Tag: BGS-UK

Uri Kohen Unites a World of Music at Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival in Ireland

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This summer, BGS UK is celebrating the festival makers – the men and women who put their time, their finances and their sanity on the line to bring us the music we love. For the past decade, Israeli-born Uri Kohen has been flying the flag for roots music in the west of Ireland with his Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival in County Mayo. What started out as a labour of love has become an event that draws people back, year after year, from across the globe. We caught up with Uri to find out more.

BGS: Uri, describe your hometown of Westport for those of us who haven’t been there.

It’s beautiful! It was voted as Ireland’s best town to live in and we still very much hold that title. It’s particularly famous for the mountain overlooking the town, Croagh Patrick, where St. Patrick sat 40 days and nights and banished the snakes from Ireland. We’ve got some of the best restaurants in the country, and they recently built an entire cycle lane all the way round called the Greenway which brings people in droves to ride their bikes. Brilliant pubs, too.

But it’s not where you’re originally from.

No, I grew up in a kibbutz in the west of Israel.

Is there a bluegrass scene in Israel?

Not particularly. I’d never heard bluegrass before I came to Ireland. But in the 1970s an English couple moved to a kibbutz called Ginosar, and they started a festival called Jacob’s Ladder. It was focused on Anglo Saxon music, so there was English folk, Scottish ballads, and American folk too. There was even a massive scale square dance! They’re still running it and it’s a super cool festival. You do hear bluegrass instruments getting into Israeli music now – pop albums with banjo.

What were your musical influences, growing up there?

My parents were socialists so the music they listened to in their early 20s was real workers’ music. My dad had spent two years in the US so he was influenced by that; he researched Alan Lomax and was a big fan of Leadbelly! And of The Weavers, Johnny Cash, and Peter, Paul & Mary… Pete Seeger came to Israel in 1964 and my dad actually got to meet him. But when I started stealing my parents’ records I chose the Bob Dylan and the Leonard Cohen.

You mention that they were politically inspired by the folk artists. Was there a lot of music making on the kibbutz too?

Yes, but bear in mind that most of the people that lived in my kibbutz were immigrants from Eastern Europe, so at that time Israeli music was heavily influenced by Russian music, led by accordion, clarinet and fiddle. The accordion was the main instrument and it’s still very popular to do public singing there – people pay good money to go and sing along with someone who leads them in communal singing. My granddad, who came from Austria, had played in a mandolin orchestra when he lived there, and I have a picture of him doing that which is cool.

You didn’t want to be a musician yourself?

I couldn’t play so I became a sound technician, which is the Failed Musician Syndrome. I loved rock and roll, and even as a little kid I was DJ-ing for friends and at school parties. I didn’t have equipment – I just used to sit all night and tape the songs from the radio. The ability to shape people’s mood by playing them good tunes is something I love to this day. Then at 14 I joined a sound company in my local village and I became fascinated by speakers and microphones. I really learned my craft touring the former Soviet Union as a sound engineer for the Israeli army’s bands. We had to work with whatever equipment we found there, and it wasn’t much.

Uri Kohen

How did you end up moving to Ireland?

It was like an actual dream. I woke up one day when I was about 16 with this epiphany and told my parents I was moving to Ireland. I didn’t know much about Ireland at all but I was charmed by it. Once I had the idea it was where I wanted to be, I read books and watched films about it and as soon as I saw The Commitments I knew that’s the way I wanted to live my life. Own a pub, live in the countryside. So that’s what I did! I flew to Dublin on a one-way ticket. I’m sure my parents were upset about it, but then again, my father went to kibbutz which wasn’t what his parents raised him to do… They’d taught us to do our own thing and so in a way they were probably proud of it.

Westport seems like a pretty remote part of the country to end up in.

There was an Israeli man by the same name, Uri, who lived here, and I knew of him, and he’d said sure if you’re in Ireland come over for a look. I went down and stayed in his house for three weeks! Within a week or two I got a job in a pub, and about the same time I met Leesa — who is now my wife. I don’t believe in fate but still, I couldn’t believe I ended up here, and that everything just worked out so well.

So you moved to Ireland, knew nothing about bluegrass — and now you run the country’s biggest bluegrass festival. Explain.

Well, I’d been running pubs and I’d almost left music production behind. Then one year some friends asked me to help them put on a Kurt Cobain tribute night and suddenly we had 200 people and six bands, something this small rural town had never seen before. Until then we’d just had a local band called the Kit Kat Boys because they’d play two songs and have a cigarette break. It inspired this idea to really develop the music scene in the town with a strong emphasis on production values and quality acts.

Anyway, I had the idea of doing a festival in the style of The Band’s The Last Waltz. I was imagining music like the Grateful Dead, and then someone said, “Why not do it with bluegrass?” I said, “I don’t have a clue what bluegrass is, but let’s do it.” And the great thing about Ireland is that the bluegrass family here is so keen that they came in droves. I couldn’t believe it. I remember the campers arriving on Thursday… I was so confused. I said “We don’t start til tomorrow!”

What has running the festival taught you about Irish bluegrass?

First of all it is way bigger than what we think. Both from a musician’s perspective and a fan’s one. Second, you don’t need to be an expert to enjoy this stuff. When I came to this music Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt meant nothing to me. What’s important for the crowds is that the acts are good — not whether you play Kentucky-style or California-style.

Festivals are famously risky from a business point of view. Did you ever feel out of your depth?

In the second and third years I lost a lot of money because I was determined to book the best bands I could. But the response was amazing and it just grew and grew. I think I hit the jackpot choosing this style because these musicians want to play all the time. I brought the Loose Moose String Band from Liverpool and they almost played for 72 hours straight. And I’ve seen Tim Rogers — who’s the number one fiddler in Ireland and the managing director of the festival — once do a session for 11 hours solid.

Every night we have a gala concert but everything other gig is free and bluegrassers are so approachable that seasonal musicians who just have a fiddle lying in their house can come and join the sessions with the headline acts. It’s like playing on the street with Bruce Springsteen – when people see it for the first time they are blown away. For instance, in 2012 Roni Stoneman played an afternoon set, and there was a young feller, 13 years of age. Roni, in her 70s, plays “Dueling Banjos” with him. He returned to the festival year after year, and now he’s one of the most sought-after banjo players in the country.

So who excites you in this year’s line-up?

Brennen Leigh and Noel McKay, a country folk duo from Austin, Texas, are going to close the main stage on Saturday night with some special guests. And I can’t wait to see The Local Honeys, a duo doing old-time music from East Kentucky, doing a gospel hour on the Sunday morning. We’re also bringing over a six-piece from Alaska called Big Chimney Barn Dance, and Blue Summit from California, with the brilliant AJ Lee. It’s their first-ever visit across the water! There’ll be sixteen different acts including bands from Paris and the Netherlands and of course Ireland and the UK.

Sounds like you’ve got the beginnings of your own Bluegrass Eurovision.

As I like to say, it takes an Israeli man to bring a French band to play traditional American music in Ireland. I truly believe in world peace through bluegrass! We have all the worlds’ problems sorted here.

BGS UK Festival Preview: Summer 2019

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The sun’s finally out, and we all know what that means — festival season is here, with its promise of long days, late nights, and all the truck-burgers you can hold down. Look, we love Glasto. But if you’re the kind of music lover who wants to actually be able to see the band while they play — and even, perhaps, locate your tent at the end of the night — can we offer a few alternatives? Here’s our guide to some of the best folk, roots and bluegrass festivals happening in Britain this summer.

Fire in the Mountain, 31 May to 2 June, Aberystwyth, Wales
This brilliant little festival in Wales has sold out every year since its inception five years ago. Held on a former riding school that a group of friends and volunteers have loved back to life, it’s an event that exists purely to support and popularise quality roots music, and everything about it holds true to its mission, from the eclectic line-up — which this year includes Bruce Molsky’s Mountain Drifters, Po’ Boys Cajun Band and vintage calypso from Trinidad and Tobago – to the extremely good value ticket prices. You’ll also find only CAMRA-approved local ales and cider at the bar. Camping options include pre-pitched tents and Bell Tent glamping, and this year there’s even a ‘music only’ ticket for sale, although fair warning, it involves wearing a blindfold.

Black Deer Festival, 21 to 23 June, Eridge Park, Kent
Launched last year to pretty instant acclaim, the Black Deer festival is run by two women who used to book the much-loved (but sadly short-lived) Hop Farm Festival. Its acts are a who’s who of Americana and roots-rock, including Band of Horses, Kris Kristofferson, The Shires, The Staves and The Magic Numbers, while Billy Bragg, John Smith, Justin Townes Earle and Jessie Buckley fight for second billing. Their food offerings are as lavish as their line-up, with a focus on authentic Southern smokehouse dishes and a barbecue competition. But our favourite thing? Their partnership with Supajam, a nearby school for teenagers who’ve fallen out of education, and who actually get to run one of the stages themselves.

Black Deer Festival. Photo by Carolina Faruolo

Maverick Festival, 5 to 7 July, Easton Woodbridge, Suffolk
The UK’s first Americana festival, with 11 years under its belt, Maverick is proof that the people of Suffolk knew a good thing when they heard it. This year’s line-up includes the sensational Brother Brothers, so it’s clear they’ve still got great taste. The rest of the bill is a thoughtful one that uncovers so much lesser-heard talent we’d suggest the organisers move into R&D. Oh, and Otis Lee Crenshaw – the redneck jailbird musical alter ego of comedian Rich Hall – will be playing a set too, which makes it just about unmissable.

HebCelt, 17 to 20 July, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis
A magical combination of folk, pop and tradition, the Hebridean Celtic Festival is one of those destination festivals where the venue is truly worth the trip. Set in the grounds of Lewis Castle, with views that look out over Stornoway Harbour to the ocean, this is a chance to experience ancient (and modern) music in one of the wildest, most remote parts of Britain: the Outer Hebrides. Expect upbeat headlining from KT Tunstall, fantastic support from the Elephant Sessions, and a whole host of Scottish folk royalty including Kris Drever and Talisk. After 20 years of making their visitors wish they lived here year round, HebCelt have even brought their own cookbook, so you can recreate the comfort of that haddock pie at home.

Beer and Bluegrass, 26 and 27 July, Poole, Dorset
A relative newcomer to the scene, Beer and Bluegrass has successfully identified the two key elements to the happiness of mankind. It’s a great place to discover new international bands – from I See Hawks in LA (who are, not surprisingly, from Los Angeles), to The Local Honeys (Kentucky) and Massy Ferguson (Seattle). But it has a serious commitment to what’s behind the bar too, sourcing a wide range of craft ales and ciders both locally and nationally. They even have sessions where you can meet the brewers – and there’s a Somerset hog roast to help you soak up the booze.

Cambridge Folk Festival, 1-4 August, Cherry Hinton Hall, Cambridgeshire
The original and still the best. You won’t hear a bum note at this perfectly curated event. Cambridge has been showcasing the brightest and best since the folk revival reached the UK in the 1960s, and was founded as a direct inspiration of the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island (its first year’s line-up included a young Paul Simon). The mouthwatering line-up includes legends Ralph McTell, Graham Nash, and Lucinda Williams; elsewhere, Blind Boys of Alabama will be teaming up with Amadou and Mariam to present “From Bamako to Birmingham.” The glamping’s already sold out but you can still get in at the Cherry Hinton and Coldham’s Common Campsites.

Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, 8 to 10 August, Cropredy, Oxfordshire
Festivals don’t get much more personal than this one. There’s something of the family reunion about it – no surprise since it’s been held every August since 1976 as a way for the band members of Fairport Convention to get back together, long after they went their separate musical ways. This will be a big year for guitarist Richard Thompson (although aren’t they all?) who’s celebrating his 70th birthday in 2019, and as ever the single-stage line-up is a blend of veteran and young folksters from across the UK, including Martin Simpson, Martin Barre Band, Seth Lakeman and Frank Turner.

Shrewsbury Folk Festival, 23 to 26 August, Shropshire
Someone in Shropshire has clearly been working the phones. This one has a belter of a line-up, with stellar US acts like Birds of Chicago and Amthyst Kiah rubbing shoulders with British (wait, let’s not be modest about this – global) sensation Kate Rusby. There’s an appearance by evergreen Celtic giants Capercaillie, while Rev. Sekou will be bringing the blues and Mankala the Afrobeats. And if you don’t enjoy comedian Grace Petrie’s set, we suggest you get to the doctor stat and have them check your funny bone.

Photo of The Long Road: Steve Turvey

The Long Road, 6 to 8 September, Stanford Hall, Leicestershire
Full disclosure – there’s a reason BGS gets especially excited about The Long Road, the UK’s most comprehensive three-day celebration of country, Americana and roots music. And that’s because, for the second year running, we’ll be staging a takeover of the Honky Tonk to bring you some of our favourite singer-songwriter acts. With performances from Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Outlaw, John Paul White and Kip Moore – not to mention a whole host of family entertainment with a country feel – you honestly can’t afford to miss this one.

And don’t forget these local favourites:

Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, 7 to 9 June, Westport, Ireland

Gate to Southwell Festival, 6 to 9 June, Nottinghamshire

South Essex Bluegrass, 11 to 14 July, Essex

Didmarton Bluegrass Festival, 31 August to 2 September, Oxfordshire

Cornish Bluegrass Festival, 13 to 15 September, Newquay

Lede photo of Fire in the Mountain: Sabrina Dallot

Track by Track: Tom Russell’s ‘October in the Railroad Earth’

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Cowboys, T-Bone steaks and wolverines — there’s no forgetting Tom Russell’s passion for the West in his latest album. At 72, Russell is long established as one of America’s most poetic of troubadours, and the images he evokes throughout October in the Railroad Earth are as powerful as ever. But where does he get his ideas? Read on as Russell reveals the inspirations behind each track.

1. “October in The Railroad Earth”

Title taken from the prose poem by Jack Kerouac. Jack recited it on The Steve Allen Show, on a jazz record, and parts of his recitation appear on my record Hotwalker. Jack’s prose (and this song) highlight Kerouac’s time working as a railroad brakeman in San Francisco. Bill Kirchen plays the freight train/ truck-driving Telecaster parts here. Jack’s books (most never published in his lifetime) are called out in the outro…he died with 62 bucks in the bank.

2. “Small Engine Repair”

An older song of mine I never recorded — until now. Scottish actor Iain Glen sang the song in the Irish movie Small Engine Repair, based around my song title. Iain Glen has gone on to star in Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, and other major films and TV series. I wrote the song about the man who fixed my lawn mower in El Paso. Funny it ended up as an Irish film.

3. “T-Bone Steak and Spanish Wine”

A few years ago I drove up an old canyon in Northern California and rediscovered a steakhouse and bar I’d played in over forty years back. Nothing had changed. The dinner special on the outside sign remained the same over the years. I sat down with the owner for a glass of wine and we sang the old songs and escaped into the past.

4. “Isadore Gonzalez”

A Tex-Mex corrido based on the true story of Isadore Gonzalez, a Mexican vaquero (cowboy) who appeared in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in the late 1880s. He died in a horse accident when the show was in England and he’s buried in Bristol in an unmarked grave. He tells his story in the Mexican-corrido style with the Grammy Award-winning Los Texmaniacs (Max and Josh Baca) providing the music.

5. “Red Oak Texas”

A sad but true tale of two twin boys from Red Oak, Texas, who were rebels and delinquents in high school — but straightened out when one twin joined the Army and the other the Marines. They were sent to the Middle East and became heroes, but they never adapted to regular life once they returned home. One twin locked himself in his room for a year and read the WWI poetry of Robert Graves, a famed English poet. Graves may have invented the phrase War is Hell. The Red Oak Texas twins lived it. I left out the grisly parts.

6. “Back Streets of Love”

My GPS (Global Positioning System) love song. Where are we now, who are we anyhow? I’ve never adapted well to the idea of taking map orders and directions from a satellite, or a voice screaming: proceed to the route! My global position? Artist and musician, sir, driven by a signal deep in the blood, like every poet in the game my direction stays the same, lost on the backstreets of love.

7. “Hand-Raised Wolverines”

Years ago I was touring in Canada and the booking agent was a friend named Louise. We had a few days off on the tour and I challenged Louise to find us something interesting to do. She booked us into Edmonton Maximum Security Prison for a concert, and the next day took us out to a private game park where a friend of hers let me inside a cage with semi-tame wolverines, the fiercest animals, pound for pound, on earth. I use that experience as a metaphor for modern times.

8. “Highway 46”

A nod towards the ’50s and ’60s music out of Bakersfield. I heard Bob Dylan on the radio in 1962 the same night I heard Buck Owens. I thought it was all the same — sort of hillbilly/folk music with voices that cut through the fog. Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Wynn Stewart…voices from a Wurlitzer jukebox. Telecaster guitars and pedal steels. Searing treble. Highway 46 runs from the California Coast towards the San Joaquin Valley, the road where James Dean died in a car crash.

9. “When the Road Gets Rough”

We were stuck in heavy traffic somewhere in England and the guitar player was complaining about his cold hotel room, the driver was coughing and chewing aspirin, and the cafes along the rest stop route didn’t offer much in the way of cuisine. We’d been out for two weeks and spirits were raw…my wife, Nadine, turned to me and said, “That’s when the road gets rough.” Then we wrote this song.

10. “Pass Me the Gun, Billy”

Back in the mid 1960s I was living with my cowboy brother, Pat, on his ranch on the edge of San Luis Obispo, California. He was watching TV on night when he heard gunshots in the far pasture. “Poachers,” he yells. Someone was shooting at his cows. Pat was always ready for a Wild West adventure. And, kids, we got our adventure. Big time. It reminded me of something out of James Dickey’s novel Deliverance.

11. “Wreck of the Old 97”

One of the first songs I learned to play on guitar. I heard it on Johnny Cash’s first Sun Record release: The Hot and Blue Guitars of Johnny Cash. The song tells the true tale of the wreck of a Southern Railway mail in route from Monroe, Virginia, to Spencer, North Carolina, on September 2.

Photo credit: Nadine Russell

Britain’s Got Bluegrass: May 2019

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Get off your couch and go hear some live music with Britain’s Got Bluegrass! Here’s the BGS-UK monthly guide to the best gigs in the UK and Ireland in May.

John Reischman & The Jaybirds, May 12, Green Note, London

Look, we know you haven’t really made plans for this Sunday night. No one has. So instead of staying in and watching Game of Thrones, why don’t you pop out to Camden and check out a Grammy Award-winning mandolin player? John Reischman is one of the most respected players of the instrument in the world today, and his band The Jaybirds are coming to the end of their UK tour, meaning you’ve only got one last chance to catch them. With all the style and flair you’d expect from someone who used to play with guitar legend Tony Rice, this stylish West Coast ensemble mixes old-time and bluegrass with a modern feel. Catch up with Jon Snow and his dragon queen another day.

Kaia Kater, May 10-14, nationwide

The Guardian described Kaia Kater as “where bluegrass meets Nina Simone”. Who wouldn’t want to hear that? The Grenadian-Canadian (trying saying that three times quickly) will be in Milton Keynes, Gateshead, York and Bristol next week. Her most recent album, Grenades, exploring and celebrating her paternal ancestry, has been nominated for a 2019 Juno Award. (Read the BGS interview.)

Mark Knopfler May 18-30, nationwide

Football, Deptford, greasy spoon cafes — it’s fair to say that the Dire Straits man’s songs don’t exactly cover the usual subjects of Americana music. But arguably no British singer-songwriter has done more than Mark Knopfler to advertise and contribute to US roots music. His mastery of everything from Celtic rock to country to blues has helped shape the musical landscape of the last four decades and the fact that his band includes celtic legends John McCusker (on fiddle) and Mike McGoldrick (on whistle) is enough to have us shouting the word “QUALITY.” Leeds, Newcastle, Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, London, Birmingham — consider yourselves very, very lucky.

Amos Lee, May 19, Union Chapel, London

His first night at Union Chapel has already sold out, so you’ll need to move fast if you want to hear the soulful stylings of Amos Lee. We can only imagine how perfectly the acoustics of that beautiful old church are going to suit his fabulous voice — a voice that’s captured the heart of almost everyone who hears it, including collaborators Norah Jones and Adele. And if you can keep a dry eye during his new song, “Little Light” — inspired by a seven-year-old friend who’s been treated for kidney cancer — you’re a better person than we are, Gunga Din.

Milk Carton Kids, May 28 and 29, Dublin and London

Listen to Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale and it’s hard not to have the words “Simon and Garfunkel” leap instantly to mind. With their beautiful close harmonies and thoughtful, all-too-honest lyrics, The Milk Carton Kids are the kind of musicians who’ll leave your heart scattered all over the floor. Their latest album, All The Things That I Did And All The Things That I Didn’t Do, made critics excited, not least because of the 10-minute epic, “One More For the Road.” This is indie-folk at its most meaningful — come see them at the height of their powers.

Crossover Festival Brings Bluegrass, Old-Time Music to Cheshire

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Leading up to the Crossover Festival, a group of three formidable women in northwest England are hanging homemade bunting in trees, dangling fairy lights, ribbons and twizzlers in branches. They’re preening and prettifiying Clonter Farm for its weekend destiny, temporarily the bluegrass capital of the UK.

The Crossover festival is now in its third year, as 21 acts gather this bank holiday weekend for a celebration of everything bluegrass and old-time, with a sprinkling of rockabilly for good measure.

Julie Cross, a former primary teacher, set up the festival in 2017 with her daughters Eleanor and Emily, after the closure of a couple of long-running bluegrass festivals that she’d attended for years. A longtime fan, she thought it was time to pick up the mantle – but where? “Then we found Clonter and there was no excuse anymore!” she says.

Clonter is a quirky gem in the lush Cheshire countryside. It started life as a venue in 1974 when Jeffery and Anita Lockett decided to host an “Operatic Picnic” for charity in the barn on their land. The event was a huge success, was repeated, and in time the owners even bought the entire interior of a theatre — from seats to kitchen — and installed it inside the barn. Over the years, the odd room has been built on the side in a suitably organic way, and the result is a perfect festival venue, with a main stage that will seat 400 and other spaces to jam and sing and teach and craft.

The whole is important to Cross, as the festival is as much about free-form playing, open mic sessions and musicians coming together as it is about the main acts. Arts funding has meant that they can bring big-name musicians in to run tuition sessions for every instrument. Want to improve your banjo playing? You’ll be able to get some tips from none other than Ron Block. Alison Krauss & Union Station’s Grammy-award winning banjo player is headlining the festival along with slide guitarist Tony Furtado, who will also be offering a masterclass.

The Crosses are a musical lot themselves. Eleanor is the bassist for Midnight Skyracer, the first British band to be nominated for an IBMA Momentum award last year. They’ll be performing this weekend — as will Eleanor’s daughter 6-year-old daughter Freya, who you can expect to spot carrying her quarter-sized banjo round the site.

Speaking as she dodges the boxes of equipment piling up inside her house, Cross says bluegrass is slowly changing. “It’s not all traditional old men with beards playing the banjo. There’s contemporary stuff too. There are lots of very, very, talented younger musicians coming through in the UK, making a name for themselves internationally,” she observes.

A lot of those younger musicians will have perfected their trade at the Sore Fingers Summer School, now in its 24th year, which brings together musicians from all over Europe to learn and jam together. It’s an exciting time for bluegrass music in the UK – and the Crossover festival is doing its bit to increase female representation. While Eleanor and Midnight Skyracer are breaking ground with their all-female band, solicitor Emily draws up all the contracts with the acts.

“People keep saying to us, ‘Go girls!’ says Cross. “Last year, we had 50 percent female representation at the festival in all its forms, which was half deliberate and half accidental. It’s always been a male-dominated genre but things are happening for women. Molly Tuttle came to Crossover last year. And Tabitha Agnew [Midnight Skyracer’s banjo player] has also been nominated for one of IBMA’s instrumental awards.”

It all seems a long way from the Cross kitchen table three years ago when the mother-and-daughters team were planning the first festival. They had no budget and asked musicians if they would be prepared to come on the off-chance. They were overwhelmed by the support. “We said to them if we can’t pay you we won’t do it again – and then some funding came through on the first day of the festival. We pay our artists the fair rate and that’s something that arts funding allows us, plus getting quality American artists to come over. We’re very frugal!”

But how did they all get into bluegrass? Cross laughs. “We were travelling to Wales and I saw a sign saying ‘Bluegrass’ and went and had a look. But I got into it properly when I saw some local Appalachian dancers, joined a troupe and danced with them for years.”

She adds, “We’re such a big musical community. I don’t know my neighbours very well but in the bluegrass community a lot of us have grown up together and our children have grown up together and formed bands together. It’s wonderful.” And while the UK bluegrass scene is still small, it’s good at spotting and promoting talent. One of this year’s highlights is Breaking Grass, a group over from the States for their first visit to the UK. Cross heard them a couple of times on the Jason Titley radio show. “We search with our ears as well as our eyes,” she says.

This year’s festival will fundraise for Cystic Fibrosis. It’s a condition Freya has, and the Crosses know what a difference research has made to lives like hers. “She’s fine,” says Cross, “because the treatment’s working really well.”

In 2018 Cross got three hours sleep a night during the festival, mostly because of trying not to miss too much. “I like to see it all, I like to be omnipresent. People share videos and then I see them and say, ‘I didn’t see that!’”

Baylen’s Brit Pick: Marry Waterson & Emily Barker

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Artist: Marry Waterson & Emily Barker
Hometown: Marry is from Kingston Upon Hull, Yorkshire; Emily grew up in Bridgetown, Western Australia, but now lives in the UK
Latest Album: A Window to Other Ways

Sounds like: A folkier Liz Phair and Lucinda Williams

Why You Should Listen: Is there such a thing as a superduo? There probably should be. And if there were, this pair would be the definition: Emily Barker, named UK Artist of the Year at last year’s UK Americana awards, has a devoted following in her adopted homeland; Marry Waterson, meanwhile, bears the name of British folk royalty. The two women met at a songwriters retreat organised by Liverpudlian singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams, and their connection, born out of a mutual respect and appreciation, was so strong they decided to keep the partnership going after back in the “real” world.

For all their individual, independent success, it turns out that this collaboration suits them very well indeed. Marry hails from the Waterson-Carthy folk clan – her mother Lal, uncle Mike and aunt Norma have lifetime achievement gongs a-go-go — and her vocal style certainly echoes her famous forebears. But Barker’s Memphis-drenched vibe pushes her sound into new realms and while A Window to Other Ways is very much folk it is also at times quite indie rock.

It’s also no-holds-barred on the lyrics front, which speak powerfully of the world we’re all living in right now. Take “Little Hits of Dopamine,” a fantastically trippy reflection on “one-click communication.” “I’d rather be rock’n’rolling, but you just keep on scrolling”, the women croon in different octaves, as text message sounds bing in the background.

At no time are you ever in any doubt that these two have something to say and no one is getting in their way — which sums up their music, too. This project captures a special moment when two great musicians find unexpected synergy – while the songs themselves keeps a close eye on all the little things that make up a life. Sometimes you just know people were meant to meet and this is one of those times.

As a radio and TV host, Baylen Leonard has presented country and Americana shows, specials, and commentary for BBC Radio 2, Chris Country Radio, BBC Radio London, BBC Radio 2 Country, BBC Radio 4, BBC Scotland, Monocle 24, and British Airways, as well as promoting artists through his work with the Americana Music Association UK, the Nashville Meets London Festival, and the Long Road (the UK’s newest outdoor country, Americana, and roots festival). Follow him on Twitter: @HeyBaylen

Photo credit: Rosie Reed Gold

BGS 5+5: John Smith

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Artist: John Smith
Hometown: Essex, UK
Latest Album: Hummingbird
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Smitty (Joe Henry and The Milk Carton Kids started calling me this around the Invisible Hour recording sessions and it stuck. I like it). Johann Schmidt (when on tour in Germany and Austria). When I first started gigging I had a little outfit of bass, cello, and violin. I called us The Wooden Ducks for about five gigs. Since then it’s been the John Smith Trio. I’ve always admired jazz musicians and to me, the words Trio and Quartet are innately very cool words to use, even for a folkie like me.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

I remember it took almost a year to write “Great Lakes.” I had the first verse and the chorus but I spent months trying different ideas, looking for the right path and tripping over myself the whole time. That’s what got me into co-writing. I started to share ideas with others which opened up my creative thinking in a new way. Suddenly I felt more receptive even to my own ideas. I finished writing “She Is My Escape” with Joe Henry and then “Great Lakes” revealed itself to me. I’ve been into co-writing since then.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I used to play electric guitar with David Gray. There was a moment during a slide solo at Red Rocks when the band went quiet. I had a very brief moment of very loud guitar heroism with the sun going down over the mountains and I didn’t screw it up! It’s so easy to screw up a guitar solo though. I think they are often best avoided or attempted alone at home. I played a bum note in the Royal Albert Hall around that time and half the crowd laughed. I had to die a little inside before I was able to see the funny side. My classical musician friend told me, “Darling, you’re no one until you’ve whacked out a spare at the Royal Albert Hall.”

In Amsterdam a guy in the audience asked if he could play and sing a song on my guitar, and he performed a beautiful rendition of one of my own. That was a kind of magic. It’s one thing seeing it on YouTube but another entirely when it’s onstage at your own gig. That would be my current favourite memory.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

When I was 11 years old I had already passed a few grades on the piano. I thought nothing of it beyond the fact that I was simply playing piano in school. I enjoyed music of course but I don’t think I knew that I could live my life through its lens.

So my dad sat me down one day and put on the Physical Graffiti LP and I heard “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin for the first time. It completely blew my mind, a totally definitive experience. I saw a different world on the other side of the needle. Doors opened in my mind and I felt alive in a very different way to before. It might sound a little hyperbolic but it’s true. I knew right then that I wanted to make music and I actually needed to play guitar. My dad gave me a Stratocaster and that was it for me.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

I learned early on from Joe that if you’re going to work you need to dress the part. Not just for yourself but for the people around you. When I’m in the studio I make sure to iron my shirt and comb my hair. I work harder and concentrate well if I’m holding myself to a reasonably high standard. The same goes for being onstage. I believe you should look good for the people who’ve paid to see you.

In the dressing room, or maybe it’s just a corridor or a bathroom, before a show, I warm up with a song or two and write a couple of notes. I don’t believe in carrying much around with me. I try to use what’s in my guitar case.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

I once ate a bowl of olives at an Allen Toussaint concert and those were the best olives I ever tasted. I like to listen to Ry Cooder when I eat. I reckon Bop Til You Drop is the record I’ve listened to the most in my life. My dad used to put it on every time we had friends over for dinner, and he cooks Indian food. Therefore I like to cook curries and play Ry Cooder records for my friends. I don’t know a better way to do it. If ever I have a clear day off at home, I’ll spend it cooking and listening to Freddie King, Joni Mitchell, Keith Jarrett. Sometimes I’ll crank up Mastodon to help chop the onions.

About the Playlist: Songs and interpretations by the artists who have influenced my life as a folksinger, not only in the musical sense but in the way I think about the bigger picture; each of these records has helped to guide me to where I am now.

Photo credit: Rose Cousins

Britain’s Got Bluegrass: April 2019

Posted on by Editor

Get off your couch and go hear some live music with Britain’s Got Bluegrass! Here’s the BGS-UK monthly guide to the best gigs in the UK and Ireland in April.

The Devil Makes Three, April 16-26, nationwide

They’re a bit smart, this band. The roots rockers’ sixth and latest album, Chains Are Broken, draws from authors including Ernest Hemingway and essayist James Baldwin — but hey, that doesn’t mean they don’t still want to give you a rollicking good time. The Devil Makes Three are playing three nights at Vicar Street, Dublin — or join them in Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester or Brixton, and tell them we sent you.

Molly Tuttle, April 10-20, nationwide

Molly Tuttle’s uncanny ability to combine hot-picking guitar with soul-searing songwriting has made her Kind Of A Big Deal in the States, which makes us even more grateful and amazed – gramazed? – to hear that she’s playing no fewer than 10 dates in our humble home. Molly has made no secret of her love of this country — she toured last year with Rachel Baiman, and earlier this year was a featured artist with the Transatlantic Sessions. This month the two-time IBMA Guitarist of the Year launches her debut album, When You’re Ready, and Britain gets to hear her mellifluous melodies hot off the vinyl presses. We are not worthy.

The Hanging Stars, April 6-13, nationwide

The Hanging Stars define their sound as “Cosmic Country”, so if you’re wanting to prep for a summer of love, let us recommend a night out with this bunch. Their recent album Songs for Somewhere Else has the honour of having been recording in LA, Nashville and Walthamstow, which is a sentence you won’t hear often. Their acoustic-psychedelia has a strong ’70s vibe, inspired by the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, and you can catch it this month in Manchester, Nottingham, Southampton and London, where they’re supporting The Long Ryders.

The Peregrines, April 16-18, London, Ashington and Norwich

You know how some actors just fizz with chemistry when you throw them together? Hepburn and Tracy. Hanks and Ryan. Bullock and Reeves. (OK, Bullock and practically anyone.) Some musical pairings can be just as electric. When Grant Gordy (of the David Grisman Quintet) and Joe K Walsh (of Joy Kills Sorrow) play off against each other, the sparks fly as surely as if one of them was standing on a Van Der Graaf generator. Their trio with bass player Ben Somers, The Peregrines, isn’t just a great showcase for their individual talents but also an excellent introduction to what progressive bluegrass is capable of. You can catch their act for three nights only.

Lake Street Dive, April 20 (Bristol) and 21 (Edinburgh)

Two dates. Two cities. Two chances to get down and funk your ass off, and if you plan to be there for both, hey, we’ll do the drive from Bristol to Edinburgh with you. Lake Street Dive has a groove that just won’t quit, as evidenced by their latest album, Free Yourself Up, and they also just happen to be some of the nicest people you’ll ever come across. If you still haven’t seen their cover of Jackson 5’s “Want You Back,” do yourself a favour and watch it right now. Go on. We’ll wait.

Photo credit for the Devil Makes Three: Jay Westcott

Six of the Best: Weird and Wonderful Bluegrass Covers

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

It’s a big month for bluegrass covers. Chatham County Line revealed some of their biggest musical influences (and favourite songs to soundcheck to) when they released Sharing The Covers, their eighth studio album, with arrangements of Beck, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Tom Petty and Wilco, to name a few. It’s a record that will present the warm glow of familiarity to all those pickers who cut their banjo teeth on Beatles and Stones songs – and which among us has never heard “Norwegian Wood” floating across the festival field at 2am?

Meanwhile The Cleverlys – the reigning kings of the bluegrass pop cover – are putting the Beyoncé back in bluegrass on their latest album, not to mention the Bieber and the LMFAO. Call them a novelty act, call them comedians, but there’s plenty of merit in their musicality – and there’s something about their Ozark twist on Kelis’s “Milkshake” that’s going to stay with you ’til the day you die.

For more envelope-pushing, boundary-breaking, what-were-they-thinking-please-don’t-let-it-stop covers, check out our picks below.

“Super Freak” (Rick James) — Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby

This one’s a winner from the very first line. Sure, Ricky Skaggs has never let his own freak flag fly, but hearing him sing the words “She’s a very kinky girl” somehow gives you hope that one day, the divide in America might be healed. It’s a nice antidote to all those bluegrass songs about dear, dead old mothers, and one you suspect might have brought on their demise in the first place. Hang on in there for the slick modulation in the final instrumental…

“Price Tag” (Jessie J) — Keller Williams & The Travelin’ McCourys

Presumably this is a song that resonates with bluegrassers – since no one’s in this music for the ker-ching ker-ching or the ber-bling ber-bling. Plus, if the sound of Jason Carter jumping in on the chorus to sing ‘it ain’t about the money-money-money’ doesn’t flood you with instant joy then you may want to get your frontal lobe checked out. We picture him practicing his harmonies as he bumps along on the bus next to Del, trying to explain who Jessie J is. Actually that raises the question – how the heck did he know?

“Piece of My Heart” (Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns) — John Hartford

Notable not so much for its inclusion on Hartford’s 1984 album Gum Canoe, but for the rare music video he later shot to accompany it. The man might have been a creative genius on a par with xxx, but there’s something about his black-box realization of this ’67 soul number that’s creepy AF. The Beckettian close-ups of his lips and eyes are made even more sinister by his customary bowler-hat and vest, which here take on a distinctly Clockwork Orange feel. “Break it! Break another little piece of my heart now baby,” sings the dead-eyed droog, as he contemplates his next bout of ultraviolence.

“Honky Cat” (Elton John) — Country Gazette

How can a bluegrass cover be even better than the original – especially when the original is Elton fricking John? And yet this funky upbeat string version was surely what John and Bernie Taupin really heard in their head when they composed the song in 1972. Alan Munde, Byron Berline and the boys were quick to recognize the song’s “redneck” sensibility, recording their cover within the year on Don’t Give Up Your Day Job.

“Stayin’ Alive” (Bee Gees) — Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang

Sure, covering the Bee Gees’ most famous disco number isn’t new. But the mean-and-dirty take Claypool manages to get on it sure is. The Primus bassist manages to turn the ultimate floorfiller – a song as familiar and family-friendly as your dad’s station wagon – into something frantically alien. It’s compelling, unnerving, and completely unclassifiable. Somebody help him please.

“Downtown” (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis) — LBB & The Fancies

If you’re going to parody a major rapper’s already-pretty-nutso music video – one that includes a guy riding a chariot made of four motorcycles – you’re going to have to bring it. But fair play, Laura Bell Bundy did just that. Her loving bluegrass homage to Macklemore’s epic has everything from flat-footing and line-dancing to a honey hanging off a tractor. Even better, when they sing “whitewalls on the wheels like mayonnaise” there’s actually someone eating mayonnaise. Macklemore didn’t have that.

 

Baylen’s Brit Pick: Greg Holden

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Greg Holden
Hometown: London, but now taking up the LA life after a stint in NYC
Latest Album: World War Me

Sounds Like: Jack Savoretti, Joe Pug, Butch Walker

Why You Should Listen: Some people seem to be able to turn their hand to anything. Take Greg Holden — at first glance, the Scottish-born singer-songwriter leads a charmed existence. At least, that’s how it seems if you follow the blog that documents his globetrotting travels and the Instagram that captures his delicious vegetarian meals. He’s a great writer, an ace photographer, and he has even used his musical talents for good. His charity single “The Lost Boy,” inspired by Dave Eggers’s book What is the What about Sudanese refugees, raised tens of thousands of dollars for The Red Cross and helped build schools in Africa. “Boys in the Street” was written for Everyone Is Gay, an organization that helps LGBTQ youth.

Still, if you dig beneath the surface you find that Holden has had his own trials and tribulations. Now he’s taken his battle scars and made beautiful music with them. Born in Aberdeen, Holden grew up in Lancashire in the north of England, and didn’t even play guitar until he was 16, when a friend introduced him to Bob Dylan while he was working at a fast food restaurant. From then on, he knew he had to learn to play so he could sing those songs — and he knew he wanted to one day live in New York.

But he almost quit music eight years ago. Holden’s record label went bust, and he nearly did too: mired in debt, he reached a crisis point midway through a tour of Europe. Out of that difficult time came the songs on the album I Don’t Believe You, including powerful evocations of loneliness, discouragement, and drinking too much.

Life turned around for Holden with “Home,” the song that went on to become a major hit for American Idol’s Phillip Phillips (and won the approval of fellow Brits, Mumford & Sons). His new single, “I’m Not Your Enemy,” was written with his friend Garrison Starr, who I’ve long been a fan of, just after the election — you know the one I mean. It’s an answer song to a world gone mad. Greg Holden is an artist who wants to do good, a tall order for anyone nowadays, but I feel safe with him leading the charge.

As a radio and TV host, Baylen Leonard has presented country and Americana shows, specials, and commentary for BBC Radio 2, Chris Country Radio, BBC Radio London, BBC Radio 2 Country, BBC Radio 4, BBC Scotland, Monocle 24, and British Airways, as well as promoting artists through his work with the Americana Music Association UK, the Nashville Meets London Festival, and the Long Road (the UK’s newest outdoor country, Americana, and roots festival). Follow him on Twitter: @HeyBaylen

Photo credit: Greg Holden