Alejandro Escovedo with Don Antonio @ Whelans 11th April 2017

The opening act, Italian band Don Antonio, played a short set of mainly instrumental songs from their debut album, which was musically interesting and tinged with humour. Italians playing rock ’n’ roll may not be an easy concept take on board front man and lead guitarist Antonio Gramentieri mused and how the dance The Twist gave them an in. They played with a passion and ability that went down well with an audience that they had quipped earlier doesn’t particularly like support bands, setting the tone for a rewarding evening.  

After a short break, and a change of clothes, the band emerged with Escovedo and preceded to play four songs that were fiery examples of a hard rock attitude that took the level up a notch or two from the recent Burn Something Beautiful album. The band were with him all the way with a strong rhythm section bolstered by lead guitar, saxophone and keyboards. What was immediately apparent was the commitment that Escovedo brought to his performance. His vocals were powerful and purposeful and his guitar playing integrated with the overall sound blasting from the stage. 

After four songs Escovedo let us know how he was happy to be back in Dublin and, in particular, Whelans again. “Thanks for coming out on whatever night this is” he noted with some obvious touches of touring fatigue. He changed from electric to acoustic guitar for the next few songs which would be for the “Americana crowd.” He preceded that with a brief history of his past and his love for influences such as the New York Dolls and The Stooges (among many others). He talked of his move to New York where he met old friends Chip and Tony Kinman (of fellow punk band The Dils) and how they drove across America with a plan to bring together George Jones and The Clash. The result of this was of course the influential band Rank & File. They arrived in Austin “the City of Songs.” A small spec of blue amid a sea of red - a place where you could find the likes of Blaze Foley or Townes Van Zandt wandering around looking for a misplaced guitar from the previous night!

He played a song he co-wrote with his old friend Chuck Prophet Bottom Of The World that addressed how things had changed in Austin (and everywhere). In this set he also played a song that he’d been singing for the recently departed. On this occasion, he dedicated the song to Irishman and music lover Frank Murray. Sister Lost Soul was a song that he had co-written with the late Jeffery Lee Pierce of Gun Club. He also included Down In The Bowery from his Streets Songs Of Love album. He took the opportunity also to introduce the band, Don Antonio: Matteo Monti on drums, bassist and singer Denis Valentini plus Francesco Valtieri who played saxophone and keyboards as well as tambourine and backing vocals as well as the aforementioned Antonio Gramentieri on guitar. They proved to be a superb backing band given that they only had a day or so rehearsal before driving 10 hours in a small van to Frankfurt for the first gig of this European tour.

Escovedo discussed the current situation in America and how his family had come to America from Mexico and of his 12 siblings eight had been involved with music. Two were noted percussionists and how he felt that they had enriched the cultural life there in the US with their contributions. His father was a hardworking man whose own father had been abusive. This had caused his father to run away at an early age. That sense of freedom is something that seems fundamental to his son too. A troubadour who brings his talent to different towns and shares his life experiences, both good and bad, with his audiences.  

Sally Was A Cop was a song that brought some of his shared heritage into play. It was one of the strongest performances on the night that mixed some older songs with those from the latest album. He closed the show with his take on Bruce Springsteen’s Always A Friend, a song that the Boss had invited him to sing with him at a big show in Texas. The penultimate song was not his but one from BP Fallon, who joined the band to deliver, in his unique way, I Believe - a song originally recorded with Jack White but here given justice with the band directed by Fallon’s hand movements and vocal phrasing. 

For many reasons a great gig, even if, at times, the vocals seemed a little lost in the mix, Alejandro Escovedo is a survivor as well as a showman. A man imbued with the spirit of rock ’n’ roll who transcends genre to deliver his heart and soul. In doing so he is burning with something beautiful.

Review by Stephen Rapid   Photography by Kaethe Burt-O'Dea (top) and Stephen Rapid (bottom)

Samantha Crain @ Whelan’s - April 7th 2017

Tonight, sees the welcome return of Samantha to Ireland for a short tour, which includes dates in Dublin, Kilkenny and Cork. It has been a fast rise to prominence among her peers for this gifted song-writer and musician who has released 5 albums over an 8-year period, culminating in the current offering, You Had Me At Goodbye.

Her new release is strongly featured, as expected, with the first half of the show taken up with the live performance of the entire project, ten songs in all, played with a band that has been assembled for the tour. This is all the more remarkable when you consider the relatively short rehearsal time that the musicians must have had to get to know these songs and to add their individual touch to the overall arrangements. Credit Samantha in that she appears to be a very generous band leader who allows each player the space to play and stretch the songs into understated and complete performances.

Her previous catalogue has fallen into the reflective song-writer category often exploring the fracture of relationships, the failings of individuals to do the right thing and the broken-hearts that must mend as a result of so much chaos. She is an advocate for the underdog and often writes from a personal viewpoint but dressed in character songs.

The new release seems much more upbeat with bright arrangements and a strong sense of letting the songs go where they will go. One song, Red Sky, Blue Mountain is written in Choctaw, her native language, and the overall impression is of a musician who is wholly comfortable with her muse and delivering songs of a mature nature to augment her growing body of work.

Emma Gatrill plays oboe and delivers a performance that is very impressive as she swoops around the melodies and colours the arrangements with subtle touches that fit perfectly. Equally Mike Siddell on violin displays a virtuoso performance of embellishing the song structures with understated playing lines that harmonise perfectly with the oboe parts and lift the songs to increasingly interesting places. Ben Rubenstein on bass is a very steady player who keeps things simple but is always driving the songs forward with lyrical playing. Sebastian Hankins is a fine drummer who never overplays and tucks-in very neatly behind the acoustic playing of Samantha with little touches of class on percussion when not anchoring the beat for the more up-tempo songs.    

The attentive audience is treated to stories of self-absorbed asshole friends; Airport-naming in Oklahoma and a tribute to the wife of the legendary Will Rogers; name checks for Richard Thompson and the late Jason Molina; her best friend honoured in a song and her first cover of a song from Will D. Cobbe, When the Roses Bloom Again.

Samantha is very relaxed on stage and her fine voice and guitar style signpost the real depth that lies within this gentle soul who displays a persona of wanting to have fun onstage above all else. Finishing her show with a number of older songs, Outside The Pale, Santa Fe, Kathleen, Somewhere All The Time and encores of Elk City (solo) and For The Miner, we are left with the feeling that the only way is up for this gifted and intelligent artist who continues to win over more admirers as she grows into the years ahead and continues to produce work of real insight and meaning. 

Review and photograph by Paul McGee

Jim White @ Whelan’s - 4th April 2017

With the room still echoing from applause for the opening set of gravely blues and stunning slide and acoustic guitar picking by Clive Barnes, Jim White is already perched centre stage and eager to get down to business. "Are we ready to start yet," he asks, "because I’ve a lot to say." It’s a welcomed return to Dublin for the rare talent that is Jim White, singer, songwriter, raconteur and overall entertainer. He possesses a genre all of his own, probably yet to be defined and has been visiting Ireland for many years to audiences that ‘get him’. "First time I played Whelan’s I had five songs, no more. Audience said that’s cool just keep playing them over and over again." Promoted by Rollercoaster Records, tonight is the first night of a six date Irish tour and it’s heartening to see a great turn out.

Decked out in western shirt and Levi’s, the former male model, taxi driver, comedian and surfer proceeds to deliver a set that lasts an hour and three quarters yet seems to pass by in a flash. In customary fashion, each of White’s songs is preceded by a story (often taking longer than the song itself!) and the set list includes a trawl through his extensive back catalogue together with material from his latest album, due for release later this year. Accustomed to more than often playing solo these days with only his drum machine ("my trusty Japanese drummer") for company, the contribution of Clive Barnes on guitar brings the experience to another level entirely, more than recreating the studio atmosphere so integral to White’s work, no mean achievement considering the pair had only rehearsed for a few hours the previous day. The relaxed chemistry and interaction generated by both artists certainly would suggest otherwise. "The promoter told me this guy would drive me around and maybe play a bit of guitar as well, Jesus he is awesome, loves his music too! Joy to be on stage with him, I’d almost do it for nothing ... I said almost!"

Alabama Chrome, given a slightly varied treatment than the studio version, opens the set followed by The Wound That Never Heals ("a great lady serial killer song, too many man serial killer songs, had to set that right") before continuing the dark country noir theme with the first of a number of songs from his latest work titled Wash Away The World. Next up is his "one big hit" Handcuffed To A Fence in Mississippi which introduces his Japanese drummer and some powerful chunky guitar work by Barnes. Burn The River Dry follows with an accompanying tale of how the song was conceived while working as a taxi driver in New York, being jilted by a girlfriend and left stranded having blagged his way into renting accommodation for them both in Brooklyn, way beyond his financial means.

An account of tripping on LSD in his younger days as a surfer on a beach in California with a friend explains the origins and is the lead in to A Perfect Day To Chase Tornadoes, before a flawless version of Jailbird , one of the many highlights of the night.

Weighing in at a lengthy six minutes and thirty-four seconds Still Waters is introduced as his ‘bathroom song’ as White articulates how a Louisville Radio Station was playing the song regularly, to his surprise, when it was released. So much so that he was encouraged to visit the station to offer his appreciation. The reaction of the lady DJ when he proudly owned up as the writer of the song was "wow awesome, its six minutes thirty-four seconds long, I can get to the bathroom and back when its playing.’’

Hilarious tales are also recounted of upsetting, to put it mildly, some seriously right wing conservative Canadian bluegrass players and American rockabilly player Sleepy La Beef by performing God Was Drunk When He Made Me on stage in their company at a festival. If Jesus Drove A Motorhome and A Bar Is Just A Church Where They Serve Beer follow on a similar irreverent path before encores of the intoxicating Girl From Brownsville Texas and a moving new song written for his daughter, with a tear in his eye, called Sweet Bird Of Mystery.  

It’s a joy to witness Jim White in such good form and at the top of his game. Hats off to promoter Willie Meighan for having the foresight to arrange the tour and introduce him to Clive Barnes. Hopefully this won’t be the last time these two appear on stage together in Dublin. 

Review and photography by Declan Culliton

Rhiannon Giddens @ Whelan’s - 3rd April 2017

With the show sold out not long after it was announced it is not surprising that the venue is packed to the rafters for the welcomed return of Ireland’s adopted daughter Rhiannon Giddens, whose last appearance in Dublin was at the same venue in July 2015. Giddens and her band have marginally more elbow room on a stage that also accommodates a mandolin, two banjos, three acoustic guitars, two electric guitars, two fiddles, drum kit, upright bass, keyboards, a Cajun accordion and bones. Not that the lack of space concerns Giddens in the least who adds "it’s great to play at Whelan’s again so close to you all and my band. The stages at some of the venues we play in these days are that large that I can hardly see my band and they become more like an ensemble!" It’s a pointer towards the splendid form that Giddens and her band are in on the last night of their tour of Europe before heading to Australia the following day.

The Grammy Award winning artist has for many years been adored for her exceptional vocal range and technical musical ability but since her last appearance in Dublin she has also revealed an excellence as a song writer on her  recent release Freedom Highway, possibly the most potent political protest album for many years.

Once every so often gig attendees are fortunate to witness an artist or band when they are particularly on fire, whether it be in support of a career best album, the last night of a tour or a special occasion. Tonight, is without doubt one of those magical event, with a performance that has the audience totally engaged from the opener Spanish Mary to the couple of Scottish Gaelic reels that conclude the evening some ninety minutes later. The audience’s mood rises and dips from pin drop silence, to hand clapping and singing along, as Giddens delivers a set combining material from her recently release Freedom Highway as well as revisiting her extensive back catalogue.

Her band are made up of three members who appeared on her last visit to Dublin, Carolina Chocolate Drop colleague Hubby Jenkins on guitar, mandolin, banjo and bones, Jason Sypher on bass and James Dick on drums. Giddens on her earlier albums had engaged producers such as Joe Henry, Buddy Millar and T. Bone Burnett but decided to co-produce Freedom Highway and sought out the services of multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell. Powell’s presence on stage this evening playing keyboards, electric guitar, fiddle, accordion and adding backing vocals, is the catalyst that brings the performance to a higher level. Giddens is on record insisting that the band she wanted touring the album would also be the musicians who recorded it and their timing, chemistry and comradery certainly reinforce this.

Following on from Spanish Mary Giddens performs four tracks in succession from Freedom Highway, the upbeat The Love We Almost Had, the instrumental Following The North Star, the gorgeous ballad We Could Fly performed by Giddens and Powell as a duo and the particularly moving At The Purchaser’s Option. Giddens explains the history behind the song which was motivated by a newspaper cutting she came across while researching African American history, advertising a twenty-two-year-old slave girl for sale with her nine-month-old daughter available also "at the Purchasers Option". Her vocal delivery as you would expect is exquisite, soaring and dipping throughout the set and the passion, most notable on the material from the current album, is there for all to witness, most particularly on Birmingham Sunday ("a song we should not still be singing") and Julie, the first song she wrote for the album. Giddens explains that the banjo she is playing on Julie is in fact an 1858 replica that she acquired which sounds exactly as it would have back then.

The delivery is painfully moving on many songs also, particularly her current material, but there is also no end of humour. Giddens arriving on stage stylishly attired but not realising that a large price tag is dangling from her skirt which raises a giggle as much by herself as her audience. Her good-natured anecdote is also well received when telling the audience that her two children attend Gael Scoil in Limerick. "Thanks for not laughing when I mentioned Limerick, everyone else does."

 The set list also includes the crowd pleaser Waterboy, the Patsy Cline favourite She’s Got You ("my all-time favourite weepin’ in the beer song"), Powell taking centre stage playing some foot tapping Cajon dance waltzes on his accordion and Hubby Jenkins singing and ripping some electric blues on the African-American bible song Children Go.

The first encore is a rousing version of The Staple Sisters 60’s rally song Freedom Highway with UK artist and support artist Jordan Mackampa invited on stage to perform backing vocals. The final encore is a medley of Lonesome Road and Up Above My Head followed by a couple of Scottish reels with Giddens declaring ("I can’t sing another note, I’ve sung my brains out") before leaving the stage to rapturous applause.

For those who were fortunate to attend the show and witness Giddens and her superb band in such fine form it’s an occasion that will remain in the memory bank for quite a while. For those who did not the good news is she is back in Ireland in November. 

Review and photography by Declan Culliton

Over the Rhine @ Utrecht and Dublin – March 2017.

There is a synchronicity that runs through life at times and can lead to moments of magic; unexplained and all the more precious for their arrival. Lonesome Highway discover the chance to witness live concerts from Over the Rhine in both Utrecht and Dublin, both within the space of 10 days, and for this writer who has admired their talents for many years, it is too good an opportunity to miss.

Indeed, had our timing worked out better there would have been the opportunity to chat with Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiller before both shows. Unfortunately said synchronicity does not extend to meeting-up as rental car delays and late arrival by this scribe, coupled with soundcheck commitments conspired against Utrecht and by the time Dublin came around, both artists are suffering from a debilitating bug that has them resting at every available moment prior to the actual performance.

However, a brief hello after both shows leads to the promise of an interview by e-mail (check the site over the coming weeks ...).

From Utrecht and the beautifully modern venue of Tivoli Vredenburg, built in 2014, with its innovative architecture and design - plenty of open space between the various floors and performance rooms; to the ancient Church setting in Dublin of the Unitarian Church built in 1861- the contrast in venues could not be more pronounced.

Both shows are very intimate affairs and filled with a quality of performance that underlines the rich talents of this husband & wife duo who have been producing sublime music for the last 25 years. This is roots music in all its splendid colours where influences of blues, country, folk and gospel are blended together into a cocktail mix that is delivered with such soulful expression.

Starting each show with Meet Me At The Edge Of The World, the title from the latest studio release, both musicians dove-tail around the melody with sensitive guitar interplay and the seamless vocal harmonies borne of playing together for so long. Karin has a voice that is quite beautiful in both quiet restraint and emotive delivery and when she opens her full range then the effect is quite something to witness.

The latest release features regularly during the show, as one would expect, and performances of Sacred Ground, Gonna Let My Soul Catch My Body, Earthbound Love Song, Favourite Time Of Light and I’d Want You are included from this double album. Many older songs are in the hearts and wishes of the attentive audience but it is impossible to cover everybody’s favourite song in one show.

Their extensive back-catalogue is featured with Born, Trouble and Ploughkeepsie all displaying the vocal dexterity of Karin as she occasionally bends words to suit the mood of the song with a delivery that is always compelling and full of emotion. The wonderful piano playing of Linford is always a highlight and he dazzles with subtle interpretation, gentle touch and free form exploration on melody lines in support of each song.

When I Go is a soulful prayer with some jazz-like piano parts while Latter Days is a song that reflects upon common themes with its musing on the disillusionment of life and separation.

All My Favourite People from The Long Surrender (2001) and If A Song Could Be President, from The Trumpet Child, are two songs that fit very well together as the shows reach a climax and both are greeted with great enthusiasm.

In Utrecht, we are given the wonderful Suitcase, from the Ohio double album; while in Dublin, a rare performance of Jesus In New Orleans seems somewhat apt given the Church venue. There is also a beautifully delivered version of Drunkard’s Prayer, the title track from the 2005 album and the closing song on both nights is a fan-favourite, All I Need Is Everything.

Over the Rhine are completely comfortable onstage and the conversations and stories shared between Karin and Linford are a key component to the overall feel of each performance. Each location enjoys a different ambience and atmosphere and the performances are delivered with a subtle grace that is quite wistful and evocative of the human journey we all undertake; the frailty of life with its successes and failures, balanced against the lessons learned and the stumbles and progress born of experience.

The fact that they have managed to endure in this cut-throat industry on an independent basis for the last 25 years is tribute indeed to the countless artists like them who exist outside the media radar and who rely on word-of-mouth to keep their music alive and vibrant. Judging by the show of hands to ‘market-research’ carried out by Karin and Lindford there are quite a number of new fans who are seeing them play for the first time on this tour. Encouraging signs indeed.

Karin speaks of the artist’s role in comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable and this really sums up the joy of their astute song-writing and impressive musicianship, which is of the highest quality. The standing ovation received on both nights is proof positive that both Karin and Linford have an enduring place in the hearts and minds of so many music lovers across the distances.

Comparison is the thief of joy, as a very philosophical Karin states towards the end of the Dublin show and far be it from me to compare the unique talent that makes this compelling duo one of the greatest secrets of modern American music. Make sure you catch Over the Rhine the next time they tour in your country.

Review and photograph by Paul McGee

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