a room seconds into your first song.

Our flight back home to Dublin from Nashvilla included a stopover at Chicago and ironically, or perhaps fittingly, as we queued to board who should be standing beside us but Pat Sansone of Wilco (he performed a number of times at the festival), giving their song Via Chicago a  complete new meaning!

 

List of acts/shows attended:

Michaela Ann, Derek Hoke, Sally & George, Los Colognes, Lilly Hiatt (twice), Margo Price, Caitlin Rose, Caitlin Canty, Hayes Caryll, Blair Crimmons & The Hookers, Emily Barker, Shannon Mc Nally, Mary Gauthier, The Orphan Brigade, The Deslondes, JD McPherson, The Texas Gentlemen (twice), Joshua Hedley, Lillie Mae, Drive By Truckers, Andrew Combs (twice), Courtney Marie Andrews (twice), Gill Landry, Joana Serrat, The Americans,Vikesh Kapoor, Kasey Chambers,Tyler Childers, Lindi Ortega, Carter Sampson, Kaitlin Butts, Travis Linville, Erin Rae, Dori Freeman, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Deep Dark Woods, Mark O' Connor Band, Reckless Kelly, The Secret Sisters, Whitney Rose (twice), Doug Seeger’s, JP Harris, Zephaniah O Hora, Brian Wright, Hugh Masterson, Band of Heathens (twice), The Wild Reed’s, Wild Ponies, Teddy & The Tough Riders, The Smoking Flowers (twice).The War & Treaty, Big Star Tribute Band (Chris Stamey, Django Haskins, Jody Stephens, Mike Mills, Millie McGuire, Mitch Easter, Pat Sansone)

Reviews and photography by Declan Culliton

Jess Klein @ the DC Club, Dublin - Sept 24th 2017

Sunday night and Dublin city has settled into a weekend wind-down. At the DC Club we are looking forward to the return of the very talented Jess Klein to our shores after a 5-year absence. If you ever need a way to chase away the weekend blues then live music can always provide an answer and in the company of Jess Klein there is no better sanctuary.

Blessed with an emotive and powerful voice, Jess plays a set that includes a number of new songs from her next album, including My Own Beating Heart, Back To My Green, Blair Mountain and Ginny. It is always a risk to include new material that is unfamiliar to an audience but Jess has such a natural stage presence that she has no difficulty integrating the songs into the body of the overall performance.

A very adept guitar player, she displays some lovely touches during old favourites such as Riverview, Travellin’ Woman, Soda Water, Shonalee and Little White Dove. Sadly, the audience is small in number but the honesty and insight of the performance has everyone lapping up each note and nuance. Tougher Than I Seem is another new song and seems to frame the arc of her career across nine excellent and highly recommended releases. The journey of a professional musician is never a smooth road and Jess has seen all sides of an industry that can often be more cruel than kind. However, irrespective of timing and getting the right breaks, talent will always find an outlet and there is a sense of being in the presence of real craft as we witness her many gifts.  

Ireland is an old song that is an obvious inclusion for her only Irish date. There follows a spoken word reading, titled Chicken Soup, that chronicles the life of her Grandmother in her coming to America and raising a family with dignity and pride. The catalyst for this was an attack on a Jewish Cemetery where a number of graves were vandalised, including her grandparents, and the poem is aimed at the perpetrators of such evil actions. It is a really moving performance and honours the struggle that her grandparents had in building a new life and providing a legacy for those who come after.

Mike June joins Jess onstage for the final six numbers and his lead acoustic playing is quite something as he weaves patterns around the fine rhythm playing of Jess. The encore is a poignant version of Beautiful Child, written for her Father and is followed by a real rock-out version of Atlantic City to mark the recent birthday of the Boss.

Jess Klein walks a quiet road when it comes to media recognition. Where others may get the attention and plaudits, she displays an admirable ability to manage her own career and works hard to keep a presence that is away from the shadows and looking into the light. Her wistful delivery and vocal tone blend together with her guitar to capture the listener in acknowledging such an accomplished talent. She is worthy of greater recognition and such artists need to be acknowledged, celebrated and given greater support. Hopefully she can return in the not too distant future when a proper string of Irish dates can be offered to her.

Now married to her fellow travelling musician, Mike June, she joins him on stage during his opening set and sings back-up vocals on a few numbers. Mike played a fine support set of songs from his catalogue, including Election Day, I’ve Got the Darkness, Cotton Fields, Poor Man’s Bible and Hard Times.  He has a confident stage presence and is a fine musician; a perfect foil for Jess and an interesting talent in his own right.    

Review by Paul McGee  Photograph by Paul Dolan

The Worry Dolls @ Workman’s Club, Dublin - Mon 25th Sept 2017

This talented duo comprises of Rosie Jones and Zoe Nicol, who originally met at Liverpool University and have been playing together for a number of years, culminating in the release of 2 previous EP’s and their debut album, earlier this year. The ten songs included on Go Get Gone have been receiving widespread acclaim and their decision to uproot to Nashville and record with local musicians has really borne fruit.

So, with an increasing media hum surrounding them, the Worry Dolls come to Ireland for a short tour that sees them play a number of dates around the country. The audience in Dublin is disappointing and indicative of an increasing reluctance to seek out new music that has been all too prevalent in the city over recent months. It is unfortunate, to say the least, as talent like this really deserves a greater platform – hopefully the rest of the tour will see increased numbers coming out to support live music.

The set tonight includes the debut release in its entirety and it is great to hear these songs played in such an intimate setting, stripped down and without studio production and other musicians in the mix. There is a real energy and vibrancy about Rosie and Zoe as they deliver rousing versions of their songs on guitars and banjos, together with some very tasteful harmonica parts from Rosie on certain songs. She also plays a percussion board during the songs that adds a rhythm and tempo to the beautiful harmony vocals and interesting song structures.

Make no mistake, these musicians are going places and have the right attitude and work ethic to get them there. All the songs are written from personal experience and visit such topics of taking chances in life; Train Leavin’ & Endless Road, together with relationships sacrificed; Miss You Already, Don’t Waste Your Heart On Me, and growth through lessons learned; She Don’t Live Here and Passport. Things Always Work Out is something of a mantra for how they approach life on the road and some older songs are also given an airing; Long Gone and Be So Cruel.

We get a sneak-peek at a new song called Tidal Wave, currently in construction, which sounded rather tasty too … The encore is another old number called Drive (Zoe on Ukulele was a treat) and the girls finish up the evening with a smile and a thank you to those who witnessed their first gig in Ireland. Hopefully it will not be their last visit to Dublin and the joy in the performance of these very talented artists is reminiscent of the best in folk & country traditions.   

Review and photograph by Paul McGee

Slim Cessna’s Auto Club @Whelan’s, Dublin - 21st Sept 2017

This was the sound of a band firing on all cylinders (to use the auto analogy). Slim Cessna’s Auto Club were making their Irish debut to a less than desireable attendance number. This was a show that should have been packed and no-one who was there will forget the exhilaration of the evening. Despite the small numbers there they gave a show that was worthy of a much bigger audience. Entering the venue and seeing the banjo’s, upright and pedal steel onstage one might expect something very different than what was actually about to occur. If you put country, country blues, blues, gospel, punk, folk, rockabilly and Radiohead into a blender you might get something like this coming from the PA.

Slim Cessna, Munly Munly, Lord Dwight Pentacost, Rebecca Vera, Ian O’Dougherty, Andrew Warner are the current line-up and they are a tight focused set of musicians who deliver a show that is part revival, part tent-show-but full on entertainment. The first three have been consistent members of the band for nearly twenty years and work together as a well oiled machine. Slim is tall and acts as master of ceremonies. Ceremonies that are equally focused on Munly Munly skeletal thin all black, fedora hatted look. His voice ranges from a whisper to a keen falsetto to a gave deep growl. Don’t mistake this for something contrived rather this is the development of some deeply rooted vision of redemption and temptation. 

Throughout the show there are lyrical references to Satan and to Jesus as well as to a way of life that is partly influenced by living in Denver, Colorado  and its environs. Munly Munly is the chief writer in the band and his words give the band their defining outlook on life (and death). While Cessna and Munly share the lead vocal they are joined by Pentecost and Vera on the choruses. Vera plays the pedal steel guitar in a way that makes it something far more sonic than is usual. At different times she uses both a drum stick and violin bow to draw different atmospherics from the strings. She also plays a keyboard to further add to the band’s arsenal of sound. In this she is joined by Pentacost on his trade mark Madonna-imaged twin neck guitar as well as coaxing discordant feedback from his 5 string banjo. However it is, naturally, the two lead singers whose voices and moves that are an essential element to their uniqueness. Their voices assuming a sense of harmony that relates to traditional church shape note singing - even if in a very different context. They also ventured into the audience to shake hands with it’s members and to get us all down on our knees along with them in beer and supplication.

Much of the material is taken from the most recent album The Commandments According to SCAC but some older favourites such as This Is What We Do In The Country and Jesus Is In My Body - My Body Has Let Me Down. In many ways the titles don’t matter this was a complete show from start to finish. And what a finish. After leaving the stage the band returned for a much deserved encore which saw all the band members onstage in a row singing and clapping along to a prerecorded rhythm track. Then then began to pack up their instruments as Slim Cessna sang a karaoke version of For The Good Times. He then thanked us for being there on the night. Slim, the thanks were all ours as this was a night that will rank with the best that live music has to offer.

Review by Steve Rapid  Photography by Kaethe Burt O'Dea

Aubrey Sellers and Dylan LeBlanc @ Whelans, Dublin - 14th Sept 2017

Expectations, especially when it comes to live gigs are, well, quite often confoundedly the reality of what actually takes place. Having listen to, and enjoyed, the most recent albums by both of the artists playing tonight there was a distinct difference between tonight live shows and those albums. 

First up Aubrey Sellers delivers a set of songs largely taken from her debut album New City Blues She is accompanied by her guitar player (from Nashville) and a  drummer, who she tells us she picked up in London and got him to play country music. Well, from where I was standing, you would be hard pressed to call the sound coming from the trio anything remotely “country.” Not that there was anything wrong with that. The album is an edgy and at times rocky confection with strong vocals and lyrics. Something that she has dubbed “garage country.”

In this context I found both the guitar and her vocals pretty much drowned out by the bombastic drum sound. Sellers is a good singer who can obviously straddle the divide between country and rock with ease. Her version of Gram Parsons’ Luxury Liner (a song that she told us pretty much was the story of her life) showed that her guitar player could embrace twang as well as garage treble. However both played second fiddle to the drumming. A pity overall as Sellers with an acoustic or with the addition of the electric guitar would have been a more effective introduction to her live show and such strong songs like Liar, Liar. Tonight the vocal, electric guitar and drum combination failed to connect.

Equally at odds with the bulk of his recorded work was the powerful set from Dylan LeBlanc who was playing with members of the band The Pollies and celloist Courtney Blackwell. She and guitarist Jay Burgess were fundamental to the sound which was completed by bass, drums and keyboards as well as some energised electric guitar playing from LeBlanc himself. His distinctive, high register soaring vocals were the centrepiece of the show. Even though it was difficult to hear the lyrical content, mainly due to the reverb on his microphone and the volume the band played at. Many of the songs were taken from LeBlanc’s three albums. The latest of those Cautionary Tales was released in 2015 so a new album is due and it is likely to be much more in keeping with the hard rock of tonight’s show.

Mid show there was an extended song that became a cathedral of sound the built to a peak of intensity, control and conscious melody. LeBlanc introduced one song as a new one before adding “ you probably don’t know the old stuff so it doesn’t really matter.” Between songs LeBlanc didn’t chat too much but said his previous visit to these shores had been to a festival in Belfast. This was his Dublin debut and despite the somewhat sparse crowd he gave a great performance that was animated and full of attitude a swell as powerful and compelling music.

He switched to his acoustic guitar for one song mid-set but otherwise he stuck to his black Gretsch and showed that he is as talented a guitar player as he is singer and songwriter. He closed the show after a final encore telling the captivated audience “It’s been great, It’s been Dublin, It’s been fun!” After the show a fellow audience member summed up the general feeling: which was that what she had just heard wasn’t at all she had thought it would be but that it was, in it’s own right. something mighty and memorable. This, then, was a cautionary tale of keeping an open mind and being rewarded (in LeBlanc’s case) by something pretty special.

Review by Stephen Rapid  Photography by Kaethe Burt O'Dea

Nadia Reid & Julie Byrne @ Whelans - 30th August 2017

Twenty-four hours after the appearance of Courtney Marie Andrews at the same venue two more young female artists turning industry heads both grace the stage at Whelans. Equally encouraging is the impressive attendance for both evening’s shows, a welcomed reassurance that emerging acts are not going unnoticed.

Tonight’s double act features Nadia Reid and Julie Byrne, both having released albums earlier this year to positive reviews and both signed to the Basin Rock record label. However, the comparability ends there.  Label mates they may be but their music, styles and personalities are from different ends of the scale. In classroom vernacular Byrne might be seated in the front row, attentive and impeccably behaved with visions of an academic career on the horizon. In contrast Reid would most likely be at the back, restless, disruptive and questioning, possibly firing paper bombs at the front row and counting down the days until she could break out and pursue a more challenging and nomadic lifestyle.

Slipping quietly on to the stage Byrnes demeanour in keeping with her song writing is laid back, wistful, somewhat anxious and unhurried, almost as if she would prefer not to be noticed. Seated throughout her set she expresses her delight at playing at ‘the legendary’ venue and adds that her father is Irish before starting her set with Sleepwalker and Follow My Voice, both from her latest album Not Even Happiness. Her vocal is low pitched, disciplined and relaxed, complimenting her delicate guitar playing. Welcoming her close friend Taryn Miller on stage to accompany her on Korg Mini Moog she continues with Melting Grid from the same album before visiting her debut album with the track Prism Song. Towards the end of her set she asks for the house lights to be dimmed and appears more comfortable on the darkened stage introducing Natural Blue. Her final song I Live Now As A Singer is inspired by travel, reflection and self-determination. Byrne possesses the lyrical ability to create dreamy trancelike landscapes even if her material suffers from time to time from possibly being one dimensional.

Nadia Reid’s studio output to date has consisted of her debut album Listen To Formation, Look For Signs, which dealt head on with personal heartbreak and love lost, and her current release Preservation which found Reid growing from her experiences and coming out the other end reconciled, confident and fighting. If Julie Byrne’s set, body language and material could be described as monochrome, Reid’s was in technicolour. With both microphone stands adorned by bunches of pink roses she takes the stage confidently, colourfully attired in a black blouse and matching coloured harem pants, her guitarist and occasional backing vocalist Sam Taylor equally looking the part in a two-piece tailored suit and plastic boot lace neck tie. Picking up her Gretsch guitar she immediately launches into Preservation and The Way It Goes, two obvious crowd pleasers notwithstanding the fact that her vocal is somewhat drowned out by the powerful sound of her guitar. Explaining that she is now performing show twelve of a thirty four date tour – and convinced that it’s actually Thursday rather than Wednesday – she switches to acoustic guitar for Runwayand Right On Time, both delivered beautifully, bringing her vocal out front where it deserves to be.

Reach My Destination she explains was inspired by reaching the rock bottom status of moving back home to her mother’s house in Port Chambers after a relationship breakdown. The song is underpinned by stunning guitar playing by Taylor, matched equally by his playing on Hanson Street, Part 2.

An unfortunate juncture during the performance found Reid, visibly disturbed, having to pause mid song and call out a couple of people that insisted on talking during her performance – why do ‘talkers’ always position themselves upfront – and while succeeding in shutting them up she did appear noticeably unsettled for quite a while before regaining composure. Ruby, Track Of The Time, Hanson Street Part 2 also featured together with an audience request for Richard before closing with The Arrow and The Aim. Reid made a point of thanking her close friend and producer Ben Edwards for the inspiration and encouragement in the recording of Preservation. Interestingly she did not reappear for an encore, possibly still unnerved by the mid set distraction.

Ironically, printed on the flip side of Reid’s hand-written set list at the front of the stage was the following ‘I Want Freedom For The Full Expression Of My Personality – Mahatma Gandhi’. No truer words could sum up the exceptionally talented young New Zealand artist.

Spare a thought for Jim Ghedi, another Basin Rock recruit, who opened the show. The young Sheffield folk singer’s band members failed to make the gig due to transport problems leaving him to borrow equipment and perform solo. Given the trauma he performed remarkably well.

Review and photography by Declan Culliton

Courtney Marie Andrews @ Whelans - 29th August 2017

This was not Courtney Marie Andrews first time to play Whelans. She explained that she had come over on the ferry as a teenager having been advised to play the venue by an Irishman of her acquaintance and ended up performing to a couple of people in the public bar before heading right back to the UK on the ferry to do some further busking. This time around there was substantially more people there to see her perform and on the basis of her stunning show a larger venue may be required for her next visit. She was accompanied by her four piece band and delivered a set that was considerably more electric and rocking’ than her studio albums and videos might suggest.

She opened with How Quickly Your Heart Mends from her most recent album Honest Life, already a contender for album of the year in many quarters.  Andrews pointed out that straight after this tour, which ends at The AMA’s Festival in Nashville,  she and the band would be going into the studio to record their next album and that these shows would act as preproduction.  In that light there were a number of new songs in the set, all well received by her fans who would likely be hearing them for the first time. Table For One, Put The Fire Out, 15 Highway Lines and the gorgeous Rookie Dreaming were included from Honest Life together with a selection of  songs from a previous album (On My Page) that had been rereleased by her UK label Loose Music to coincide with the tour. One of these songs, highlighting her skill as a songwriter, is titled Paintings From Michael and is performed solo by her at the piano having explained the story behind the song; that of an incarcerated relation who painted while in prison. Throughout the show her superb vocal ability was readily apparent handling both solo acoustic folk songs and full throated rock work-outs. She also displayed slick guitar playing skills with some delicate finger pickin’ on Woman Of Many Colours also from the rereleased album.

There was some banter between Andrews and the audience, a couple of whom who were effusive in their praise. Another moment was when she strapped on her electric guitar for the first time and someone quipped “Judas” to much amusement all round. At the end there was a tongue in cheek request for Smells Like Teen Spirit which the band briefly, but effectively, played the intro before finishing the set with the crowd pleaser Irene. The encores included a solo version of a new song Rough Around The Edges, which might be the title of the next album and an amped up version of Bob Dylan’s Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You, highlighting the versatility of the band.

There was little to doubt the skill of those on the stage. Andrews quipped that they were known as Courtney Marie Band when they played together and the fact that these were her long time regular players (who were featured on her recordings) gave them an undoubted collective ability to serve the songs in the way best suited to that moment of performance. It was also apparent that although, still only in her mid-twenties, Andrews has so much  to offer both as a writer and performer and with a number of album already under her belt has the potential to become a much more mainstream artist. The style and delivery of her newer material also suggested that her next album may be a departure to a fuller rockier sound compared to the more intimate style of the exquisite Honest Life.

Sound designer, audio engineer and musician Scott Hirsch filled the support slot splendidly with a thirty minute set which included material from his debut 2016 album Blue Rider Songs. A former bass player alongside MC Taylor in Hiss Golden Messenger, his style varied from laid back country soul to a fuller bluesy rock sound and his accompanying three piece band included American keyboard and guitar wizard Sean Coleman, currently residing in Dublin. Darkness, Blue Rider and his closing track Isabella were particularly impressive. All in all a great opener from an act more than worthy to be headlining himself. 

Review by Stephen Rapid and Declan Culliton   Photograph (at top) by Kaethe Burt O'Dea. (Below) Scott Hirsch and Sean Coleman by Declan Culliton

Grant Lee Phillips @ Whelans - 23rd August 2017

Edinburgh native Dean Owens, who supported Grant Lee Phillips, is a highly regarded singer songwriter whose album Into The Sea received glowing reviews when released in 2015 . A close friend of Phillips, his thirty minute set was the perfect opener for what was to follow. Not unfamiliar to all things Irish having toured here previously with The Mavericks and more recently with Sharon Shannon in Australia, he joked  early in his set of been taken by surprise by the pin drop silence of the audience at Whelan’s, in total contrast to the rowdy Irish entourage that followed Shannon around Australia. To his credit the quality of his material and his confident and entertaining stage banter engaged the audience throughout, even managing to get them to sing the chorus on his final song. Highlights of his slot were the opening song Valentine’s Day In New York, written in a hotel room while spending some time in New York without his wife, the Ryan Adams sounding The Only One and Cotton Snow inspired by a visit to the Carter House in Tennessee where The Battle of Franklyn took place during the American Civil War and where ten thousand soldiers died during the five hour battle. 

Grant Lee Phillips most recent album The Narrows, released some twelve months ago and his first recording since relocating to Nashville from California, matched the excellence of his early career recordings as Grant Lee Buffalo and much of this evenings show featured material from both ends of career to date. Interestingly, The Narrows and Fuzzy – released nearly twenty five years ago – both feature quite similar looping and atmospheric guitar playing together with his quite unique vocal range. It’s a great compliment to Phillips that this evenings performance, even though delivered solo, managed to recreate the power, quality and excitement of the material from both those albums in particular.

Kicking off with It Ain’t The Same Old Cold War Harry and One Morning, both from his 2009 album Little Moon, he pledges ‘to start the evening off nice and easy and end it up in a coma’ and over the following ninety certainly delivers a storming set ending the evening jacketless, bathed in sweat and elated.

For a creator of bittersweet and often doleful lyrics, Phillips himself is quite the contradiction on stage, upbeat, humorous and possessing the ability to effortlessly engage and enthral. Introducing One Morning he refers to his rural country childhood, open fields, cattle and roosters before joking "I heard you can buy washed and fresh roosters in the stores here and was scratching my head until someone told me we were talking about potatoes!"

Smoke and Sparks, Holy Irons and Taking On Weight in Hot Springs all from The Narrows follow, stripped back versions but all performed wonderfully. A similar pattern of playing a collection of songs from a particular album follows with two selections from Virginia Creeper, crowd favourite Mona Lisa and Josephine Of The Swamps, and three from Mighty Joe Moon, Honey Don’t Think, Happiness and the title track.

Explaining how his relationship and friendship with support artist Dean Owens started in California and continued in Nashville he invites Owens back on stage to join him on two covers, Gram Parsons Hickory Wind and Ramblin’ Man by Hank Williams, which features a striking guitar solo by Phillips.

The highlights of the evening however are probably his selections from the album Fuzzy. Phillip’s vocal delivery on Jupiter and Teardrop is stunning to say the least - soaring, dipping and echoing, aided by the excellent acoustics and engineered sound in the room. Audience requests are satisfied by two more from the same album, Stars ‘N’ Stripes’ and the title track Fuzzy, described by Phillips as his melodic nightmare, both bringing the house down.

The encore and closing track sees Owens back on stage taking the difficult chorus on a rousing Mockingbirds, with Phillips joking ‘you can sing the high notes, the ones I won’t reach having been travelling from London from 6am this morning’. It’s a fitting  close what has been a wonderful evening by an artist who remains every bit as passionate, entertaining and committed nearly three decades in to his career. 

Review and photography by Declan Culliton

Jim Lauderdale/Beth Nielsen Chapman @ NCH, Dublin - Sun 30th July 2017

JIM LAUDERDALE

Quite aside from his standing as a prolific singer songwriter, Jim Lauderdale’s reputation as best dressed artist in Nashville is beyond dispute. He most certainly cuts a dash taking the stage this evening togged out in a multi coloured Liberty print Dandy & Rose shirt and light green embroidered Manual trousers. The stage in a concert hall can be a lonely and unforgiving platform for an artist to perform solo but Lauderdale breezes through his set this evening accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, customary confidence and good humour.

Since his debut release in 1991 Lauderdale has released no fewer than twenty-eight albums, collaborating and working with the cream of country, bluegrass, roots, soul and rock including Rodney Crowell, Ralph Stanley, Elvis Costello, Robert Hunter, Nick Lowe, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Buddy Miller.

Tonight’s setlist includes a selection of many of those collaborations and a selection of songs from his latest album London Southern, which was actually written five years ago but only finally surfaced earlier this year. The album was a labour of love, (excuse the Nick Lowe pun), explains Lauderdale later in the show, having been recorded with Nick Lowe’s band and production team.

Opening this evening with Three Way Conversation from his 1994 recording Pretty Close To The Truth and continuing with Midnight Will Become Day and The Hummingbirds from the album of the same name it’s clear that the show will be a trawl through his imposing back catalogue rather than concentrating on his latest album. This Changes Everything, released in 2016, found Lauderdale revisiting his love of the  Texas ‘Red Dirt’ Country sound  and the title track comes next followed by Drive from the same album, a stunning  co-write with the young Texan troubadour Hayes Caryll.

Lauderdale refers to his opportunity to work with bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys as one of the musical highlights of his career and proceeds to play Lost In the Lonesome Pines and Feel Like Signing Today, both being title tracks of the two albums recorded with Stanley. It’s difficult to perform bluegrass songs solo acoustic but he manages to do both songs more than justice before an impressive a Capella delivery of the gospel song Like Him.

He seeks out audience requests, "songs that I’ve written please, no Wonderwall or even Cosi Fan Tutte given our surroundings in this beautiful Hall!" The King of Broken Hearts, a song inspired by two of his heroes George Jones and Gram Parsons, is requested and duly delivered.

At this stage Lauderdale explains that’s its twenty-five years since he first played Dublin, "my favourite city to tour", recalling that the gig was in Bad Bobs and he was accompanied by his band Buddy Miller, Donald Lindley, Dusty Wakeman and Gurf Morlix. The response to that show, and in particular the praise by journalist Lisa Hand and musicophile Steve Averill, was a hugely encouraging and a significant confidence booster for his career going forward, adds Lauderdale.

Two songs from London Southern are included, both dedicated to the producers on the album Neil Brockbank who passed away earlier this year and Robert Trehern who died in 2015. The beautiful ballad Sweet Time is first up and followed I Love You More, possibly one of the strongest songs he has written to date. Delivered with immaculate discipline it’s one of the highlights of a most enjoyable set by an artist that always delivers whether in a solo show or accompanied by a band.

Finishing his slot with Headed ForThe Hills, co-written with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, he insists the audience help him out by singing the chorus concluding what has been a typical engaging, entertaining and delightful Jim Lauderdale show.

Review by Declan Culliton

BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN

A singer-songwriter and performing artist of some renown with a career that has spanned the decades; indeed, it is 27 years since her debut release in 1990. Of course, she was already active before this release and has written for a who’s who of major artists, in addition to releasing her own work. The names of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Crystal Gayle, Martina McBride, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Trisha Yearwood and Faith Hill are just a sample of the talent she has written for and her list of song-writing collaborations runs just as deep and too numerous to mention.

Filling in for the original artist Rodney Crowell who was unable to travel, Beth takes the stage with her trusted accompanist Ruth Trimble who plays bass and keys in addition to harmony vocals. In a set that ran for 13 songs Beth puts in a commanding performance with favourites from her song catalogue along with four new songs from a future release.

Ruth Trimble is invited to play one of her songs and sits at the grand piano to perform Goodbye, a beautiful track from her debut release. She shows all the reasons why Beth chose her as a touring companion with a fine performance that showcases Ruth’s beautiful voice and melodic touch on the keys.

Beth exudes a strong confidence on stage and chats easily between songs with stories about the writing process, relationships, touring and the current state of things. While not specifically talking about the situation in American politics, she does make reference to a lack of empathy and grace before singing the Paul Simon classic American Tune; a most appropriate and classy statement to highlight where her feelings lie. It is her ability to sing from the heart that separates Beth out from many of her contemporaries and her powerful delivery is utterly convincing on both guitar and piano. 

This Kiss, Sand And Water, How We Love and I Find Your Love are all received with great enthusiasm from the audience and Beth includes a song from her recent collaboration with Olivia Newton John and Amy Sky, Stone In My Pocket. She also sings a song written for Willie Nelson back in 1989, There’s Nothing I Can Do About It Now, adding great colour in the last verse by mimicking both Willie and Bob Dylan’s vocal delivery – both carried out with great aplomb.

Her final song of the evening is taken from an astronomy project she was involved with and is the gentle message that light exists everywhere across the Universe. The song is called There Is No Darkness and Beth leaves the stage to a standing ovation which is richly deserved. Beth Nielson Chapman stands at the pinnacle of her art as an accomplished artist of great insight and maturity. Her gift of communication is something to hold close and treasure. 

Review by Paul McGee   Photography by Ronnie Norton

Buddy Mondlock @ The Hot Spot, Greystones - Sat 29th July 2017.

This is a very fine venue, located at the marina in the beautiful setting of Greystones harbour. It is the perfect place to host live music with an intimate setting and the only drawback is that it must rely mainly on local residents for support, which is crucial to its survival.

The journey from the centre of Dublin is a long one and I am sure that many people have concerns over the return leg after the show has ended. However, it is well worth the trip as I discovered on Saturday last when Buddy Mondlock and Mike Lindauer performed a set that had the small crowd waxing lyrical about the talent on show.

At the end of an Irish tour, both musicians play with an easy style that comes from many years of playing together and Mike makes reference to the fact that they first met in the principal’s office at school when they were ten years old.

Playing a selection of songs that includes many fan favourites like The Kid, The Ugly One, Coming Down In The Rain, Mud, New Jersey Sunset, The Cats At The Colosseum and the regular encore No Choice, Buddy proves himself the consummate songwriter with his keen observations on life, love and everything in between. He has a gentle approach to both his guitar style and his vocal phrasing. Indeed, it can be quite hypnotic in a venue like the Hot Spot where the atmosphere is one of quiet listening and attentiveness. Mike plays beautifully on his custom-made bass guitar and compliments the soft vocal delivery with understated harmony vocals and subtle melody runs.

A few new songs are tried and well received, Come Back First, The Witness and Filament will no doubt appear on an upcoming release. Buddy co-writes a lot of songs and tells stories of his time spent in younger days writing with Garth Brooks. As their respective careers took different paths, Buddy waited for one of their co-writes to appear and this finally happened on The Chase (1992) when Every Now And Then was included. The royalties kept Buddy in comfort for some little time and also gave him the joyous experience of purchasing a brand-new car for cash … !

A word for support artist Martyn Travis who entertained with his quick wit and easy conversation. A natural storyteller, Martin comes from a fishing background and has known Buddy & Mike for many years, having originally met in New York. He is a fine guitarist with a clear voice and sings of Salt On My Skin, The Harbour Bar, A Father And A Son, A Place In My Heart and As This Night Becomes Day in a short set that impresses and makes a positive statement of intent for future outings.

Review and photo by Paul McGee