C2C Festival @ Dublin 2017

The Lonesome Highway team share some thoughts on the 2017 C2C Festival

C2C is a yearly event and getting stronger every year. It is probably the occasion that totally unites Ireland north and south under the banner of country music. I would say that 80% of the audience were from anywhere above a line drawn from Dublin to Galway. The 3 Arena was jammed from the start while the Sunday World pop up stage provided an opportunity for local talent to showcase under the watchful eye of country guru Eddie Rowley. Saturdays singer Una Healy strutted her stuff as a solo act and did a fine job of it. The one drawback was the occasional performer singing to a backing track which had an unfortunate whiff of karaoke.

Friday night Maren Morris was the opening act, a five foot nothing ball of energy who leaned closer to Taylor Swift than Tammy Wynette in her music, but the crowd were with her all the way. On the other hand the second act was Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives who ticked every box for me and even a few that I hadn’t expected. I got a buzz seeing Marty keeping the spirit of Clarence White alive with the famous B-Bender that I got to hold backstage when Marty played the Helix a few years back. Check out Steve’s accompanying review of a superlative performance.

The main act of the evening was the Zac Brown Band, an amazing unique outfit, all tattoos and assorted hats with an audience-electrifying set that had the crowd bouncing all over the hall until an ill thought out backdrop of the Union Jack to their cover of The Who’s Baba O’Riley brought boos and a slow handclap from part of the audience. I was too taken with a set that was a lot more to my taste and softer than on their last visit to be bothered by this lapse in an American grasp of European geography. No disappointments there for real Zac Brown fans and even a totally unexpected Bohemian Rhapsody cover had the crowd screaming for more.

Saturday opened with another newbie to me, Cam, a bubbly blonde in rhinestoned ripped jeans and a bright yellow top looking for all then world like a young Dolly Parton. She is a very appealing stage presence from California whose songwriting career and fine voice will ensure her place in the country-pop field for a long time. Cam was a fine opener for the next performer whom I managed to interview before the show.

Jennifer Nettles is back to her solo singing career with last year’s release of her second solo album Playing with Fire after film work and a stint on Broadway in the musical Chicago. She jumped straight in and worked the full stage, constantly interacting with the audience. Her set list that covered her full musical history so far, with songs from her magical time with Sugarland, her last two solo albums and a smattering of new stuff which kept me well pleased for her hour on stage. She is a seasoned performer who is fully confident in her good looks and musical ability and hopefully will grace our stages for many a year to come. 

Next came the songwriting powerhouse that is Chris Young. With a full band behind him, he dominated the stage and seemed genuinely pleased with the singalong performance from the crowd. Young’s songs have the ability to hit the same nerves that that any great honky tonk heartache song from Nashville ever did. I enjoyed his sincerity and melody which, like most of the experienced acts this time, was a lot more acoustic and less electric that previous visits. 

Then a white-hatted and Telecaster carrying Brad Paisley burst on stage with a set of tunes that had his now familiar guitar breaks which added to the album versions of his hits. I have seen Brad almost every time since I first saw him supporting Reba in (the then) Point Depot  back when God was a boy and he looks as young now as he did then. His performance was supported by the most engaging graphic backdrops of the weekend and boy, did he do his homework properly, right down to a Google Maps zoom in to the 3 Arena saying "We Are Here" and his joint USA/Irish Tricolour backdrop hit exactly the right note with the audience. He was joined on stage for a selfie-taking interlude by Chris Young while duetting on I’m Still a Guy. He had previously stunned the crowd by taking the guitar he had just played, signed it, added a little shamrock and then handed it to one shell shocked audience member. It’s very hard to comment on a Brad Paisley concert as he is country when he’s country and then the demon guitar slinger inside takes him off on a tangent. I’d prefer if he stuck to my style of country but that might be bloody boring and we would have nothing to crib about. Let’s just say the Brad Paisley is unique and an absolute gentleman who deserves to be allowed to tote his guitar in whatever way he like as long as he keeps coming back and blowing the crowds away.

Day three started with for me with Dan + Shay an act who belong on a pop, not country stage. They rapped their way through a set of unremarkable songs that left me hugely unimpressed. They were followed by Hunter Hayes, who somehow reminded me of Marty McFly in Back To The Future as he followed his guitar all across the stage like a young Chuck Berry. His undoubted instrumental skill and positive songwriting performance leaned towards Brad Paisley but without much country pedigree, but he finished his set with a heartfelt thanks to the world of country music which he said had given him the home that he had been unable to find in any other genre. This young fella is a handsome and talented lad who I think will mature into a Chris Young/Eric Church type singer songwriter as he moves ahead.

Darius Rucker is the former Hootie and the Blowfish frontman who has settled comfortably into country. He had the audience eating out of his hand from the first note as he chatted more to the audience than any previous acts. I was moving around too much as a photographer to manage to jot down the setlist but as Darius said what does it matter when a song is either good or bad? “Everybody loves a good song” he said “and this is a really good song” as he launched in Friends in Low Places to thunderous reaction from the crowd. Maybe his monitors weren’t too great but once or twice was a little off key. But the crowd just didn’t care as the standing ovation at the end showed. I reckon he can come back as often as he likes and will fill any venue in town. His set covered pop, funk, and country, and just like his most enjoyable Christmas album, he was a treat for my mature easy listening ears.

If you are a country fan in the true traditional sense of the word then to have C2C wind up with country royalty like Reba McEntire was a treat well worth waiting for. She came on stage in very tasteful boots, black leggings and a shimmery sequinned navy blue top and took us on a guided and chronological tour of her life from her earliest times with a doting cowboy dad right through to her current and very listenable twin CD set of gospel songs. Each song got a full down home intro as though she was having a one to one chat beside the fireside back home. There were plenty of visual back drops to support her performance. and the audience knew all the songs. The highlight for me was a duet with Jennifer Wrinkle, the multi-talented multi-instrumentalist on the huge hit Reba originally recorded with Linda Davis, Does He Love You, which just about tore the house down. Reba might have hit a bump in the road when she suggested a life-style change for the audience with her current single Back To God. 

Her set ran for well over an hour and she left the stage to an audience on its feet screaming for more. Just when it looked as if an encore was not forthcoming, the house lights dimmed and the screen lit up with the opening scene from one of her very early videos and at that stage on strode Reba as Fancy in a red mini, all rhinestones and tassels and a super look that sent most of the male hearts in the crowd heading to the cardiac critical zone. Reba certainly knows how to wow an audience and while she played as traditional as she needed to, her more recent offerings had soaring guitar breaks that were the equal of any of the earlier bands on the bill. A truly fitting finish to a strong festival. I fully enjoyed a weekend where the highs outweighed the lows; the increase in the number of acoustic instruments might signal a revival of more traditional country.

Review by Ronnie Norton

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This weekend of all things country is a very positive and progressive step in the country music calendar and has been running in Dublin since 2014. Blending the old with the new is always a worthy concept, even if it runs the risk of not pleasing everybody. Everyone will have certain favourites among artists due to play over such a weekend and the joy of it all is that over 72 hours, between London, Glasgow and Dublin each artist is given a wide exposure to big crowds and potential new fans.

Friday night in Dublin kicked off with Maren Morris, an up and coming new talent, who has been releasing music since she was barely a teenager. Her major label debut, Hero, was released last year to wide acclaim and she operates in the area of country-pop, with a nod to some hip hop/soul influence as well. She can certainly sing, as she displays in the quieter moments of a set that unfortunately drowned out much of her vocals with overly loud and booming beats and heavy bass. She plays her hits for the younger members of the audience who respond with great energy and sing along to I Could Use a Love Song, My Church (with Beyonce sample of Halo), Drunk Girls Don’t Cry, I Wish I Was, How It’s Done and Sugar which all serve to start C2C with a bang.

Next up is the wonderful Marty Stuart and his band, the Fabulous Superlatives comprised of top notch players Chris Scruggs on bass, Harry Stinson on drums and Kenny Vaughn on guitar. They proceed to tear up the venue with a set of tunes that display real premiership quality and musicianship of the highest order - a real band in other words! No gimmicks and no flash, just honest playing and talent. 

Miss Me When I’m Gone and The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’ Anymore kick off with the virtuoso guitar licks of Vaughan, a real highlight as he lifts the performance levels ever higher. I’m Tempted is followed by the old standard El Paso and Woody Guthrie’s Pretty Boy Floyd gets a special airing with the excellent vocals of drummer Harry Stinson. The Special, by Irvine T Rouse, is played on solo mandolin by Marty before he gives a terrific rendition of the Johnny Cash written 40 Shades of Green. Hillbilly Rock and Time Don’t Wait For Nobody close the set in real driving style with plenty of twanging Telecasters  mixed with a rhythm that calls to mind a mixture of Tom Petty meeting the Beatles. Marty Stuart has been around since the 1970s and has played with Johnny Cash as well as others in a long career that includes playing traditional country, bluegrass and rockabilly. He is country music royalty and worthy of greater attention.

Friday night finished with the Zac Brown Band who played an impressive 20-song set that includes a number of cover versions such as Baba O’Reilly and Bohemian Rhapsody. Both are performed with great confidence and are proof of the excellent musicianship among the band members. Whether these songs were included to highlight the wide scale of the band’s influences is not known, but they do take away from the focus on the band’s own songs and only served to disrupt the set.

Brown sings with a clear and strong voice that impresses the cheering crowd, who just can’t get enough. Chicken Fried, Homegrown, Free (which includes a tribute to Van Morrison with a section of Into The Mystic), Sweet Annie and Colder Weather are highlights of a long set as well as two new songs My Old Man and Real Thing. Zac Brown straddles a number of musical styles and includes some reggae-tinged tunes that add to the celebratory atmosphere of the night.

Sunday night Dan + Shay kicked off proceedings with a set that included plenty of energy and full-on country-pop. The two lead vocalists are easy to like with their boundless enthusiasm and smiling demeanours as they brought the Dublin crowd with them through a number of songs the younger audience members are happy to sing along with. 19 You & Me and Obsessed are two of the bigger hits and were received warmly. Shay is a strong singer with a soulful delivery and the singers also incorporated an element of rap into some songs. They were high energy, approaching lift off, as all band members bounded around the stage.

They are followed by music virtuoso Hunter Hayes who plays multiple instruments and has been on something of a fast-track for a number of years now. His band is very loud and the initial songs were drowned out by the distorted sound. On some of the quieter numbers he gets the chance to show that he really can hold a tune and is impressive with the quiet confidence of a  musician who knows what he is doing and where his career is going. I Want Crazy, Amen, Light Me Up and Yesterday’s Song are all well received and this set goes down very well.

Darius Rucker took to the stage with a quiet confidence born of years as a headliner and within minutes he has the crowd completely behind him as he glides across the stage, working his performance and urging his superb 6-piece band to perform at increasingly high levels. Multi-talented and playing a range of instruments, the band members all impress with their playing and dynamic support for what are excellent songs. The setlist of 17 songs is taken from his four solo releases, together with a few selections from a new release due later this year; plus some old Hootie & the Blowfish material, mixed with a couple of cover versions. Friends in Low Places and No Diggity are included plus a fine version of Purple Rain in tribute to all the music artists who died in 2016. It is old favourites such as Only Wanna Be With You, It Won’t Be Like This For Long, Lighter Up and True Believers that receive most attention as this talented performer brings home a show that had something to please just about everyone.

Reba McEntire has been releasing quality country music records since the 1970s and her status as the queen of country music can only be challenged by the likes of Dolly Parton. At this stage of her career she has more than justified her reputation as a performer of great confidence and her back-catalogue of work stands the test of time. She delves into her past decades of recording across a set of some 20 songs that include many fan favourites such as The Greatest Man I Never Knew, Whoever’s In New England, Little Rock, Is There Life Out There and many more.

Being a traditionalist Reba keeps the performance simple as she moves easily around the stage engaging with her 7-piece band and bringing fine performances from all. Her duet with band member and fiddle/mandolin/guitar player Jennifer Wrinkle on Does He Love You is a real moment where things soar; as is the cover version of the Kelly Clarkson song Because Of You. Her voice is still sweetly strong and full of powerful restraint as she glides through a medley of old songs like You’re No Good/ The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter/ Walk On/ I’d Rather Ride Around With You.

Her encore is the Bobbie Gentry penned Fancy and Reba re-appears in a resplendent red dress which has the crowd cheering for more, long after the stage has been vacated by this legendary artist. The weekend has been another success for the organisers and the artists involved have no doubt all made new friends as well as reacquainting themselves with many old ones too. The feast of music is something to just dive into as normal lives and routines are put on hold over 72 hours. The old mixed with the new; the tried and tested wrestled with the fresh and a look into the future of where country music might just be going. 

Like one of those old, legendary trains of past country songs, the carriages are full and the route is there for all to enjoy. Time can be a speeding bullet train or a slow ride to a familiar destination. Either way, the journey lies ahead and we all benefit from the experience. 

Review by Paul McGee

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Marty Stuart C2C Friday 

The undoubted highlight for me looking at the 2107 C2C bill was the inclusion of Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives. This year’s line-up was again slanted towards the big names and upcoming chart chasers from the major labels. This makes a lot of sense in commercial terms, but it could also mean a lost opportunity if there is no move to introduce both broader and more traditional aspects of the music.

Stuart and his band - Kenny Vaughan, Harry Stinson and Chris Scruggs - were both superlative and indeed fabulous. Dressed to impress in tailored black Manuel for Marty and pale blue rhinestone suits for the band, they cut fine figures on stage. “Good evening good people of Dublin” was Stuart’s introduction to a set that included old favourites, songs and instrumentals from their new Way Out West album and some essential covers.

What was immediately apparent from the get-go was the tightness and ease with which this quartet played. The musicianship and harmonies were a delight and the sound was crystal clear, thanks to long time sound person Mick Conley manning the desk. Conley not only does the band’s live sound but also records, mixes and masters their studio recordings, and here he gave the audience the best sound of the weekend.

Aside from the songs there were Marty’s stories, which range from playing with Johnny Cash and (separately) Lester Flatt to meeting Ervin T Rouse, the man who wrote Orange Blossom Special, a song Rouse just called “The Special,” Stuart then gave a solo mandolin masterclass on his rendition of the song. All of the Fabulous Superlatives are steeped in the tradition and history of country music, but they also take it to new and exciting places. The 12 string Rickenbacker Vaughan used on the final song, Time Don’t Wait, proved that they could as easily reference the Byrds as they could the sounds of Bakersfield or Nashville. Stuart told us that Dublin was the surf music capital of the world - not so sure about that - but at that moment their guitar instrumental Mojave made it true. 

“I’ve come here to have some fun” Stuart told us, adding ruefully as he took a swig from a bottle, he was only “drinking water.” Fun was indeed had by all, including all three members of the band who got individual showcases; “Cousin Kenny” Vaughan played and sang Country Music Got A Hold On Me and Hot Like That, while “Handsome Harry” Stinson’s version of Woodie Guthrie’s Pretty Boy Floyd - with an amazingly long held note on the word Oklahoma - brought him a round of applause and “Professor of Cool” Chris Scruggs sang Dark Bird. 

The songs that immediately hit home for long-time fans were Hillbilly Rock, The Whiskey Ain’t Working and Tempted, all given a fresh lease of life by the new line-up and sounding as good as ever. The covers included El Paso which Stuart said they’d agreed to do as a tribute when session hero Grady Martin, who played on the original, was being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, before realising that it was not such an easy song to perform with 468 words and myriad chord changes. Nothing to worry about here as they did indeed do the song justice. 

Their Johnny Cash song choice for Ireland was an appropriate 40 Shades Of Green, a song that can sound cheesy in cabaret hands but here they got the spirit of the song just right. On different numbers they switched between acoustic instruments and twin Telecasters. Stuart played the legendary Clarence White’s guitar, illustrating that it couldn’t be in better hands. It is eight years since Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives played the Helix in Dublin and it can only be hoped that there will be less of a gap between this and their next visit, and that the audience, who responded enthusiastically to the music, will be there in force. 

Review by Stephen Rapid

C2C Live photography by Ronnie Norton

Lonesome Highway would like to thank PR James Cunningham who made everything easy, MCD’s front of house staff who were both accommodating and helpful and record labels Hump Head, Sony and Universal Music who facilitated us all with interviews.

Hamell On Trial @ Whelan’s - 9th March 2017.

The legendary Woody Guthrie performed with the slogan "This machine kills fascists" displayed on his guitar and he was a major influence on many songwriters over the years.

Will there will ever be an artist like him in today’s world; one that follows their muse in breaking through the accepted norms? England produced Billy Bragg who has been a very politically charged musician over his career and has fought against social injustice. He often spoke of his passion for the principles that Woody Guthrie stood for.

However, there is also an American equivalent, someone who is hiding in plain sight and has been delivering important messages for the last 20 years…

Tonight, I am reacquainted with the performance phenomenon that is Hamell On Trial.

It has been quite a few years since I last encountered this force of nature in a live setting and I was blown away by his passion and energy and his razor sharp wit. He also displays a verbal dexterity that is quite something to witness when he is riffing on a theme and his laser precision intelligence is aimed at many deserving targets.

He is a wordsmith, street-poet, a rebel with a cause who questions the basis upon which society works and the values that are held dear within the ranks of conventional thinking and Government spin. Nothing is safe from this punk poet. He is a country-rap artist and an urban guerrilla who stands tall against all that is hypocritical in the world.

Drawing from his twelve previous releases and debuting songs from an upcoming release, Tackle Box, we are given a 2-hour set that is full-on, with unrelting energy and a commitment to lift the audience into a new space, despite suffering from severe back pain; something he returns to at regular intervals and jokes around. Indeed, his penchant for joke telling is an integral part of the performance and his stories and observations from a life spent in the trenches are often hilarious. We get songs about divorce (his own), drugs, parenting, gun violence, the passage of youth, the media, hate crimes, religion, dead-end day jobs, old age, whores and Politics - with plenty of Trump references throughout.

Finishing with the iconic Johnny Cash song Folsom Prison Blues, Ed Hamell plays with rapid and powerful strumming on his heavily amplified Gibson acoustic guitar, while bringing all the pieces together into a statement of being your own man and living life to the max.

He has a tattoo that reads ‘The Chord is Mightier Than the Sword’ which encapsulates the Woody Guthrie stance and although the performance on guitar is impressive, dare I suggest that it is his poetic bullets that truly hit the mark.

Also on the bill, as support, was the ever-impressive Clive Barnes who joked about his 18 years of remaining anonymous in the music industry despite playing close on 200 gigs a year. The five song set displays his great talent on slide and acoustic guitar and he is a player with some serious licks who also sings like an old bluesman from the deep South. Always a joy to hear and one of our premier Irish musicians. He has a new CD, his sixth, to be released soon and is well worth tracking down.

Review and photograph by Paul McGee

Darrell Scott @ Civic Theatre Tallaght - March 4th 2017

Making his return to Dublin as a solo artist for the first time in awhile Darrell Scott takes to the stage at 8pm before an attentive and appreciative audience. Other than a quick “thank you very much” Scott played a opening selection of songs that display his guitar playing skills as well as his distinctive voice and well-written songs. However after the first three songs he moves to the piano and delivers the first of several stories about the songs or life in general. One such antidote was that quite often that songs come from a place for many writers feel is “beyond our tool set.” Looking Glass is a song that deals with that magical process “Feels like someone’s looking over my shoulder, I turn around and no one’s there.” He also tells us of his love for traditional country music, something he heard to the exclusion of any other music growing up. His father played this music in the cab of his truck and was a Hank Williams and Johnny Cash man, while his mother’s preference was for Marty Robbins and Tammy Wynette. They met however in a shared love for Merle Haggard.

Scott didn’t move to Nashville himself for quite some time “until I got my shite together.” Country music was about dark cheating and drinking songs; something he mused had almost disappeared from today’s mainstream country music. Those older songs were not Margaritaville, red cup or tail gate party songs but hard living hard drinking tales. One of his own songs Too Close For Comfort dealt with the topic and he felt that another country themed song was Waiting For The Clothes To Get Clean. The latter comes from his most recent album Couchville Sessions. A collection of songs from which he also included Down To The River. A song that was the first track on the album.

Given the way people listen music these days he felt he needed to put one of the strongest songs first. Statistics show how each song on an album in order of track placing gets less and less play. Scott had envisioned using Guy Clark for the final coda of this song when he recorded the song he had left space at the end of the song for this recitation. He told us how he had gone out to Clark’s home to record his voice and after couple of hours saw Clark hit a place where they both knew he had found his moment. That was the piece he used.

Scott hasn’t used a set list for a long time preferring to gauge the audience on the night and play the songs he feels fit best. Tonight he had a number of requests and a couple of these he played such as Rod McKuen’s Jean at the piano with a set of hand-written lyrics before him. He also played the traditional Wayfaring Pilgrim on the piano - a song he'd featured to great effect on his Live In NC album.

Another couple of highlights in an engaging set were his versions of Johnny Cash’s I Still Miss Someone and Red Hayes and Jack Rhodes oft-covered but still resonant Satisfied Mind. A song he informed us that he had chosen as his spotlight song in the live set with Robert Plant’s Band of Joy as it seem to fit better than any of his own songs. Scott clear appreciates the songs of others as his set is peppered with such choices. Another was his version of Townes Van Zandt’s Loretta; also a song taken from his Couchville Sessions collection. 

The audience was largely silent throughout the set other than to applaud the songs at their finish. The sound was crystal clear for which Scott thanked the sound engineer as he also did the audience for coming out. There was humour inherent in the patter too with Scott apologising for the recent election as well as for the green beer and hats that are often associated with St. Patrick’s Day in America. He was going to be in Ireland for our festive day he explained as after his series of Irish dates he would be involved with a song writing masterclass.

From my personal perspective I preferred the second set to the first as he seemed to get into his stride and I simply prefered the song choices. Everybody there, familiar with his albums and songs, would have had a favourite and given his catalogue it is likely that some personal favourites were not played. This didn’t detract though from the obvious enjoyment that both sides of the stage got from the evening. He told us that following the last song there would be no encore as the final song would say it all. If we liked the show, he quipped, we should tell friends and if we didn’t we should keep it to ourselves. The word is out.

Review by Stephen Rapid  Photogrph by Ronnie Norton

Drive By Truckers @ Vicar Street - February 28th 2017.

Vicar Street sees the welcome return to Ireland of this much-loved band who have been visiting these shores on a regular basis over their career. Formed in 1996 and with 12 studio releases to their name, Drive By Truckers deliver a show that is as rousing and vibrant as any since they first formed. Despite a number of rotating musicians and personnel changes over the years, the creative axis of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley has remained firmly front and centre when it comes to driving this uncompromising collective ever-forward.

Tonight, we are treated to over 2-hours of energetic and passionate performance from Hood and Cooley, together with the superb playing talents of Jay Gonzalez (Keys/Guitar), Brad Morgan (Drums) and Matt Patton (Bass). The band members are perfectly in tune with each and every direction that the 24-song set list takes throughout the evening.

Starting with the new record and Ever South, which mentions Irish emigration to America, the band could do no wrong as they spun the enthusiastic crowd into something of a frenzy. Old favourites were interlaced across the newer songs in order to keep the momentum building and the sonic attack of three guitars was quite something to witness.

It can sometimes be just a bit too much in terms of the sound quality and the vocals certainly suffered on certain songs as a result. However, take nothing away from the overall energy in the room and the cathartic quality of songs such as Puttin’ People On The Moon, Zip City, Sinkhole, The Living Bubba and Women Without Whiskey kept the crowd singing in unison and punching the air.

The latest release, American Band, gets plenty of attention with the inclusion of Ramon Casiano, Surrender Under Protest, Darkened Flags On The Cusp Of Dawn and others. In fact, the band revisit seven of their previous albums across the evening and the performance of all five musicians is a real treat to experience; players at the very top of their collective game.

No doubt there were fan favourites that were not given an airing but with the body of work this band has produced, that seems to be inevitable. The pace was unrelenting and the excellent song-writing talents of Cooley and Hood really stand strong against any of their peers.

Finishing with a rousing version of Neil Young’s Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World, the Drive By Truckers leave the stage to prolonged applause and the hope that they return again soon – perhaps to one of our Summer Festivals (here’s hoping).   

Also worthy of a mention are opening act Eyelids. Considered to be one of the finest recent bands to come out of Portland Oregon, they are fronted by John Meon (Decemberists) and Chris Slusarenko (Guided By Voices) and their energetic forty five minute power pop set is the perfect warm up for what is to follow.

Review by Paul McGee  Photograph by Declan Culliton

Tom Robinson/Gerry Diver/Raphael Doyle/Louis Doyle @ Whelan’s 30th January 2017

Raphael Doyle has been a musician since the early 70’s and a friend of Tom Robinson. They initially played together in a band called Café Society but their paths took different directions over subsequent years.

In 2016, Raphael was diagnosed with motor neuron disease and his son Louis, also a musician, convinced his Dad to write and record a selection of songs that have just been released on Never Closer. Father and Son teamed up with Tom Robinson and award winning producer Gerry Diver to finish and record the CD, which forms the main body of the performance tonight.

This joint project has produced an album they should all be justifiably proud of and the live performance in Whelan’s, while poignant, Is also very uplifting and full of happy moments.

Gerry Diver plays fiddle, mandolin and flute with superb craft as he fills out the song arrangements in both a subtle and understated fashion. Tom Robinson adds guitar and vocal and brings great colour to the performance with his confident stage presence and larger-than-life persona.  

Louis is a very good guitar player and has a fine voice, something that is highlighted later in the evening when he delivers a solo performance of one of his own compositions.

Having opened the evening with an acoustic set of audience favourites [including Glad To Be Gay, War Baby and Up Against the Wall], Tom Robinson played a couple of songs from his excellent new album, Only the Now, before joining Raphael, Gerry and Louis to play songs from Never Closer.

The performance of songs like The Touch of Our Hands; Feet on the Floor; Live the Game and We’ll All Get Together Again point to the excellent song-writing talent and flair for observation that Raphael has brought to the project.

There are 2 covers with Robbie Robertson’s The Shape I’m In and Bob Dylan’s Dream but it is the dedication to his wife that takes centre spot as Raphael sings Rose with a tenderness and true love that is quite moving.

The 8-minute poem I Come From Ireland is uncomfortably honest in reminiscing on a life lived and of chances missed; “nobody’s fault but mine” is how Raphael summarises at various points during the delivery.

A heart-felt night of poetry and song delivered with real bravery and honesty. Raphael Doyle is going forward with all the courage he can muster and it is memories like tonight that will give him the strength to do so. 

Review by Paul McGee  Photigraph by Donna McGee

Billy Bragg & Joe Henry @ St Patrick’s Cathedral - Sat 28th Jan 2017

This seemingly unlikely pairing of an English folk/protest singer and an American songwriter/producer has recently released Shine A Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad. For the project, they booked a rail trip from Chicago to Los Angeles and recorded classic blues, folk, and country songs with railway themes at various train stations along the way.

Tonight, they combine to deliver a concert of great focus and honest sentiment in at a venue where the regal surroundings call for a fitting tribute to the old ghosts of past generations. There is an iconic image of freedom that attaches to the romance of the railroad and train journeys across the great plains.

Songs from The Carter Family (Railroading On The Great Divide), Hank Williams (Lonesome Whistle), Leadbelly (Midnight Special), Johnny Cash (The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore), Ramblin’ Jack Elliot (Railroad Bill), Jimmie Rogers (Waiting for a Train), Woody Guthrie (Hobos Lullaby), Bill Monroe (In the Pines), are played by these two talented performers. They spark off each other with witty comment and strong story-telling of the great characters that made up the fabric of life in the pioneering days of the old West.

In between performing songs from the new project, each artist takes a solo slot to highlight their back catalogue with some well- chosen songs to suit the occasion. They both speak of current issues, and, as expected, Donald Trump receives much comment. Joe Henry comments on the need for community and shared ideals to take us forward and Billy Bragg sings the classic Bob Dylan ‘The Times they are a-changin’ along with a very timely song from Anais Mitchell ‘Why We Build the Wall’.

Joe Henry sings in a softer tone to Billy Bragg, who attacks the material with his strong English accent. However, the mix of the two different voices does work well and the evening passes pleasantly over a 2-hour set that contained plenty of entertainment for the capacity crowd present.

Review by Paul McGee  Photograph by Vincent Lennon

Maria McKee @ St Patrick’s Cathedral - January 27th 2017

It has been a long time since this sublime artist graced a Dublin audience with her singular talent. Returning as part of the Trad Fest weekend, we are very quickly reacquainted with the force of nature that is a Maria McKee performance. Her media footprint may not be too evident these days but that vocal range and delivery has not diminished over the years.

Since she first appeared as a blazing new talent back in the late 1980’s and has been something of an enigma, almost shunning the commercial fame that was offered, while continuing to produce work of enduring quality.

Just how much practice she had in preparation for this one-off performance is anybody’s guess, as she does not have a website to track her current live activity, but she delivers a tour de force performance over 80 minutes plus that confirms her as an enduring influence upon the musical vista of the past 20 years.

The advancing years are not something that this artist acknowledges and this special venue bears witness to a quality performance that makes a mockery of the preconception that lack of activity leads to a diluted artistic drive.

Her repertoire is fondly remembered and revisited over a set list that covers many of the back-catalogue of music over her career and her stage persona is as witty and engaging as back in the days when she lived in Dublin and regularly graced our venues with her song-writing talent.

Joined by Denis Roche on guitar and a 2-song cameo from Jude, who flew in from London and recently lost his mother; the sense of witnessing a heat-felt and genuine performance is strongly evident among the enthusiastic audience. Maria just breezes from song to song with a disarming charm that keeps everybody completely present in the moment and never wanting the essence of it all to end.

A nod to Lone Justice, her original country band, is made with the inclusion of a very special performance of Wheels and many old favourites are revisited on guitar and piano over the course of the evening…

Has He Got A Friend For Me? Breathe; I've Forgotten What It Was In You (That Put The Need In Me); High Dive; In Your Constellation; Shelter; A Good Heart; The Sound Of Your Wheels are all performed with both grace and gusto.

Cover Me is a song that has caused this artist some conflicting emotions over the years but tonight she celebrates the success of the song and rightly so …

In Your Consciousness, Absolutely Barking Stars and Life Is Sweet end the performance and confirm the feeling that time only endears her more to the captivated admirers in this fair city. Come back soon!!

Review by Paul McGee  Photograph by Vincent Lennon

TWO FROM TEXAS - Aaron Watson/James McMurtry @ Whelans, Dublin

The Dublin venue Whelan’s, hosted two distinct examples of how broad roots music can be. On his Irish debut the history making Watson played what was the smallest gig he has appeared at since he started his career. He made history by being the first independent artist to hit the number one spot on the Billboard Country charts. The venue, he observed with amusement, was smaller than his kitchen. However, despite suffering from a sore throat he delivered a set that reflected his fast-paced energised country music.

He was accompanied by his band, that included electric guitar, bass, drums and fiddle, as well as Watson’s acoustic guitar. This was an upfront, good-time, close quarters concert with Watson interacting closely with the sold-out venue. The set was centred around his most recent album (the chart topping) The Underdog. He commented that he had made it to that spot because he was blessed with the best fans. That showed clearly in the way they responded to Watson and he to them. He took every opportunity to interact with them by holding a pose for the inevitable selfies.

Played live, the songs take on a different energy that rarely lets up other than when he played a song that came from the heart about a mamber of his family such as the song he dedicated to his father - a disabled Vietnam vet and a song for his daughter, who died young; how the words of the mother of rodeo rider Lane Frost had helped to connect him with his faith and deal with the grief. These moments were poignant spaces in the otherwise overtly up and positive music.

Watson was having a small radio mic problem at one point and got his band to show off their chops which included his bassist Jordan McBride playing and singing a funky grooved number while his guitarist Jason Lerma showed off some high-speed playing. There was a brief drum solo from Brian Ferguson before Damian Green the fiddle player did his piece including bringing up a member of the audience to hold his bow in place while he played the fiddle against it. This showmanship got a proactive response while allowing Watson some moments of vocal reprieve from the effects of singing with a sore throat. It also showed that these guys have played a huge number of shows together that has made them an effective and tight live band. On his albums, Watson uses a set of studio players and a wider range of instruments such as pedal steel to enhance the recorded textures.

That underscores what Watson told us; that his music is a family business and that he is the man taking care of business. He told us about the various requests from the family in recent times amd on overseas trips. How his Mum had asked for some dirt from Ireland, where part of her family had come from. He held up a small jar of soil that he had received. He then jokingly told us then that, in contrast, his daughter wanted a card. When asking her what kind of card she wanted, she had replied "one like mommy use in the stores." Another of her requests was for Santa Claus to bring her a Taylor Swift guitar and for daddy to teach her some of her songs. His sons though were listening to more the good stuff he noted.

Merle Haggard’s Silver Wings was request by an audience member and duly played with feeling and a dedication the man. Watson promised to be back in Ireland soon and as his latest album Vaquero is released soon; that may happen. He is the sort of act that the C2C festival should embrace and his performance would undoubtedly be a hit there as much as it was here.

By way of complete contrast James McMurtry played the main venue in Whelan’s the following night to an equally enthusiastic audience but in a wholly different manner. McMurtry was accompanied by regular drummer Daren Hess, accordion and guitar player Tim Holt (who also handled the sound) and bassist Cornbread. They have a relaxed demeanour onstage as they work through songs from McMurtry’s extensive back catalogue. He commented at one point that since the number he was about to play had been written; a whole new generation had been born and grown up to adulthood. However, that doesn’t detract from their inherent quality. He closed the show with the title song of his 1989, John Mellencamp produced debut, Too Long In The Wasteland.

The characters in McMurtry songs and the situations they may face tend to be somewhat timeless and therefore as relevant today as ever. And though there is nothing overtly political in either the song choices or introductions, the nature of the stories are inherently related to such manipulations. The music spoke for the everyday  people. The rhythm section found it’s groove and McMurtry and Holt’s guitars played off each other well. McMurtry played acoustic, electric and electric dobro while Holt held his own on his black Gibson Les Paul. It was often loud and loose. There were extended and eventful versions of Choctaw Bingo and Red Dress - though, in truth, few of the songs were short in a close to two-hour set. Following which, after a call for “more” McMurtry came onstage to give us a song solo on his acoustic guitar, Lights of Cheyenne. This allowed one to focus on the strength and quality of his lyric writing that would sometimes get lost in the band’s playing. There was no written set list so the band followed McMurtry’s lead which after the years they have played together seems a subconscious thing.

There is no overt stage craft or audience interaction in the performance other than a few comments such as the fact that he told us how some of their significant others though they were "on vacation" when they toured in Europe. He had, he said, addressed that in song but that hadn’t gone down too well and had gotten them in big trouble with various women. Being just the right amount of drunk and pissed off was, he noted, a place you could write a song from if you did it in time. Other than that, he was feeling "good to be back." McMurtry relishes the live stage, more than the studio, and this is pretty obvious in the ease and effusiveness with which he delivers his songs. He may have been too long in the wasteland but it is too long since he was last here, something that he will hopefully remedy when he tours his next album.

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

Margo Price @ The Button Factory, Dublin - 22 January 2017

There was a strong sense of anticipation for the first Irish date of Margo Price and the Pricetags. She is a traditionally-minded country music artist who has received prominent exposure in the rock press and mainstream media rather than just the more genre based magazines and websites. The venue was full and kudos to Aiken Promotions for bringing her in with her full band rather than just as a solo act. It sure payed off as the band were terrific.

The show was opened though by her husband Jeremy Ivey who played some songs and offered some good natured banter with the audience. One of his songs Staring At The Wall was about having to stay at home minding their young child while Margo was touring. Margo Price joined him for a couple of songs including a recently written instrumental and a song called I’m Gonna Miss Me about a man contemplating ending everything in a black-humoured way which contained some entertaining lines such as “You can keep the life insurance but be sure to feed the dog.” 

The band took the stage a little later and opened with a storming Jerry Reed instrumental entitled Swarmin’ before Margo joined them with the first of several tracks from her debut album Midwest Farmer’s Daughter. About To Find Out, Tennessee Song, Since You Put Me Down all followed in a strong if slightly tentative style as both artist and audience got the measure of each other. But she soon got into her stride and began to loosen up and enjoy herself. This was noticeable on the several covers included in the show where she often put down the guitar and simply concentrated on her singing. These were well-chosen cover songs that included Johnny Cash’s Big River, Red Bandana that came with a dedication to it’s author Merle Haggard and the Dolly Parton classic Jolene - a song which hit the spot for many judging by those singing along.

There was a band cover showcase when they played Nashville Skyline Rag an instrumental from Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline album. This was a show where band and singer (as well as Ivey who joined the band on some nifty harmonica and acoustic guitar for several songs) showed their chops and how well they work as a well-oiled team. Some of the intros bordered on a hard rock noise before setting into the pedal steel and Telecaster twang that ran behind Price’s expressive and impressive voice. These are (some of) the same players who feature on the album: Kevin Black on bass, Jamie Davis on guitar, Luke Schneider on a ShoBud pedal steel guitar and Dillon Napier on drums. All deserve a mention as a major part of the sound and feel.

There were some non-album songs too; notably and the country-themed and genre fitting It Ain’t Drunk Driving If You’re Riding A Horse  (the  song was a “true story” she told us) and Desperate and Depressed a song that was released on the b-side of one of her singles. For the end of the set Price left the stage to sing among the audience on After Hurtin’ (On The Bottle) before she left the main venue. 

She came back after much encouragement from the audience to play the final three song encore segment which included Four Years Of Chances and two covers, an extended and convincing version of Me And Bobby McGee and a final high octane version of Rodney Crowell’s Ain’t Living Long Like This which ended the evening on a high and they all then came forward to take a deserved bow to acknowledge the response from the audience. Later Price came to the merchandising stand to meet and greet those who wanted to say hello. They were many who took the opportunity and many who will remember the evening with a big smile and look forward to the next time that Margo Price brings her Pricetags to town.

Review by Stephen Rapid  Photography by Kaethe Burt O'Dea

Michael McDermott @ Whelan’s, Dublin - 13th December 2016

A singer/songwriter who has been lauded for his ability to tells stories that ring true from personal experience and imagination. Michael McDermott played to a small but enthusiastic audience. in the upstairs venue. This was the end of a European tour and Michael had contacted a sore throat towards the end of the jaunt. He didn’t however let this affect his performance. He sipped hot lemon throughout the show and apologised that his voice wasn’t up to its best. But that didn’t take away from the raw power of his songs and commitment. 

He opened with a trio of songs from his latest album Willow Springs; These Last Few Days, Getaway Car and Folksinger. The latter prefaced by a long and funny story about being that very creature who is “weirder than rock stars” and about the “in the round” scenario whereby three of four writers play a song in turn. A bit like a ‘who has the biggest willie contest’ he noted. He had been asked to play one in Nashville with a trio of writers including Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame. Being that his wife was a fan he asked Yarrow if he’d say hello to her on the phone. When the time came for this quick intimate moment, McDermott handed him the phone and instead of an expected “hello” all were treated to a full on, many-versed rendition of Puff The Magic Dragon. Weird Indeed - but thoroughly amusing none-the-less. He also noted that while the other three were introduced with their track record of million selling songs he was introduced as someone who “watches Judge Judy a lot.” So much for getting the big build up before you go on.

Throughout the show, McDermott told anecdotes about the songs and the people behind them. Shadow In The Window was a touching song written for his father about their difficult relationship, which ended with an emotional refrain of “Hey, I Love You” that was honest and universal. He also played a song for his mother, the only song he confessed that she felt that she could sing in church. Where The River Meets The Sea is from the album Hit Me Back and if, like me, you know McDermott from his Westies albums and Willow Springs you can find numerous other Michael McDermott releases on his website.

Many of McDermott’s songs are dark but many have a path to something more positive in their make-up. As he noted at one point you “need the darkness in order to see the light.” There were songs from the Westies album West Side Stories including Trains and Devil. Another song was written for a friend who was wounded in a robbery and discovered in treatment that she had terminal cancer. Carry Your Cross was a poignant and powerful testament to friendship.

McDermott went between guitar and piano for various songs and played the latter when he was joined onstage by Mundy who first met McDermott when he opened for him in Chicago. Mundy played two songs in the two-part set. Firstly, Linchpin and later July - wherein he got the audience to join him in the chorus. Something I’m not sure would have been possible with McDermott’s songs. However, there was an obvious comradeship between the two.

Throughout McDermott’s voice was ragged but determined. Partly due to fatigue and illness but also showing its own quality and highlighting that he is a strong singer as well as a talented writer. He finished his set with an impassioned A Wall I Must Climb but was called back to the stage for two encores, both audience requests, that included Summer Days; a song written for a high school friend who was going to be an actress (and he a rock star). The point being that life doesn’t always deal you the hand you want or expected. These are songs that make you think and react and these days that makes them as striking as those of some of his heroes. McDermott can stand tall in that company.

He told us that he had wanted to play the Dublin venue since seeing Bruce Cockburn playing in Whelan’s and was delighted to get to fulfil that wish and thanked the audience for being a part of that experience. The pleasure was evident from both sides of the stage and next time, hopefully, the word will have spread and more will get to experience the power of his music.

Review and photographs by Stephen Rapid

I Draw Slow @ Whelans - December 11th 2016

This evening is a welcome return home to Dublin band, I Draw Slow. A Christmas gig for their enthusiastic fans at the end of a tour in the USA is just the tonic to get all the political posturing of America out of the collective. Not that the subject is ever mentioned during the performance.

Comprising of Dave Holden (Guitars and Vocals), Louise Holden (Vocals), Konrad Liddy (Upright Bass), Colin Derham (Banjo) and Adrian Hart (Fiddle), this folk/roots band are a very tight unit, all of whom excel on their instruments. Old-time, bluegrass and the North Carolina heritage are touchstones for this interesting band.

The 90- minute set is focused on new material from their forthcoming third release and the compelling rhythm created by the ensemble goes down a treat with an audience who move in tandem with the carefree arrangements.

Louise Holden is a confident spokesperson for the band with a real swing in her performance. Her undoubted vocal talents are to the fore on every song as she knits together the bravado in the playing and the performance.

Mainly comprised of story songs, the set includes much to admire in her harmony vocals with brother David and the feeling that Louise is fully invested in the performance of each song.

Tales of murder, prostitution, weddings, deceit and fallibility all take turns in keeping the crowd entertained while the rhythmic swing of Liddy, Derham and Holden whip up a fine groove. It is left to the fiddle playing of Adrian Hart to raise the tunes and add colour to the arrangements as he plays against the beat and dovetails around the tempo.

Garage Flowers is a fine new song that tells of the hazards of forgetting anniversaries while old favourites such as Goldmine and Valentine are delivered with great fervour. Carolina and Twin Sisters are also well received as a twin track while Little Switzerland is a great example of the band in complete unison and in the moment.

Low Down Girl Like Me closes the show with plenty of cheering and dancing among the assembled fan base. They may want to rethink the band name because there are plenty of bullets to fire from their gun or their artists pen, depending on how you interpret the name…!

Review by Paul McGee  Photograph by Vincent Lennon

Peter Bruntnell, Jeff Finlin & Clive Barnes @ Cleeres, Kilkenny-16th Nov 2016

 

I’ve often considered if a musically educated punter was sent on a mission around Ireland, The UK and The States to assemble the most under-rated artists in each location it’s likely that his catch would include Peter Bruntnell, Jeff Finlin and our own Clive Barnes.

Bruntnell’s back catalogue, for me, compares with the work of his fellow country man Elvis Costello. Surely Finlin’s body of work is up there with his peer Rodney Crowell and possibly the only detail that prevents Barnes spending his days and nights as a session player is the market being so small in Ireland.  Having toured the UK to great reviews last year the trio decided to bring their show to Ireland and play nine dates over a ten day period with the opening gig staged in Kilkenny.

Not an obvious three piece as Finlin and Bruntnell, both excellent songwriters, are quite different in style and delivery. I had incorrectly assumed prior to the show that the format would be a song writer circle set up with all three taking to the stage together. The delivery was in fact two separate sets by Bruntnell and Finlin with Barnes playing guitar, sublimely it has to be said, with both acts. Barnes also played a solo number between the two sets.

Jeff Finlin plays the opening set, a visit through his vast songbook featuring material from his current retrospective album Life After Death. His delivery, as is always the case, is passionate, intense and spirited. Never ever going through the motions Finlin is an artist that seldom wastes a word lyrically as evidenced by I Killed Myself Last Night, Jesus Was A Motorcycle Man and American Dream, all included in tonight’s set list.

Bruntnell stage demeanour is altogether at variance to that of Finlin’s, though every bit as compelling. Totally laid back and relaxed his set visits his early work in the main. "I’ve a new album out Nos Da Comrade but I can’t play any of the songs off it without a band!" Fortunately Bruntnell is not entirely true to his word and encores with the beautiful Caroline, the closing track of the album, performed acoustic solo and a fitting end to what preceeds it. Obvious inclusions are his career stand outs By The Time I Get To Phoenix, Domestico, Cold Water Swimmer and Have You Seen That Girl. He also includes a new song Widow's Walk, which is particularly well received by the crowd. Very much a favourite of Kilkenny audiences having played the Roots Festival on a number of occasions his set, as expected, goes down a storm.

All in all a wonderful night's entertainment enhanced of course by the stunning guitar work in support of both artists by Clive Barnes and his precious Gretsch. Barnes is without doubt the finest player on this island whether performing blues, Americana or metal and his contribution this evening elevates both Bruntnell’s and Finlin’s performances to another level. 

Review and photography (Left to right above, Clive Barnes, Jeff Finlin and Peter Bruntnell) by Declan Culliton

Sara Watkins@ Whelan’s - 2nd October 2016

Sara Watkins last performed at Whelan’s eighteen months ago as part of I’m With Her, the trio comprised of fellow singer songwriters and musicians Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan. This project resulted in solo albums this year from all three artists and a change in musical direction in particular for Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz who both temporarily abandoned their bluegrass roots to concentrate on more country/folk confessional albums.

Tonight’s show by Watkins in the main concentrated on material from her current solo album Young In All The Wrong Ways while also including some of her solo back catalogue, older Nickel Creek material and a few well-chosen cover songs.

Being a solo concert I have to admit to having preconceived concerns as to how the material from the latest album would come across as it is quite instrumentally populated. Any reservation I may have had were swiftly set aside by Watkins, leaving me with an impression that the material possibly even works better in a live setting that the studio versions.

The stage in Whelan’s tonight featured one mike, four instruments and a Vox speaker located centre stage behind Watkins. Renowned for her technical prowess as a multi-instrumentalist it should not have been a surprise that she utilised different individual instruments, fiddle, ukulele and acoustic guitar on her first three songs. Opening with Too Much from her self-titled debut album and following with You and Me from Sun Midnight Sun the majority of the remaining set featured material from her current album played to a large attendance in an atmosphere where you could hear a pin drop during songs. So much so that during her vocal delivery of Without A Word the only audible sound accompanying her in the room was the creaking of hinges when the door between the public bar and venue was opening, prompting Watkins to add tongue in cheek "Halloween must last a week in Ireland, that was the spookiest sounding door in the world."

The new songs worked wonderfully even when stripped to the bone, The Truth Won’t Set Us Free retained its studio honky-tonk sound and both Invisible and Move Me gave Watkins the opportunity to reveal her flawless vocal range.

Her stage demeanour was confident, talkative, good humoured and happy to relay tales of a scary drive earlier in the week from Sligo to Cork on "windy roads that challenged two Americans not accustomed to driving on the left-hand side of the road". However, what really won the day was her musical ability on all instruments including her Gibson guitar, christened Tom based on an unknown previous owner who had posted his name on the instrument and her luscious vocal delivery throughout.

Almost in anticipation of a question from the audience in respect of her change in direction on her latest offering she explained how she felt that going forward she would have regretted having gotten stuck in a certain style and needed to adapt both musically and lyrically on the album to"consider exactly who I am."

Also included in the set was the Nickel Creek 'Whistling Song' Anthony, a wonderful cover of Young Man in America by Anais Mitchell, name checked by Watkins as one of her favourite songwriters and John Hartford’s Long Hot Summer Days. She finished the set with the title track from the latest album and the closing and quite beautiful track Tenderhearted, dedicated to all the understated social workers and carers out there.

An encore of Buddy Hollys Early in the Morning completed what was an outstanding evening’s entertainment by a young lady approaching her prime yet also with the potential to offer so more musically going forward. Certainly also worth a mention is opening act Clara Rose who also went down a storm. Monaghan born Rose has a voice soaked in blues and played a thirty minute set that complimented what was to follow.

Review and photography by Declan Culliton

Hot Club of Cowtown @ The Sugar Club - 25th October 2016

The Hot Club of Cowtown opened their eleven-date tour of Ireland in fine style at The Sugar Club this evening. The Austin based trio’s trademark and quite unique mix of western swing, gypsy jazz and layers of sweet traditional American music is delivered in two sets. Their welcomed return to Ireland after an absence of six years is a joy to behold. Playing to a packed venue and with a deserved reputation for feeding on the energy generated by their audiences, that two-way passion is very much in evidence from opener Dev'lish Mary right through to their second encore Ida Red.

HCC consist of fiddle virtuoso Elana James, Whit Smith on his faithful Gibson L5 guitar and Jake Erwin, the man that slaps and plucks the upright bass like no other. James and Smith share lead vocals and all three contribute delightful harmonies throughout their very well received show by an audience that ranges from students to grandparents.

The band are renowned for selecting standard swing material and putting their own stamp on it yet managing to remain faithful to the original recordings. They have also written and recorded a large catalogue of their own material over nearly two decades and up to thirteen albums. This evenings show features twenty-five offerings in total from that vast catalogue of material in two sets, the first lasting forty-five minutes and the second, following a fifteen-minute interval, sixty minutes. The playing throughout is timeless, seamless and almost telepathic by three instrumentalists and vocalists that appear to effortlessly achieve the perfect balance between the Texan swing sound of Bob Willis and the mid-20th century French jazz vibe of Stéphane Grapelli and Django Reinhardt.

Stay a Little Longer and Oklahoma Hills from their 2010 album What Makes Bob Holler both feature together with crowd favourites Forget-Me-Nots, Avalon and Emily.

New material including Marty Robbin’s 160 Acres is delivered in three-part harmony alongside the old standard Cotton Eyed Joe ("deemed explicit by I tunes’ Ervin adds ‘no idea why maybe you lot can figure out"). They also display an ability to slow things down with ballads Call of the Canyon from their latest album Midnight on the Trail and Chip Away The Stone a song Smith tells us he is told is very popular in Ireland ("probably a lie but we’ll play it anyway!"). They even manage to feature a smarting of Elana's Reunion.

Without appearing to be working from a prepared set list Smith invites requests from the audience and responds to a request to perform There'll Be Some Changes Made, a song selected by Jools Holland on one of their appearance on his show ("our five minutes of fame" jokes James)

A Big Ball's in Cowtown closes the second set in style with the three leaving the stage but returning within minutes to a tremendous reception. "It’s good to see you all again so soon" jokes James before launching into a rousing Ida Red which, like so many of their songs, affords each of the three the opportunity to perform individual solos, rewarded by a standing ovation by the crowd.

"We’re Hot Club of Cowtown", announces Ervin before leaving the stage."If you liked the show please tell your friends as we’ve lots more dates In Ireland, if you didn’t like it let your enemies know instead."

It’s difficult to bring to mind many other groups of musicians with the ability to generate such passion, humour and excitement both musically and vocally. No surprise that they have toured with Bob Dylan, Roxy Music and Willie Nelson as support act.

Review by Declan Culliton   Photography by Ronnie Norton

Richmond Fontaine@ Whelan’s - 15th October 2016

Willy Vlautin has been writing his story songs for close on 20 years now as the creative source and inspiration behind the reflective beauty that is Richmond Fontaine.

Lauded as a true poet and chronicler for everyman, Vlautin has remained steadfast at the forefront of our dance with the devil and our continued need for redemption. His songs are populated by the ordinary characters of life’s fabric who have dotted the landscape of hard earned living on the edges of our broken dreams.

With 12 releases over a career that has seen the band on the cusp of success many times, their ‘less is more’ philosophy has kept them under the media radar and forged a place in cult status history that is all but guaranteed.

Playing their farewell tour in Europe before packing away their memories and disbanding, they deliver a set tonight that has the capacity crowd in this tightly packed venue cheering their every move.

Playing songs from across their extensive catalogue has a real glow of joy for everyone as we get to hear many of our favourites and the intensity of the playing is matched only by the quiet, restrained subtlety of the gentle moments when the band really prove their talents as a superb group of musicians.

Dan Eccles on guitars is credited by Willie Vlautin with having made Richmond Fontaine into ‘a real band’ with his dynamic and sensitive playing, while the rhythm section of Sean Oldham, drums and Freddy Trujillo on bass, joined tonight for the latter part of the set by David Murphy on pedal steel, shine brightly throughout.

The dark underbelly of the American Dream is exposed in songs such as; A Ghost I Became, The Janitor, I Can’t Black it out if I Wake Up and Remember, $87 and a Guilty Conscience, Don’t Skip Out On Me, You Can Move Back Here, Two Alone, Post to Wire, We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River, Northline, Wake Up Ray, Exit 194b, A Night in the City, Montgomery Park, 43 and Western Skyline.

Vlautin delivers his stories in a resigned vocal style that is full of empathy and pained acceptance but always full of hope for the journey ahead. Was it William Shakespeare who said that ‘parting is such sweet sorrow’?

Well, Willie Vlautin leaves the stage tonight with a simple ‘thanks for letting me do this’ as his parting words – such humility and such understated class. It’s the end of the natural life span of what has been Richmond Fontaine; one of the most iconic alt.country bands in recent generations and one that will be sadly missed.

Review by Paul McGee   Photograph by Kaethe Burt O'Dea

Freakwater @ Whelans (Upstairs) Dublin 16 October 2016.

From keeping on the sunny side to invoking generals gathered like witches at black masses Freakwater covered a lot of lyrical ground at their first Dublin gig (and first Irish tour). Although Irwin did informed us of her time spent in Northern Ireland growing up and how she used to sit on the floor in a bar in Cookstown, finding all sorts of interesting things while drinking beer froth. The venue witnessed a small turnout which must have carried a sense of disappointment, however it did not affect the band’s performance or overall attitude. 

Bean told us that we were obviously smart, attractive and intelligent people for showing up. There was a lot of such humour and banter in the between-song talk which made the show that bit more intimate and memorable. Bean also commented on the fact that she had not played a venue with an open fire grate before and that she could watch the flames rather than the exit sign she would normally focus on at a gig.

Freakwater tonight were Catherine Irwin (acoustic guitar and banjo) and Janet Bean (four and six string acoustic guitar) with Moregan Geer on Telecaster electric guitar and Anna Krippenstapel on violin.  It was a slightly stripped down version of the band which had also included bass and drums for the earlier part of the European tour. This rhythm section-less version of the band  however well able to give the songs an interesting perspective that worked well in this particular setting.

Geer plays under the name Drunken Prayer as well as performing as a guitarists with other acts and is soon to be touring with The Handsome Family. He played a solo set before joing the band that included his version of Missionfield, a song also on the new Freakwater album.

The band opened with an impressive acapella start, before bringing the instruments in on version of The Carter Family staple Keep On The Sunny Side and they encored with a full on cover of Black Sabbath’s War Pigs. Between those two points the songs were largely taken from their own back catalogue with a natural emphasis on the current album Scheherazade. They played the opening song from that album What People Want after Irwin had spoken about being asked “why can’t you write a song that people like.” She explained how she had set about trying to remedy this by listening to songs that were hits and deciding that she had cracked the code. To which Bean responded “yeah, but you’re playing a banjo and the song is about rape and being thrown down a well.” A catchy song none-the-less.

Number One With A Bullet, Bolshevik And Bollweevil and other songs from the current album followed along with a number of songs from the back catalogue like Waitress Song - from the album Old Paint (and an anecdote about how bad a waitress Irwin was and how she felt that getting tips was degrading) and Binding Twine - from the Springwater album, which was one of the set highlights with a telling violin solo part. Geer’s slide guitar was also an effective foil that added an additional tone to some of the songs. The sit list for which had been written on both of Bean's hands which at one point had her wondering what "forge" was until she realised it was short-hand for Forgetable Song from the Feels Like The Third Time album.

In terms of the music, the harmonies and vocals were central to the live show and when joined by Geer and Krippenstapel, were entirely forceful and full on. Both players added much to the overall sound with violin and guitar textures bringing great tonal colour to the acoustic basis of this live performance. There was an understanding and ease between the players that comes from being together for such a lengthy tour; as well as noting how easy it was to get on each other’s nerves in confined spaces, such as a tour car. That side of the touring process didn’t show however. But there were stories of trying to fix the fifth string on the banjo with a “dirty Dutch plumbing wrench.” Something that hadn’t turned out quite as planned.

They dubbed the tour as ‘The American Apology Tour’. The apology being for Donald Trump and such politicians in general. Irwin commented with tongue in cheek that she has something in common with the Donald in that he has said nice things about Putin, because Putin had made similar remarks about him. “if people say nice things about me I’ll say nice things about them.” Towards the set, a stage light suddenly begins to flicker which distracts the band, until Krippenstapel unplugged it, to much applause.

They played two encores after the official set, the first was a song from the Freekons, an occasional collaboration between themselves and the Mekons. They closed with War Pigs which they had previously released as a single back in 1990. Bean noted that she had played bongos on that version which brought an audience comment that essentially bongos were the worst. Bean said she didn’t quite know how to take that but she’s moved on to congas anyway. It was a powerful finish to an equally strong set. One that will hopefully see the band return on these shore in time. Those present were the winners when the girls (and boy) from Loserville came to town.

Review by Stephen Rapid  Photographs by Kaethe Burt O'Dea and Stephen Rapid

Kevin Montgomery and Clive Barnes - Mick Murphy’s, Ballymore Eustace - 10th October 2016

Monday night at this intimate venue and the last date on an Irish Tour. The place is packed with long-time fans, word-of-mouth newbies and interested onlookers, who just want to catch the experience of extending the weekend a little bit further.

This singer-songwriter has been producing quality music for many years now and although commercial success is something that he has flirted with and even dated seriously for a while, his undiminished talent stays true and shines as brightly as ever.

He is accompanied tonight by the always impressive Clive Barnes, a superb guitarist and interpreter of live performance dynamics, who supplies the right shades of colour to each song performed by the duo. They have an easy presence and spark off each other with a mutual respect that is clear for all to see in their playing.

Visiting his releases over the years, Kevin treats the audience to a string of finely crafted songs about love gained and lost, journeys of the heart and mind, feelings of aspiration and desperation and plenty of thoughtful reflections on life as another fellow traveller along this unknown highway.

Favourites come in the shape of Another Long Story, Tennessee Girl, Red Blooded American Boy and Let’s All Go To California. He also treats us to a version of Heartbeat, a song written by his Dad, Bob Montgomery, for Buddy Holly. Nothing is a beautiful and heart-felt song written for his daughter who passed away and the naked emotion in the lyric really hits home in such a small venue; you could hear a pin drop …

A few songs from the new release, Some Comfort, are given an airing - Motion Picture, I Will Love You Anyway and the superb The Greatest Love I Never Knew, a song of unrequited love which shows all Clive Barnes interpretive skills with some spine-tingling guitar work as he lifts the song to increasing heights.

Clive also played a short solo set during the gig and showcased his bottleneck playing virtuoso talent on a couple of blues tracks, in addition to playing an acoustic song from his upcoming release. Fantastic to see such a craftsman perform so close at hand.

It was a night of real warmth with both performers completely relaxed and not distracted by the close proximity of the audience. Kevin finishes with an encore of Fear Nothing, an old favourite that has the room harmonising on the chorus and leaving the venue with a smile and renewed resolve to face the daily routine. 

Review by Paul McGee  Photograph by Vincent Lennon

Americana Music Festival Nashville 20th – 25th September 2016

 

It’s that time of year again and the first thought is how the past twelve months have gone by in such a flash. As was the case last year, Lonesome Highway booked accommodation in the heart of East Nashville close to the Five Points yet only ten minutes’ drive into Broadway which is the more commercial Downtown area. East Nashville has become more and more popular in recent years and is a particularly vibrant neighbourhood with hip music venues such as Basement East, The 5 Spot and The Family Wash and some buzzing bars including the 3 Crows, The Crying Wolf, The Duke and The Village Pub and Beer Garden, to mention but a few. It’s also where two cool independent record stores, The Fond Object and The Groove are located. Both of these record stores host outdoor showcases during the festival and given that a large amount of the artists actually live in the East Nashville neighbourhood, you’re most likely to be rubbing shoulders with many of these people together with visiting musicians who seem to gravitate to these two venues in particular.

As has been the case in recent years the weather on arrival in Tennessee was glorious, approaching 90 degrees. Daylight was from approximately 7am to 7pm which resulted in the perfect evening temperatures.

The Americana Music Festival developed a particularly user friendly programme/schedule ‘app’ some weeks in advance of the festival. It included a complete listing of all the artists, venues, showcases, conferences etc. and allowed you to prepare your own schedule in advance of the festival. The app was constantly updated which also allowed you to view the interest and probable attendance numbers to be expected at the various shows which was very useful particularly if the intention was to ‘venue hop’ each evening to attend a number of shows.

Having arrived on schedule at our accommodation on Edgewood Place in the early evening we decided to pay a visit to The Country Bar on 28th Avenue North. The evenings music on offer included The Black Feathers, Don Gallardo, The Rosellys and Hannah Aldridge. I was quite looking forward to seeing Bristol based The Rosellys perform and was not disappointed by their laid back blend of country infused folk. Don Gallardo, a regular visitor to the UK, performed material from his current Clubhouse Records album Hickory and the extremely accomplished Hannah Aldridge played a spell binding solo set to close the evening. Mention should also be given to the young Texas born Rachel Laven who made a guest appearance and had quite a number of punters in line to buy her debut album Love and Luccheses at the end of the evening.

The first observation is how the festival, currently in its 17th year, is increasing in popularity year on year, not surprising given the quality of acts on offer for a very reasonable cost. This year’s line-up offers a choice of nearly 200 acts over a number of venues, many of which are in close proximity to each other.

Early Tuesday morning featured the annual trip to the thrift and discount record stores around Nashville for certain members of our party to seek out bargains and rarities in both vinyl, cd’s and books. The two larger stores, The Great Escape and McKays, stock literally thousands of records, books and memorabilia, mostly second hand (or pre-loved which seems to be the more politically correct description). Prices for albums are generally pitched at ninety-nine cents each with discounts for buying in bulk. Needless to say our car boot was half full after a few hours visiting a number stores. Next stop was The Mercy Lounge to collect our pre-purchased wristbands. They cost $60 each and entitle the buyer access all the showcase acts and many afternoon outdoor events during the festival. Entry to The AMA Award Show held at The Ryman is not included and visitors intending going to the show must purchase a laminate prior to buying tickets. Having attended the award show in previous years we decided to give it a miss this year.

Having regrouped to distribute wristbands and slake thirsts our party headed out to The Fond Object, a mere ten minute Uber drive, to take in some music outdoors in the glorious sunny afternoon. The afternoon’s entertainment was provided primarily by musicians residing in East Nashville. Radio presenter, film maker, record producer and singer song writer Anne McCue got the afternoon of to a flying start with a set that featured mostly material from her wonderful current jazz-influenced album Blue Sky Thinkin’. One of Nashville’s hardest working artists Tim Easton followed and the equally talented (and recently married) Amy Speace also delivered a beautifully laid back set. Kevin Gordon and Wild Ponies were also on the set list but unfortunately we had to make a dash to The Basement East at 917 Woodland Street to get in line for what promised to be a stunning evening’s entertainment.

One of the most highly anticipated shows of the festival the sponsors Guitartown and Sin City christened the event Better Together and promised a five-hour marathon at the five hundred capacity venue. The first part of the show was to be co-hosted by both Chuck Mead of BR549 fame and the hardest working musician in Nashville Aaron Lee Tasjan, with the final two hours presented by the legendary Lee Ann Womack.

The anticipation was well founded with the show kicking off with a ripping version of I Can’t Explain by Chuck Mead and finishing some five hours later in style by Lee Ann Womack singing the Way That I’m Living from her excellent album of the same title. 

In between we had stunning contributions by both Mead and Tasjan with a backing band made up of some of Nashville’s finest, we had the legendary 75 years young Charlie Mc Coy (who has played with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Chet Atkins to name a few) blasting out Baby Elephant Walking on harmonica, we had Dan Baird, Buddy Millar, Jim Lauderdale and Patty Griffin all performing. However, the highlight of many highlights was the appearance of Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell and the four song set that they contributed. Shires played You Are My Home, the closing track of her latest album My Piece of Land. The gorgeous love song which includes some beautiful violin playing by Mrs.Isbell and a wonderful guitar solo by her husband. Isbell name checked the eccentric and Nashville based bad boy Todd Snider noting that after his day everyone will claim to have known Snider, before launching into Play A Train Song, one of Snider’s many exceptional songs. Flagship by Isbell from his award winning 2015 album Something More Than Free completed their set.

The Country Music Hall of Hall is an iconic building situated on 222 5th Avenue South and is the largest museum in the world representing primarily American music. In 1964 The Country Music Association was chartered by the state of Tennessee to begin the process of gathering all information and memorabilia relating to American music. Originally located in a small car park in Nashville the museum moved to a 130,000 square foot building in Downtown Nashville in 1971 and subsequent extensions resulted in the building currently occupying 350,000 square feet. Wednesday morning at 9.15am found us at the museum, arriving early to gain entry to a gathering and interview with Margo Price due to take place at 11.30am. She is without doubt the most talked about artists in town at present. Practically unknown this time last year, the Illinois born Price, now residing in East Nashville, has taking the country music industry by storm this year. Her debut album Midwest Farmers Daughter was the first album by a female solo artist in history to enter the top ten in the Billboard Country Music charts. This morning’s event is titled Songs We Love; Americana Edition; Margo Price and Friends. It is moderated by Ann Powers of NPR music and takes the format of a This Is Your Life show featuring Price, her husband, band and a selection of friends who discuss and recall the circumstances that have led to her meteoric rise to fame. 

The show starts with Price and her band performing Hands of Time, the opening track from her album and a song in itself that recalls her transition from childhood to her current status. What follows is a journey through her musical history, which started by playing as a folk duo with her husband Jeremy, part of the country blues band Buffalo Clover and finally, after quite a number of rejections, her album been picked up by Jack White’s Third Man Records, the first country album to be released on that label. Ann Powers introduced a number of Prices musical friends and fellow East Nashville residents such as Lilly Hiatt, Aaron Lee Tasjan and Erin Rae who recalled the graft and determination that Price displayed to get the breaks her talent so richly deserved. Each artist also performed on stage with Price. Erin Rae, better known as a backing singer, sang the beautiful Clean Slate (a song that Lonesome Highway suggested was probably the best of the year when reviewing the album earlier this year) from her debut album Soon Enough, with backing vocals by Price and Lilly Hiatt. Guitarist Kenny Vaughan, who has played with Lucinda Williams, Marty Stuart and was an original member of Margo’s backing band The Pricetags, joined the band on stage for the final number and there were also contributions from producer Matt Ross-Spang who recalled how the album only took three days to record at Sun Studio Memphis as a result of Price and her band being so well prepared and professional. Also introduced to the stage was Price’s grand uncle Bobby Fischer who has written songs for Reba Mc Entire, Phil Vassar and a host of others during his forty-year career. Price told of how influential and supportive Fischer has been throughout her musical journey. A wonderful ninety minutes indeed, professionally moderated by Ann Powers and an introduction to the modest, articulate and extremely talented artist that is Margo Price.

The evening showcase acts generally start at 8pm and finish at 12.45am with each act playing a forty-five-minute slot. However, as the AMA’s Award Show is held on the Wednesday evening the showcases do not start until 10pm that night. After some very difficult choices which included Dwight Yoakam at The Mercy Lounge (with a likely queue for ninety minutes), a rumoured appearance by Steve Earle and Jason Isbell at Roberts Western World (which did in fact materialise) we decided to opt for The Station Inn where Aoife O’Donovan was the main attraction. The Station Inn is a landmark music room in Nashville best known for featuring bluegrass acts and is located on 12th Avenue South, a prime location in an area which has seen major redevelopment in recent years.  There were three acts playing this evening, firstly Americana String Band Moonsville Collective from California who warmed up the audience with a lively set. The venue was packed to the doors for Aoife O’Donovan’s set and in recognition of the esteem she is held in she was introduced on stage by AMA Executive Director Jed Hilly, who had made a dash from the Award Show at The Ryman to do the honours. A long-time favourite of Lonesome Highway, Ms O’Donovan name checked us after two songs adding that we had attended the first night of the current tour in Dublin last January. Her backing band consisted of Anthony da Costa on percussion and the wonderful Steve Nister on guitar and as was the case in Dublin the trio performed a mesmerising set with the majority of the material from her current album in The Magic Hour.

Closing out the evening was Front Country from San Francisco. Described as a bluegrass band a more fitting description might be soulgrass based on the sassy and soulful vocals by Melody Walker, who was accompanied by mandolin, violin, guitar and bass. A young group of musicians that certainly made an impression and a name that I expect we will be hearing more about in the future

Those who did attend the Americana Music Association Award Show were treated to appearances by the cream of the industry including the following award winners -

Album of the Year: Something More Than Free Jason Isbell

Artist of the Year: Chris Stapleton

Group/Duo of the Year: Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell

Song of the Year: 24 Frames Jason Isbell; Written by Jason Isbell

Emerging Artist of the Year: Margo Price

Instrumentalist of the Year: Sara Watkins

Spirit of Americana/Free Speech in Music Award co-presented by the Americana Music 

Association and the First Amendment Centre: Billy Bragg

Lifetime Achievement Award, Trailblazer: Shawn Colvin

Lifetime Achievement Award, Song writing: William Bell

Lifetime Achievement Award, Performance: Bob Weir

Lifetime Achievement Award, Wagon Master: Jim Lauderdale

Thursday lunchtime was spent at Alley Taps in Printers Alley which is located in Downtown Nashville. The occasion was an invite only preview show of Emily Barker’s latest album due for release in early 2017. It was recorded at the famous Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis and was produced by Matt Ross Spang who recorded both Jason Isbell and Margo Price’s recent albums. As you would expect the sound was soul drenched, rootsy and quite wonderful. Emily was joined on stage by the actual session players that will feature on the album which included Rick Steff (Lucero, Dexys Midnight Runners) on keyboards, Steve Potts (Neil Young, Booker T & The MGs) on drums, Dave Smith (John Mayall, Cat Power, Buddy Millar, Norah Jones) on bass and David Cousar (Al Green, Amy La Vere) on guitar. Super stuff by the versatile and talented Barker who seems to have an endless number of projects on the go at any given time and a wonderful way to spend a Thursday lunchtime. 

The next stop later on that afternoon was at New West Records Headquarters recently opened at Berry Hill Drive South Nashville. New West record a house hold list of artists including Buddy Miller, Sara Watkins, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Shovels & Ropes, Luther Dickenson and Giant Sand to name but a few. The party which started at 5pm and finished at 8pm and was held outdoors, included complimentary food and beer and great music provided by Lilly Hiatt, Sammy Brue, Sara Watkins and Aaron Lee Tasjan. Time restraints allowed us to only catch the opening act Lilly Hiatt who performed a blistering set from her opener Jesus Would Have Let Me Choose the Restaurant to her closing number Somebody’s Daughter. It was unfortunate having to leave just as Sammy Brue was starting his set. Brue is the youngest artist to have appeared at the festival having played at the age of thirteen and the now fifteen old recent Nashville resident is surely destined for a bright future with appearances already at The Newport Folk Festival and Summerfest.

Having been kindly offered a lift back to town we managed to catch the last two songs of Mindy Smith’s slot at independent record company The Razor and Tie before driving a dozen blocks to the 3rd & Lindsley which was hosting an evening of sets by artists from Oklahoma. First up was Austin based Jimmy La Fave whose blend of folk, country and blues has earned him a considerable reputation among music lovers and his peers over his thirty-year career. He performed as a duo this evening and no doubt won over some new fans with his relaxed yet rootsy set. Carter Sampson was on stage next accompanied only by a guitar player. Sampson is finally making a deserved breakthrough in Europe and the UK having released a number of excellent albums among them her most recent Wilder Side. Her vocals are divine, powerful yet sweet as she performed stand out tracks from her last two albums including Wilder Side and her signature song Queen of Oklahoma. She excitedly informed us how honoured she was to having fellow Okie Wanda Jackson watching from the side of the stage.

A quick dash from the 3rd & Lindsley to The Cannery Ballroom had us up front stage just in time for the start of Dori Freeman’s slot, an act I had been particularly looking forward to seeing. Freeman is a 25 year old singer songwriter from Galax, Virginia whose debut album released in February of this year took the industry by complete surprise. It’s an album that you expect from an artist that had been living and groomed in Nashville for a number of years instead of being released on a very small Washington D.C. label, Free Dirt Music. It certainly made its mark with us at Lonesome Highway and Freeman was one of the new artists that caught my attention this year.  Regrettably she got a graveyard slot, scheduled immediately before Rodney Crowell, which resulted in the large venue being very well attended but also meaning that she had to play to an extremely talkative crowd. Unlike audiences in Ireland and the UK in the main, there seems to be a tendency in the States for people to attend shows and proceed to talk to partners and friends throughout the acts. Many of the crowd, even at front stage, seemed to be doing their level best to make as much noise as possible throughout her singing and only stopped talking at the end of each song to applaud! Playing on one of the largest stages at the festival Freeman, who could pass for a mid teenager given her diminutive stature, stood mid stage accompanied only by a percussionist. Halfway through her set, having made a casual remark about the verbals offstage, she turned to her stage colleague and we could hear here gently saying to him ‘I gonna do this’ and bravely launched in to a quite wonderful acapella which did actually result in some quiet in the hall. Her wonderful set, one of my favourites of the festival, featured You Say, Tell Me and the superb Go on Loving from her debut album and also an appearance by Teddy Thompson (who was involved in the production of the album) on backing vocals. Despite the ‘talkers’ this young lady certainly gained a number of new fans among our group and is an artist that we hope plays Ireland in 2017.

A mere twenty minutes later and Rodney Crowell was on stage with a full band and being, well just being Rodney Crowell. No surprises, simply forty-five minutes of nonstop favourites played at pace to a loving crowd. Stars on the Water, Ain’t Living Long Like This and Leavin’ Louisiana in particular worked well to mention a few and superb playing by Crowell, Jeff Hughes on guitar and Steve Fishell on pedal steel and guitar was a joy to behold. I’ve been lucky to see Crowell perform many times over the years but this really topped the lot.

Friday morning involved a visit to Grimeys Record Store on 1604 8th Avenue South which is without doubt the premier independent record store in Nashville. It is located above The Basement which was one of the music venues used throughout the festival and also possess a large car park which was also used for afternoon events during the week. An adjoining building, owned by Grimeys, includes a bookstore stocking new and second hand books, cd’s and vinyl. It’s a great spot to spend an hour or two, browsing, listening to music and inevitably engaging in a spot of retail therapy.

The afternoon found us at the rear of Groove Record Store a mere ten minutes’ walk from our house for the annual Bloodshot Records Backyard Bash. The schedule included four of the labels acts, Lydia Loveless, Robbie Fulks, Cory Branan and The Bottle Rockets.  With the temperature well into the nineties and a large crowd in attendance a place in the shade was an imperative. Lydia Loveless played solo but with maximum attitude as expected and no less talent. Her set featured material from her current album Real, possibly the album which will gain her the deserved industry breakthrough and recognition she deserves.  Given the temperature levels I decided to slip down the road and go indoors to The 5 Spot where Tim Carroll was playing his weekly residency with his crack band. Carroll’s ability to still write three minute, one hundred miles an hour songs is laudable and as a result his band, air conditioning and cold beer resulted in me staying for his whole set and not getting back to The Groove for The Bottle Rockets or Robbie Fulks. Can’t win them all unfortunately.

Hopping in an Uber, ten minutes later we are Downtown having decided to work between The Mercy Lounge, The High Watt and Cannery Row on the Friday evening, all three venues being under one roof and fifteen acts on offer. A few songs from The Secret Sisters before slipping downstairs to catch the start of Lee Ann Womack’s set at a very packed Cannery Row. Lover of all things Lee Ann Womack as I am, the main attraction for me of the evening was Marlon Williams scheduled upstairs at The Mercy Lounge. The twenty-five-year-old New Zealander’s debut album had highly impressed me earlier in the year and having heard positive reports of his live shows he was top of my wish list. Difficult to describe or categorise, his soaring, sophisticated and rich vocal range slots somewhere between Scott Walker and Jeff Buckley. He certainly did not disappoint, quite unique and quirky and his delivery and take on the Billy Fury song I’m Lost Without You was stunning. 

Downstairs at the heaving The Cannery Ballroom Buddy Millar was halfway through his set but we managed to catch the final twenty minutes. As expected Millar introduces a number of guests on stage including Jim Lauderdale and Lee Ann Womack. 

Saturday morning involved a second visit to The Country Music Hall of Fame for an event titled Songwriters Session: Jim Lauderdale. The sixty-minute show comprises of songs and an interview with the Nashville legend and one of the most popular characters in the industry. Always full of surprises Lauderdale tells us that the interview is going to be slightly unorthodox as he has decided to play the part of both interviewer and interviewee and proceeds to launch a series of questions and answers which involves him moving from one side of the chair to the others while adopting both roles. Lauderdale as expected also includes song in the show, playing the title track from his latest album (and 28 release) This Changes Everything and the closing track from the album, Drive, a co-write with Hayes Caryll. The interview is informative and honest with Lauderdale confessing to only getting a record label at the age of 34 after many years of rejection and was only finally in a position to support himself four years later when his iconic song The King of Broken Hearts was recorded by George Strait.

The event closed with a question and answer session which was particularly interesting given the number of singer songwriters in the audience. Dealing with rejection, which Lauderdale noted was still a reality for him, was fascinating. A young female writer from the floor asked how to best deal with it and Lauderdale’s reply was both enlightening and positive when he simply said "I write my way out of it". As always he spend at least a half hour after the show meeting, greeting, signing albums and allowing photos with him to be taken. Some things change in the music industry from time to time but Jim has proved consistently over the years to be one of the most honest and likeable artists in the business.

The afternoon saw a return to The Groove for the yearly Bootleg BBQ which is a showcase produced in association with Americana UK and featuring a number of UK and International acts. Free beer and food is also provided by the sponsors and the event runs from noon to 6pm. This year’s line-up includes UK acts Robert Vincent, William the Conqueror, Yola Carter, Teddy Thompson and Kelly Jones together with American band Sons of Bill, The Americans and Applewood Road, a three piece all female act made up of Amy Speace (USA), Emily Barker (Australia) and Amber Rubarth (USA). 

I missed the first two acts but arrived in time to catch the last two songs by Yola Carter who wooed the crowd with her powerhouse vocals and country blues style verging on gospel. Teddy Thompson and Kelly Jones set featured material from their current album Little Windows, the stand outs being I Never Knew You Loved Me Too and You Can’t Call Me Baby. Their harmonies were to die for and Thompson’s relaxed stage presence interspersed with humour made for a highly enjoyable forty-five minutes. Equally enjoyable was the glorious vocal trio that is Applewood Road, three artists that live thousands of miles apart but managed to record their excellent debut album which has been gaining very positive reviews. Particularly well received were their performances of the title track of the album also called Applewood Wood and a silky version of Loving My Religion enhanced by heavenly harmonies from the three ladies.

Sons of Bill are no strangers to Lonesome Highway having been one of the star performers at Kilkenny Roots Festival a few years back. This afternoon the Virginia based brothers play a stripped back acoustic two piece set and include a particularly riveting rendition of Brand New Paradigm from their current album Love and Logic.

Last to play are The Americans, a band I had heard quite a lot about without having listened to their music and they certainly did not disappoint. A four piece rock band hailing from Los Angeles they have supported Lucinda Williams, Ryan Bingham and Nick Cave. The PBS documentary American Epic was produced by T Bone Burnett who is quoted as saying that the band are part of a group reinventing American heritage music for this century. High praise indeed and in fact Burnett attended their showcase concert later that evening at The Station Inn and even got on stage and sang a number himself. They sounded excellent this afternoon and are an act I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for.

Next pit stop was The Mercy Lounge for Jason Eady and his band. Having witnessed a blistering straight down the middle honky tonk set from Eady two years ago at the same venue this was an artist that was certainly not to be missed. Last time out he included his wife and singer songwriter Courtney Patton in his band but this time around he performed with an ass kickin’ four-piece band of upright bass, guitar, drum and pedal steel. Opening with AM Country Heaven he played a wonderful set that reminded me of exactly why I love die hard traditional country music. His sound is very much in the Merle Haggard School of country and it continues to baffle me as to why he is not a household name given the quality of the many albums he has released and his stomping live shows.

Next on our list is Dylan LeBlanc who was due to start thirty minutes after Eady but in The Anchor Fellowship which is located approximately a mile away from the Mercy Lounge. As we exited the venue and anticipated a fifteen-minute walk in extreme heat it came to our attention that a female bicyclist with a back car was offering rides at the princely sum of one dollar per block. Two of us hopped in the back and the young lady somehow managed to transport our combined thirty stone weigh to the venue in no time at all. The Anchor Fellowship is a small converted church at 629 3Avenue South and still functions as a multi-domination church together with staging music and art shows. Having been informed by a number of locals that it is also known as the mini Ryman I was determined to get to see at least one act at the venue. Dylan LeBlanc first two albums did not particularly light my fire but I have been loving his latest offering Cautionary Tales.  Renowned for his shyness I was expecting a laid back acoustic set either solo or possibly as a duo. How wrong could I get! His six piece band at an ear deafening level played a blistering set covering the best part of Cautionary Tales in what was without doubt one of my highlights of the festival. LeBlanc was on fire on stage and a total contradiction to the very shy and humble young man that we congratulated at the end of a stunning performance.

The 5 Spot is a local bar and music venue in east Nashville where many of the local artists get there first musical break and it’s where we decided to relocate for the last two acts of the evening. Hollis Brown, named after the Bob Dylan The Ballad of Hollis Brown, are the brainchild of New Yorkers Mike Montali and Jonathan Banilla. They perform as a four piece landing somewhere between New York 70’s punk and southern rock. They certainly hit the right notes this evening with a lively set played to an audience which probably included as many local musicians as it does festival goers. The night ended in some style by the one-man blues dynamo that is Dex Romweber who, in a former life, was part of the Flat Duo Jets, a duo that were quite a name in the late 90’s and were hugely influential on a young guitar player named Jack White prior to him forming The White Stripes. Romweber is moody, loud, and bluesy and has the ability to generate a melody from his screeching guitar feedback like no other. An epic end to the day’s musical adventure before a visit to the 3 Crow bar a mere two minutes’ walk away to regroup and compare notes with the rest of my crew who had attended different shows throughout the course on the evening.

For the third year on the trot JP Harris had organised a very special Sunday afternoon of great music, food and of course, beers. The most welcoming of hosts, Harris prepares and cooks monumental amounts of gumbo and manages to feed possibly a couple of hundred people while also introducing his guest artists on stage. The venue is at the rear of the Fond Object record store at 1313 Mc Gavock Pike which is in the heart of East Nashville and also close to where many of the locals reside. Today’s line-up includes Tim Easton, Ariel Bui (an album release show), Tommy Ash, Aaron Lee Tasjan, JP Harris and his Band (and friends), Blackfoot Gypsies and Fly Golden Eagle. The audience is made of festival attendees and musicians but also many locals including quite a number of families who have arrived with their children for the afternoon. As always JP is the most charming of host making a point of welcoming everyone, introducing the acts, keeping an eye on the slow cooking gumbo while managing to chain smoke without pause.

Tim Easton’s set was short and started at 12pm as he had other commitments and as a result we did not get to see him play. Ariel Bui is a really interesting artist. A formally trained classical musician the young lady’s sound incorporates jazz and country into a set of songs that are both dark, intoxicating and quite experimental. She basically plays her debut album in total in the order that it is recorded and is accompanied by some excellent and equally talented musicians and backing singers. By way of comparison her sound is not unlike Angel Olson and she’s an artist I certainly will be following. Her album was only released on vinyl but expected to be followed on cd in the coming months.

What follows is a complete contrast and not exactly what I expected when I read the name Tommy Ash on the schedule. Expecting a male artist, I was surprised that Tommy Ash is in fact a female country singer songwriter from Phoenix Arizona but currently living in East Nashville. She is straight honky tonk country with a classic country vocal, dress sense to match, a delightful southern drawl and with an absolutely killer band. It transpires she has also opened for Merle Haggard, Dale Watson and Ryan Bingham.  With obvious influences from Merle, Dwight, Wanda and Patsy her set is no nonsense, straight down the middle country and lots of fun. 

Aaron Lee Tasjan and his band are next to perform and it’s fair to say that Tasjan must be the hardest working musician at the festival. Apart from co-hosting the Tuesday night event at The Basement East he has played his own showcase sets and appeared on stage with numerous acts over the week. He is also highly supportive of his fellow musicians and always prepared to give them a dig out. Tasjan has a remarkable musical pedigree from playing in the gender bending rock band Semi Precious Weapons, a member of the re-formed New York Dolls through to his present day focus as an exceptional song writer and guitarist with the ability of combining wit, grit and no end of passion to his live performances. All these ingredients are packed into his set this afternoon which ends with Tasjan on his knees in the crowd encouraging his long-time fan and Festival regular Bob Mc Adam to strum his guitar for the final riffs. Stunning stuff indeed.

With the gumbo slow cooking outdoors in a gigantic pot JP Harris finds the time for his own set. As in previous years Harris invites and introduces a number of emerging artists during his set to perform on stage with him and his band. The first artist up this year is Kelsey Weldon a young lady that has been living in Nashville for a number of years and like so many others working endless hours waitressing while trying to make a breakthrough in the industry. Her vocal is classic country, natural and controlled. I learned afterwards that her latest album ‘I’ve Got a Way’ is top drawer and she is certainly another new artist for me to investigate.

Courtney Granger is a traditional country singer hailing from South Louisiana. Introduced on to stage by Harris the young man’s appearance is more like an accountant than a country crooner but his vocal, accompanied by Kelly Jones, is remarkable and worthy of the praise heaped on him by Harris who predicts that Granger has the quality to make a major impact going forward. 

Harris’s set naturally also includes some full on honky Tonkin’ from him and his crack band which as usual includes the superb Brett Resnick on pedal steel. South Oklahoma, Golden Ring & Gear Jamming Daddy all featured together with the Lera Lynn and Conway Twitty standard You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly.  It finishes, all too quickly unfortunately, with Harris resuming duties in the outdoor kitchen serving up plates of gumbo and rice to the masses.

Blackfoot Gypsies, up next, were another new act to me. A mixture of blues, roots, rock ‘n’ roll and country the young four-piece band are fronted by a young man named Matthew Paige with a most incredible, distinctive high pitched voice and the ability to belt out a song with the best of them. They succeed after only a few numbers in having men, women and quite a number of children up front dancing, air guitaring and generally having a ball. Extraordinary live band and another act to follow in the coming years. 

Unfortunately, time pressure did not allow us to catch the final act on the bill, Fly Golden Eagle but the time had come to make a move to relocate and catch the last acts of the festival. The intended show for the Sunday evening was Holly Williams supported by Travis Meadows at the 3& Lindsley. However, word filtered through during the day that a host of artists, including Robyn Hitchcock, Emma Swift, Lilly Hiatt, T Hardy Morris, Tristan, Pony Boy and others, were due to jam at the 5 Spot and the venue being local to our accommodation, won out. The event was attended by probably more musicians than punters, packed to the doors and a great end to the festival. Particularly enjoyable for me was the opportunity to meet Robyn Hitchcock, an artist that I have admired since my teen years and his partner Emma Swift who were both delightful, amiable and conversational.

The evening ended, as many had during the week, with a few beers across the road in our local bar The 3 Crow. 

As the saying goes just when you think it’s over … Monday provided another pleasant surprise. Never short of music events to attend in Nashville the plan had been to catch The Time Jumper’s Monday residency at the 3& Lindsley. Consisting of a number of elite local musicians The Time Jumpers perform Western Swing every second Monday at the venue. Plans changed however when word spread that Cale Tyson was hosting an end of festival celebration at The American Legion joined by an array of artists who had performed over the past week. Due to join the party were Aaron Lee Tasjan (no surprise), Nikki Lane, Jonathan Tyler, Molly Parton, Robyn Hitchcock, Emma Swift, Jamie Wyatt and Erin Rae and with such an impressive list is was decided to defer The Time Jumpers until another year. The American Legion, situated at 318 Donelson Pike East Nashville, is a private members club which hosts events from time to time to raise funds for the maintenance and upkeep of the complex. It’s like a workman’s club in by gone times and punters are required to sign in at the venue prior to admission. If features a hall which was still decorated from previous functions including a mirror ball and happy birthday balloons which may very well have been located at ceiling level for quite a while. A separate bar is situated the entrance door where old timers very busy playing cards and drinking beers. In the hall the stage has been decorated by Cale Tyson and his team and to our delight included not one but two steel pedal guitars on stage. 

The format for the evening sees Tyson invite the various guest to the stage where they each perform one song, all covers and mostly standards, well known to all present. Tyson’s band includes his regular steel player Brett Resnick and an equally talented group of players. It’s a wonderful evening, relaxed and the perfect end to a wonderful festival. 

What follows could not be script written by the writer. Lonesome Highway has been unapologetically raving about both the album and live shows by the hottest name in Nashville this year which is Margo Price. During a break between artists I slipped out to the near empty bar to arrange refreshments and fate would have it Margo and her husband Jeremy were sitting at the bar. She had just arrived at the venue to make special guest appearance having been on stage with Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle at a recording of Skyville Live just minutes earlier. Having had the pleasure of meeting the charming young lady after her show in Manchester in September it was a fitting end to the whole adventure to have another chance to encourage her and her husband to visit and play Ireland in 2017. A lasting memory for me as I lifted my drinks from the counter was her engagement with the lady serving the drinks who must have been in her eighties. Price gently whispered “Mam I got to sing on stage tonight with one of my all-time heroes Emmylou Harris”. To which the smiling barmaid replied with a slow southern drawl and holding Price’s hand “Honey, you’re a big star now.” You couldn’t make it up!

Minutes later Price was on stage belting out Guy Clark’s Rita Ballou in fine style. The evening finished with all the artists on stage closing the set with a rousing Goodnight Irene.  

It’s difficult to know where to start in mentioning the many people that made the festival another outstanding mix of music, laughter, education, glorious weather and the odd beer. 

A word of thanks to my housemates, the 3 Crows group of similar minded people, Dandy & Rose, Ark PR, Americana Music Association Executive Director Jed Hilly and his wonderful team, Yazoo Brewing Company and of course the many musicians and artists that continue to make the festival a very special week indeed.

Lonesome Highway got to see approximately 60 acts out of the 200 that performed at the Festival this year. Time to make plans to get back in 2017 to catch some of the ones we missed.

Written and photographed by Declan Culliton

Fantastic Negrito @ Whelan’s, Dublin. Sunday 18th September 2016.

When you grow up with the lessons learned on the streets of Oakland then you are a survivor with a story to tell. Having lost close family to the gun violence that is all too often a backdrop to life in USA cities, this aspiring artist turned his energies into making music and created something of real value before a horrific car accident took it all away.

Arriving in Dublin for a debut gig, all these years later, is a million miles away from those dark days and Xavier Dphrepaulezz, stage name Fantastic Negrito, is clearly in a much happier place right now. With a critically acclaimed debut album, The Last Days of Oakland, making quite a stir across the music grapevine, the last thing that we are going to be is disappointed. The energy levels of Fantastic Negrito and his superbly rehearsed band is full-on, loud 'n' proud, in your face and racing you through an experience that will long stay in the memory.

Playing tracks mainly from the album release, Fantastic is, well… quite simply Fantastic...!

Boasting a huge stage presence, he dances and moves around his band, engaging the enthusiastic crowd at every turn and raising the performance levels ever higher. He has a natural way with stories and his likeability factor wins everybody over by the time he has removed his full-length leather coat, a few numbers into this really impressive performance.

This is Black Roots music that fills a particular space in the music consciousness with plenty of Soul and Funky grooves that really hit hard. Add in some wonderful keyboard sounds on top of this driving beat and it is impossible to not jump into the sweet surrender of it all.

The 5-piece band are clearly having a blast and so are the crowd as we are treated to the real essence of live performance. The song titles will not mean anything to those who are discovering this artist for the first time so let me just add the actual set-list which I was fortunate enough to photo after the show, courtesy of a newly anointed fan who was taking it home as a souvenir of a special night.

The next time Fantastic Negrito visits Dublin it will be to a larger venue as his reputation is only going to grow in one direction...

Review and photographs by Paul McGee

Margo Price @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester - 30th August 2016

Margo Price is hot property of late and rightly so. The rave reviews for her debut album Midwest Farmers Daughter earlier in the year were followed by appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Saturday Night Live and Later with Jools Holland. The first Country artist to be signed to Jack White’s Third Man Record label, her album highlighted an ability to pen outstanding and mainly autobiographical songs and also placed the 32-year-old Illinois born Price (now residing in East Nashville) among the finest authentic female country vocalist of the present day. The album was also the first debut solo release by a female artist in history to enter the top ten in the Billbord Top Country Albums chart. However, it has not been overnight success by a long shot and her album details in no uncertain terms much of the tragedy and hardship she has encountered to date.

As a venue The Deaf Institute could hardly be more suitable, a medium sized room with a capacity of approximately three hundred. A noticeable sense of anticipation most certainly prevails prior to Price taking to the stage at 9pm.

Her backing band, The Pricetags, consist of electric guitar, acoustic guitar (played by her husband Jeremy Ivey), bass, drums and pedal steel and together with Price they deliver a seamless set that despite being over ninety minutes long passes in a flash. From the opening song Travel On to her final encore of Neil Young’s Old Ways Price owns the stage, making all the right moves, energetic, oozing confidence, visibly doting on the audience feedback but most of all showcasing her stunning vocal ability.                           

Understandably the majority of the set is taken from her album, mostly true to the studio versions with the exception of Desperate and Depressed which rocks out more that the studio take. This Town Gets Around (her take on Music City ("When I first came here the streets were paved with gold and you can walk that road I’ve been told, but I won’t put out or be controlled, I don’t write the shit that get bought and sold") is a delight. Her signature song, Hands of Time is immediately recognisable and greeted with applause from the first few notes even before her vocal kicks in, Tennessee and Weekender get similar treatment from a very engaged and enthusiastic audience. This gives the whole experience more of a Saturday night than Tuesday night feel.

Her covers are well chosen and pertinent, from the beautifully delivered Levon Helm song Dirt Farmer performed acoustically with price sharing vocals, to a rousing rendition of Gram Parson’s Ooh Las Vegas. Hurtin’ (On The Bottle), co-written with Caitlin Rose after a nights drinking, finishes the main set before encoring with the aforementioned Old Way. A fine way to close what had been a memorable concert.

Ironically Margo Price is most likely too "traditional country" to generate the airplay she deserves on country music radio these days. The tendency to lean towards a more diluted form of pop country is unfortunately leaving artists like Price struggling for radio airplay despite the plaudits being generated within the industry. This is reinforced by her inexplicable recent omission from the CMA 2016 nominations. The honesty of her song writing probably does her no favours on Music Row either, leaving her possibly approaching categorisation as a modern country outlaw artist in the company of her heroes Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Jessi Coulter.

However, on the basis of her performance this evening it will take more than a lack of exposure on commercial radio to deny Price the career her talent richly deserves. I may attend a better show this year but I seriously doubt it.

Review and photography by Declan Culliton