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Upcoming Gigs & Albums
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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD/Bluray) 2025
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Upcoming: New releases (CD/DVD/Bluray) 2026
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Upcoming: UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2025)
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Upcoming: UK & Ireland Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026)
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Upcoming: Festivals UK & Europe (2026)
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Upcoming: European, USA & World Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2025)
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Upcoming: European, USA & World Tour Dates and Gig Listing (2026)
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Tag Archives: acoustic
Quick plays: DUFFY & BIRD, DREW HOLCOMB, TIM GRIMM, BOB BRADSHAW, 3TIMES7
DUFFY & BIRD Spirit Level [Release date 20.09.19] You can’t go wrong with a voice and an acoustic guitar. That is, if you’ve a decent singer, a decent song, and decent player. It’s a formula as old as the hills. … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays
Tagged 3Times7, acoustic, album, Americana, blues, blues rock, Bob Bradshaw, Dragons, Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, Duffy & Bird, Heart Land Again, Queen Of The West, Rain In Chicago, review, roots, singer songwriter, Spirit Level, Tim Grimm
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Gig review: BURNING RAIN – Camden Underworld, London, 6 April 2019
And now for something slightly different. While many of their contemporaries seem to constantly tour, Burning Rain have a rather chequered career with a low profile in the UK. They have only released four albums over a 20 year period, … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 6 April 2019, acoustic, Burning Rain, Camden Underworld, Dead daisies, Doug Aldrich, gig, Keith St John, melodic rock, review, Whitesnake
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Quick plays: CARRIE TREE, HEADSTICKS, THE END MACHINE, TNT
CARRIE TREE The Canoe [Release date 26.04.19] Brighton based singer songwriter Carrie Tree is onto her third album with ‘The Canoe’, which sees her work with producer and arranger Markus Sieber. ‘Human Kindness’ is the album’s stand out, highlighting that … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays
Tagged acoustic, album, ambient, Carrie Tree, Dokken, Headsticks, Kept In The Dark, Lynch Mob, punk, punk folk, review, singer songwriter, Sons of Morpheus, The Canoe, the END Machine, TNT
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Quick plays: KRISTINA STYKOS, DANNI NICHOLLS
KRISTINA STYKOS River Of Light Thunder Ridge Records [Release date 05.04.19] With many of the songs delivered in an enforced semi-spoken style (in 2017, she was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a disorder that makes speaking and singing difficult or even … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays
Tagged acoustic, album, Americana, country, Danni Nicholls, folk, Kristina Stykos, Nashville, review, River Of Light, singer, songwriter, The Melted Morning
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Quick plays: MICHAEL McDERMOTT, DANNY SCHMIDT
MICHAEL McDERMOTT Orphans Pauper Sky Records [Release date 12.04.19] In Orphans, a set of songs that while not making earlier records refused to be left to collect dust, Michael McDermott has come up with perhaps his best album yet – … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays
Tagged acoustic, album, Americana, Danny Schmidt, Louise Lemon, Michael McDermott, Orphans, review, rock, singer, songwriter, Standard Deviation
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Gig review: THUNDER – St.David’s Hall, Cardiff, 1 February 2019
When the Please Remain Seated album and tour was announced, it brought a mixed response from myself: on the one hand, it was interesting to see Thunder doing something different from their usual electric shows. What I was fearful of: … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 1 February 2019, acoustic, Cardiff, Danny Bowes, gig, Luke Morley, Please Remain Seated, review, rock, St.David's Hall, Thunder
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Gig review: THEA GILMORE – The Met, Bury, 8 December 2018
Thea Gilmore is becoming something of a fixture in our seasonal despatches. As traditional as decking the halls of GRTR! HQ with boughs of holly. This time last year The Counterweight was winning our readers’ album of the year vote … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 8 December 2018, acoustic, Bury, Christmas Party, festive, gig, Nigel Stonier, review, seasonal, singer, songwriter, The Met, Thea Gilmore
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Quick plays: BEN DE LA COUR, SAM LEWIS
BEN DE LA COUR The High Cost Of Living Strange Flour Sack Cape Records [Release date 06.04.18] Having trodden a path from NYC to Europe, and then back to LA, to New Orleans and now (yes, somewhat predictably it would … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS, Quick Plays
Tagged acoustic, album, Ben De La Cour, Loversity, Nashville, R&B, review, roots, Sam Lewis, shoegaze, singer, songwriter, soul, Superdrone, The High Cost Of Living Strange
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Album review: LUNA ROSSA – Atropa
Firefly Music [Release date 19.11.18] Three albums in, and the latest chapter in Panic Room acoustic side project of Jonathan Edwards (keyboards) and Anne-Marie Helder (vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute) finds them at a crossroads. The main stay of both … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged acoustic, album, Anne-Marie Helder, Atropa, Jonathan Edwards, Luna Rossa, Panic Room, review, rock, singer, songwriter
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Gig review: KIKI DEE & CARMELO LUGGERI – The Met, Bury, 26 October 2018
David Randall chatted to Kiki Dee in March 2015 for a two-part special on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. Part 2 covers the 1970s including her work with Elton John and her partnership with Carmelo Luggeri, bringing the story up … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS, Radio interview
Tagged 26 October 2018, acoustic, Bury, Carmelo Luggeri, Elton John, gig, interview, Kiki Dee, pop, review, singer, songwriter, The Met
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Album review: GALEN AYERS – Monument
Bombinate [Release date: 27.07.18] A confident debut here from this British US/Greece-based singer-songwriter, ‘Monument’ births short/sharp essays in personal values and beliefs in a swell of acoustic ambience. Cool to the point-of-chilly opener, ‘You Choose’ sets out her stall with … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged acoustic, album, ambient, folk, Galen Ayers, Kevin Ayers, Monument, review, singer, songwriter
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Album review: COLIN JAMES – Miles To Go
True North Records [Release date 21.09.18] Canadian blues-rock artist Colin James recently reflected that : “Blues is the only genre where you can maintain a young profile at the age of 53.” And while there’s no doubting the veracity of … Continue reading
Album review: BIRDSONG AT MORNING – Signs And Wonders
Blue Gentian Records [Release date 22.08.18] ‘Signs And Wonders’ is a remarkably ambitious album from a band based around singer/songwriter/vocalist Alan Williams. But then this is a band that released a 4-CD box set debut in 2011. This time the … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged 5.1, acoustic, album, Birdsong At Morning, Blu-ray, Marillion, orchestral, review, rock, Signs And Wonders
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Album review: ELEANOR McEVOY – Forgotten Dreams
Chasing The Dragon Audiophile Recordings [Release date: 08.18] available at chasingthedragon.co.uk We’ve had Alone (2011) and its companion release Naked Music (2016) – albums that saw Irish singer songwriter Eleanor McEvoy retire to the sanctuary of a sleepy Norfolk studio … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged acoustic, album, audiophile, Chasing The Dragon, classical, direct cut, Eleanor McEvoy, folk, Forgotten Dreams, hi-fi, review, singer, songwriter
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EP review: INDIA ELECTRIC CO. – Tablelands
Shoelay [Release date 19.10.18] The India Electric Co. return with the final part of the EP trilogy which contrasts the city and country. The wonderfully talented duo Cole Stacey (vocals, percussion, gravel) and Joseph O’Keefe (violin, piano, guitar, accordion, harp, … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews
Tagged acoustic, blues, EP, folk, India Electric Co., jazz, Midge Ure, pop, review, Tablelands
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Quick plays: RUSTON KELLY, MARC RIBOT, KITTY MACFARLANE
RUSTON KELLY Dying Star Rounder Records [Release date 07.09.18] This is the debut album by Nashville based Ruston Kelly who has Jarrad K as collaborator and producer, with a number of guests including his wife Kacey Musgraves. Kelly said he wanted “to … Continue reading
Album review: ANNIE DRESSNER – Broken Into Pieces
www.anniedressner.com [Release date 26.10.18] A native New Yorker, but an adopted Brit of seven years, folk singer songwriter Annie Dressner has found favour on these shores with BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music, and appeared at the Green Man and … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged acoustic, album, Annie Dressner, Broken Into Pieces, folk, indie, Nigel Stonier, review, singer, songwriter
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EP review: DORIAN SORRIAUX – Hungry Ghost
Soulseller Records [Release date 29.06.18] Dorian Sorriaux is the guitarist in Blues Pills where he has gained many plaudits for his playing with comparisons to legendary blue guitarists such as Peter Green and Paul Kossoff. On this EP he has … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, Single and EP reviews
Tagged acoustic, Blues Pills, Dorian Sorriaux, EP, guitarist, Hungry Ghost, Neil Young, review
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Album review: TRACEY BROWNE – The Doctrine Of Song
[Release date 4.05.18] You could be forgiven – listening in a ‘blindfold test’ to this sophomore release from Manchester-based singer songwriter Tracey Browne, for occasionally thinking, “blimey, where did these ‘lost’ Thea Gilmore songs come from?” But dig a little … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged acoustic, album, indie, Liz Hanks, Nigel Stonier, review, singer, songwriter, The Doctrine Of Song, Thea Gilmore, Tracey Browne
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Album review: RITCHIE DAVE PORTER– End Of The Line
Self release [Release date 01.04.18] From the opening filmic feel of ‘Blues At Sunrise’ to the conceptually opposite of ‘Blues At ‘Twilight’ – two ambient blues instrumentals that top and tail Ritchie Dave Porter’s ‘End Of The Line’ – this … Continue reading
Gig review: JAMES GRANT & The Hallelujah String Quartet – The Met, Bury, 5 May 2018
Whether it is a folk club in Biddulph (2007) or an art gallery in Liverpool (2011), you can see James Grant in any number of small venues but the bigger stages seem to be reserved for his homeland. It was … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 5 May 2018, acoustic, Bury, gig, James Grant, Love & Money, Love And Money, review, singer, songwrier, The Hallelujah String Quartet, The Met
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Album review: MY GLASS WORLD – Prisoner Of Gravity
Luxury Noise [Release date 01.06.18] My Glass World is a vehicle for singer / songwriter Jamie Telford who’s ‘claim to fame’ is having played the driving piano that graces The Jam’s #1 single ‘Beat Surrender’ (1982). He’s also a trained … Continue reading
Posted in ALBUM REVIEWS, ALBUM REVIEWS (Mobile), ALL POSTS
Tagged acoustic, album, Jamie Telford, My Glass World, Prisoner Of Gravity, review, soft rock
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Interview: Bearded Theory Festival (Rich Bryan)
Hollie Latham writes… Held at Catton Hall at the end of May each year, (2018 dates are 24 – 27 May) Bearded Theory music festival is a favourite and summer must do for so many people, myself included. The full … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, INTERVIEWS
Tagged 24-27 May 2018, acoustic, Bearded Theory, Catton Hall, Derbyshire, festival, folk, interview, Robert Plant, rock
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Gig review: BETH HART – New Theatre, Oxford, 18 April 2018
Opening for Beth Hart are the Kris Barras Band, who were performing as a three piece in acoustic mode (not sure where the fourth band member was!) and promoting the new album ‘Divine And Dirty’, which our resident blues guru … Continue reading
Posted in ALL POSTS, GIG REVIEWS
Tagged 18 April 2018, acoustic, beth Hart, blues, gig, jazz, Kris Barras Band, New Theatre, Oxford, review, rock, rock 'n' roll, soul
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Quick plays: BIRDS OF CHICAGO, IAN SHERWOOD
BIRDS OF CHICAGO Love In Wartime JT Nero (JT & The Clouds frontman Jeremy Lindsay) and Allison Russell (Po’ Girl) first combined their talents on the 2011 JT Nero-branded Mountains/Forests album – an album of Americana that lacked a commercial … Continue reading
