Saturday 10th May
Johnny
Dowd was almost 50 when Wrong Side of Memphis, his record of wracked
country-folk-rock tunes, drew comparisons to Nick Cave in the
alternative press. To a degree, the parallel is justified. Wrong Side
of Memphis, after all, is devoted in large part to murder songs and
tales of doomed sinners, and suffused with outlaw paranoia. Yet Dowd is
-- as someone who grew up in Texas, Memphis, and Oklahoma, and now runs
a trucking business in upstate New York -- someone who's genuinely
closer to the source of American creepiness. He's also not so damn
serious about it all; aside from the gallows humor permeating much of
his work, his crackly voice tends to undercut any traces of
self-importance. Dowd's sound is dominated by his singing and guitar,
yet spooky dabs of organ and synthesizer place him outside of the
rootsy Americana camp. His debut immediately established him as an
important cult figure whose weirdness seemed to be wrought from true
experience, and not the result of some phony pose. On his second album,
1999's Pictures From Life's Other Side, Dowd edged slightly away from
the cliff, using a full band of musicians and a female backup singer to
craft a punchier and less folk-rooted sound. His singing and lyrics,
however, remained nearly as disquieting as they were the first time
around. Temporary Shelter, issued in early 2001, and Pawnbroker's Wife,
from the following year, were more accessible, produced records.
Cemetary Shoes followed in 2004.
RACHAEL
UNTHANK
& THE WINTERSET
Tuesday 13th May
SORRY THIS GIG HAS
BEEN CANCELLED BY THE ARTIST - REFUNDS FROM POINT OF PURCHASE
Thursday 15th May
King Creosote (or Kenny Anderson, as he's better
known in his native Anstruther, Fife) is a veritable one-man army. As
well as writing, producing and performing for over a decade in various
guises, he is singlehandledly responsible for the management of Fence
Records. Anderson has been hatching a global takeover for years.
It seems that now, thanks in no small part to his own prolific output,
KC has emerged as one of the true spearheads of the recent folk
revival. His distinct, quirky songs are both supremely fresh and
achingly familiar, and can be heard in any number of live shows and
festivals he organizes, as well as on his latest LP ‘’Bombshell’’.
Friday 16th May
‘Between Me and the Wardrobe’ is Herbert’s third and
most personal album to date. It is an album born out of the desire to
tell her own tales, rather than be known simply as an interpreter of
other people’s songs. Determined to do her own thing, Herbert
hooked up with producer Seb Rochford (Polar Bear, Acoustic Ladyland and
Fulborn Taversham) and sound engineer Robert Harder (Babyshambles, the
Littl’ans and Acoustic Ladyland) the resulting album draws on a diverse
pool of influences including Janis Ian, Dorothy Parker, Arthur Miller
and Rufus Wainwright. Herbert’s songs are touching, powerful and often
witty stories and observations that make this her finest album yet, and
is released on Blue Note / EMI
“Between Me and the Wardrobe is a masterpiece…. deserves to be
nominated for a Mercury Music Prize” ’ Courtney Pine
“Herbert has more in common with the singer-songwriters of the Joni
Mitchell era. But she possesses a flawless sense of swing, a jazz
improviser’s ear for detail and her superb new trio generate backdrops
that are as seductive as anything you will hear… while her voice is a
thing of beauty.” The Times
A voice that’s a knowing mix of honey, steel and gravel….. Her voice
vibrating over the lyrics in a way that makes your toes curl’.
The Observe
Saturday 17th May
Born
Ted Horowitz, Popa Chubby is a true native son of the Big Apple. He was
born in 1960 in the Bronx and grew up in a neighborhood made famous by
Robert DeNiro in the movie A Bronx Tale. His parents owned a candy
store on the corner of 181st Street and Arthur Avenue. His early
memories of hearing the juke box playing the hits of early sixties soul
and R&B – and the neighborhood teens flocking around it – made a
lasting impression on him. To this day the musical influence of Otis
Redding, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye are ever
present in Popa's music.
Popa Chubby's music, forged in the toughness that is New York City,
takes blues to the cutting edge, where it highfives its contemporary
cousins rock, rap, and hip hop. With his razor sharp, biting guitar,
vocals from the gut, and top-notch skill as a songwriter, Popa Chubby
artfully combines the rootsiness of blues with the more modern urban
elements of today's popular music.
Sunday 18th May
One
of today's finest young fingerstyle guitarists, Andy McKee is hailed by
many musicians in the acoustic world as the most promising fingerstyle
guitarist to arrive on the scene in some time. Over the last thirteen
years, Andy has cited numerous influences from Metallica, to Bjork, to
Don Ross, to Tchaikovsky, and has created a unique voice on the
acoustic guitar by drawing from these inspirations. In the last 4
years, Andy has placed highly in a number of guitar competitions
including 1st in the state of Kansas, 2nd in Canada, and 3rd in the
U.S. Fingerstyle Guitar Championships. In 2001, Andy was the youngest
competitor to ever place in the top 3 at Winfield Kansas' esteemed
National Fingerstyle Guitar Championships. In more recent years, Andy
has begun international touring including performances in Taiwan,
China, Japan, England, Germany, Austria and Belgium.
World renowned fingerstyle guitarist and the
world's
only two-time National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion, Don Ross, had this
to say about Andy: "In my humble opinion, Andy is the most
innovative and exciting fingerstyle guitarist to emerge in years. Still
in his 20's, Andy has developed a mastery of the 6-string guitar and
the harp guitar that leaves me speechless. I find myself listening to
his tunes over and over again, discovering new nuances every time. He
is the most textural player of the instrument since Michael Hedges, and
he creates sonic architecture worthy of the great modern composers for
any instrument."
Tuesday 20th May
Stephen Dale Petit is a London-based Blues guitarist
who has played alongside many guitar greats (Eric Clapton; David
Gilmour; BB & Albert King). The once homeless recovering alcoholic
addict composed & financed his much acclaimed debut album
Guitararama whilst busking on the London.
Wednesday 21st May
'The
founding fathers of British folk rock' in existence now for 30 years
with about 20 personnel changes in that time including such luminaries
as Rick Wakeman and Sandy Denny. Now playing mostly acoustic sets of
classic numbers, The Strawbs are Dave Cousins on guitar, dulcimer and
vocals, Dave Lambert on guitar and vocals, and guitarist Brian
Willoughby.
Thursday 22nd May
'A
musician's musician' with an illustrious career which began in the
1970s playing Blues in San Fransisco Bay, USA.
Robben has had a long
and
fruitful
career, having played and recorded with many of the great performing
artists of
our time. This list includes Joni Mitchell, George Harrison and Miles
Davis, to
name just a few.
Fri 23rd May
Formed
in 1990 to celebrate Frank Zappa's 50th birthday, the Muffin Men are
considered to be 'the best Zappa band in operation' by Mike Keneally,
former Zappa guitarist.. Zappa and Beefheart music performed with
typical English humour and a touch of virtuosity.
Sunday 25th May Robin Trower spent
the early 60's playing
guitar in various London based outfits, the most successful one being
The Paramount's. They specialized in mostly covers, but managed to
issue several singles between 1963 and 1965 and were a favourite band
of the Rolling Stones. It wasn't until 1967 that Trower received his
big break when he joined Procol Harum. Trower was a member of Procol
Harum until 1972. After leaving Procol
Harum,
Trower embarked on his solo career and found the success that has made
him a legend today. Armed with his fluid and powerful guitar style,
redefined during his stint with Procol Harum. All of his early albums
share a tough, explosive style mixed with his trademark "soft
psychedelia" that made Robin Trower a power trio that will forever
remain in Rock n' Roll history. Throughout his long and
winding
solo career, guitarist Robin Trower has been called the "White" Hendrix
due to his uncanny ability to channel Hendrix' bluesy/psychedelic,
Fender Strat-fueled playing style. Trower released his solo
debut,
Twice Removed From Yesterday, in 1973. The album barely left a dent in
the US charts, but that would change soon enough with his next release
1974's "Bridge of Sighs". The album skyrocketed into the US top ten,
peaking at number seven selling a million and a half copies and it
still sells 15,000 copies a year to date worldwide.
+ support from young blues sensation Aynsley
Lister
Thursday 29th May Electric
Set
The Cosmic
American Love Child Of Howlin Wolf and Link Wray!!! Known as a
“musician’s
musician”, his praises have been sung by everyone from Ben Harper to
Brit
guitar gods Eric Clapton & Mick Taylor. Since his 1996 debut
recording, the
all-acoustic BIG MAMA’S DOOR, Alvin Youngblood Hart has carried his
musical
message the world over. A devout follower of the “no barriers” approach
laid by
veteran performers like Gatemouth Brown and the late great Doug Sahm,
Alvin continues to defy
the so- called purists. After receiving the 1997 W.C Handy Award for
Best New
Artist, as well as 2 Living Blues Awards, Hart’s 1998 release,
TERRITORY, a
rousing tribute to all forms of American music, received the Downbeat
Magazine
Critics Poll Award for Best Blues Album (and it wasn’t even a Blues
album). In
the summer of ’99 Hart teamed up with producer Jim Dickinson to begin
recording
START WITH THE SOUL. This record would be hailed as a new breed
Southern Rock
classic & Alvin’s
return to the “sacred garage” where many a guitar player’s life began.
”SOUL”,
Alvin’s best selling record to date, was chosen in the New York Times
top 10
releases of 2000 as well as the BBC’s Blues record of the year. He also
shared
Living Blues Magazine’s best guitarist honours with fellow road dog Big
Jack
Johnson in 2001.
“THE JAM” may have “Beat Surrendered” in 1982, but you
can still relive the excitement, feel the energy and power of a real
live show
with
The Jamm, without doubt the most authentic and true
tribute in the World.
The JAMM have continuously been delighting fans of
PAUL
WELLER’S original group in SELL OUT performances. Proving time and
again what
power the original music had and that the quality of “THE
JAMM” show remains unsurpassed.
The Jam sadly played their last gig in 1982 leaving
many
thousands of fans dreaming of the day when the band would reform. This
was not
to be.
The TRIBUTE SHOW, backed by the experience of over
2000
live performances, will take you back in time when “Fire” & “Skill”
ruled
the charts and a youth culture identified with the lyrics and energy of
a band
that was a reflection of their own lives.
This show with over 30 songs packed into a HIGH
ENERGY,
authentic performance continues to draw in crowds old and new, young
and old, when quality counts “This Is
Entertainment”
