Well that’s it from us for another week dear reader. If you’re an AUK supporter, your new playlist will be winging its way to you at 5pm tonight, along with our exclusive “The Best Americana I’ve Heard This Year” playlist pulled together by our whole writing team. You can become an AUK supporter for just £2 per month by heading here – we’d be extremely grateful of the support. Please do vote in our annual readers poll if you have a minute to spare – the difference between one artist winning a category and not another can sometimes come down to a couple of votes so your participation does make ..read more

Oh no – it’s actually December!  How did that happen?  Well, the same way that it always happens – Christmas and the annual festivities around a week off from Americana UK always seems so far away.  There’s plenty of time to learn the words to all the Yulefest songs, plenty of time to bake the Winterval cake, plenty of time to sift through the offerings for Jingle Bells Friday and then – woosh! There are only four more Fridays to go, and somehow the quite reasonable pile of festive tunes has become a mountainous heap.  There’s nothing for it – we may have to up the weekly s ..read more

In 1977 Emmylou Harris was at the first of many high points in her career. ‘Luxury Liner’ had come out the previous year and work had started on ‘Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town’. While the latter has been accused of having ‘over careful’ production it remains a favourite for me because it was the first album I heard by Harris. It also featured the members of the second version of her Hot Band playing here, with Albert Lee taking on the lead guitar spot from the legendary James Burton. For a song that blends country and rock and roll to near perfection look no further than this version of the ..read more

Now with just six categories – why take two bottles into the shower when you can just vote and go? So it’s that time of year again when we launch our annual readers poll in which we ask you to reflect on the last 12 months (well, 11) and choose your favourite americana, the stuff that’s resonated with you throughout the year, the stuff that you’ll still be talking about this time next year. This year we’ve streamlined it to just 6 categories – As ever, we are a UK-based site so despite the inherent oxymoronic (is that a word?) nature of our raison d’etre, we are particularly keen to hear about ..read more

A slight regression. Last weekend I found myself on my own with only the dog for company for two days and nights. A rare occurrence and immediately I began making plans to visit people or have people come round… perhaps even a party! But these plans were soon abandoned as I warmed to the idea of just being at home with music, booze and film. In many ways I returned to my teenage self ( without the ciggies), I did wash… once… but I had a brilliant time listening to stuff at full volume whilst rustling up ‘experimental’ dishes made from leftovers and swigging Keith Floyd volumes of wine whilst d ..read more

Irish cultural icon status should not obscure his artistic gifts as a sublime lyricist. Anyone catching the mainstream media on 30th November 2023 could not fail to be moved by the tributes to Shane MacGowan following his peaceful death that day from viral encephalitis after battling the disease since 2022. As well as the media coverage, the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, paid his own tribute recognising Shane MacGowan’s talents as a lyricist and his contribution to Irish and the Irish Diaspora’s cultural life. All this for a musician who struggled with drug and alcohol problems for ..read more

Hey, we do not need to introduce Dr John to you.  And if that’s not the case, if you’re thinking “Dr Who?” all we can say is that you are in for a treat with this newly released song from the good Doctor.  It’s taken from the newly released ‘Solo Piano Live In New Orleans 1984,‘ a features a previously unreleased concert recording available now at all DSPs and on 180-gram custom-coloured vinyl at all physical retailers. It was recorded April 27th, 1984, aboard the historic SS President (Riverboat) – could three be anywhere more appropriate? – with Dr. John headlining alongside fellow ..read more

Check out ‘The World Turns’, the gorgeous single from John Smith and his first new material since the 2021 album ‘The Fray’.  Artfully but simply shot, the video encourages us to focus on the quality of Smith’s seemingly effortless vocal delivery and impressive musicianship.  His voice is distinctively warm, drawing us into his romantic lyricism.  Towards the end of the song, Smith’s fingers float around the fretboard as he performs an outstanding guitar solo that grows from the song’s melodic foundation.  Throughout, sustained electric bass and sweeping, soaring swells of ..read more

The power of live music never fails to appeal, as well as move me. This list has been heavily influenced by artists I’ve seen perform live. It may have only been once, it may have been over 50 times but the performances of these ten acts have all stood out to me over the years, in many different ways, and led to them being included in my top ten. There’s not much left to write about the compilation of these lists that other writers haven’t covered, so I’ll leave you with the thought that it’s almost always worth the effort of going to see a live concert rather than staying at home sitting on t ..read more

Tommy and Ohs move on from the psychedelic trimmings of their last album to land right in Americana territory. After a rather scintillating retro-sounding release,  ‘Mariposa Gold’, in 2022, Tommy and the Ohs have veered away from the quasi-psychedelic production with the swampy guitars and produced a fascinating alt-country album, laden with tinkling piano, pretty acoustic guitar sounds and some lovely fiddle (and strings occasionally). Tommy is Thomas Oliverio, a record producer based in Nashville who writes songs and produces albums from time to time using friends and neighbours that h ..read more