Bob Collum Wasted Wonderland The Best of Bob Collum Self-Release A 20 Year UK Americana Retrospective That Is Perfect For This Year and Beyond. I’m not sure what’s happened here, but I was 99.9% sure I’d reviewed at least one and probably two of Bob Collum’s previous albums, but can’t find them; so I wonder if that was from my days as a magazine scribe and the original reviews didn’t make the transfer to the website when I went solo. Hey ho; to all intents and purposes this is the only album you’ll need anyway; as it’s a fabulous retrospective of the Oklahoma native’s 20 year career on the UK ..read more

Big Harp George Cooking on Gas Blind Raccoon R&B With The Emphasis on The Rhythm and a Side Order of Thoughtful Blues We are a few albums into our love affair with San Franciscan George Bisharat aka Big Harp George’s happy go lucky R&B, and couldn’t have been more excited when this album arrived through the letterbox. The titular Cooking On Gas gets the party started with honking horns, basso deluxe interludes from the choir, sizzling harmonica, jailhouse piano and f course Bisharat’s cheeky and slightly sleazy vocals … what’s not to like on a sunny Friday evening? There are very few ..read more

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee Live From The Ash Grove Liberation Hall An Excellent Taster From Two Early Exponents an Legends of the Folk Blues Scene When you talk about Blues and particularly Piedmont Blues legends, there’s no denying how easily the conversation will inevitably gravitate to blind harpist, Sonny Terry (born, in Greenboro, N.Carolina and, guitarist Brownie McGee (Knoxville, Tennessee). Between them they have influenced countless budding exponents of the Folk Blues genre over the last sixty plus years, with the duo playing a huge part in the various Folk Blues revivals in th ..read more

Kim Richey Jumpin’ Hot Club The Cluny Newcastle Friday 24th May 2024 It’s been a while since I went to two gigs on two nights; but I couldn’t possibly miss Kim Richey playing Cluny II, one of my favourite venues and one of my favourite singers. She last played the Jumpin’ Hot Club pre-Covid at the Live Theatre in Newcastle, but I’ve seen her since supporting her friend Gretchen Peters across the North. Tonight, Friday was the release date for her latest album EVERY NEW BEGINNING which I absolutely love and my review says so. At first sight support act Carla J Easton was a surprise choice as s ..read more

Kent Rose If You Know Love Self Release Classic Country For Modern Honky Tonkers When you first hear Kent Rose’s delightful and distinctive voice singing his timeless Country songs; you’d never guess that he comes from Illinois and has lived in Chicago most of his adult life; as he sounds like he born and raised in Texas or Tennessee or somewhere that the cowboys roam the prairies. To the uninitiated, if Kent evokes thoughts and memories of any other musician … it’s the young Willie Nelson, the way he effortlessly uses the ‘burr/warble’ in his voice as a secret instrument alongside the sleek ..read more

Jerry Leger & The Situation plus Tom Blackwell The Jumpin’ Hot Club The Cluny Newcastle Thursday 23rd May 2024 After seeing Jerry Leger twice previously in the quaintly bijou Old Launderette in Durham City, it was a pleasure to see him in the larger Cluny II on his first gig in Newcastle, courtesy of The Jumpin’ Hot Club. Opening proceedings just like the Durham gigs, was Tom Blackwell who is not just a friend of Leger’s but the club itself, as he’s played it a couple of times recently. As usual, Blackwell didn’t introduce himself after selecting a harmonica from the dozen or so on a nea ..read more

Kim Richey Every New Beginning Yep Roc Records Delicately Complex, Beautiful and Nostalgic Character Driven Songs To Wallow In I’ve been a fan of Kim Richey after first seeing her at The Jumpin’ Hot Club in Newcastle where she’s been a regular visitor over many years. Of her albums that I’ve subsequently reviewed this has possibly been the most difficult for me to decipher and put words to paper; not that there’s anything wrong here – the opposite actually; as every time I’ve sat down to start writing I barely get past the second song when I find myself kicking back and wallowing in Ms Richey ..read more

Bobbo Byrnes Bobbo Byrnes  Highway Five Records Hints of a Sparkling New Direction From Orange County Americana singer-songwriter Bobbo Byrnes has come a long way since moving from Boston, Mass (he was part of their punk scene) to Southern California. There, he founded one of Orange County’s leading Americana rock bands, Fallen Stars’, where after reading too much Kerouac, ‘ Byrnes folk inspired storytelling is of the most accessible kind; after reading too much Jack Kerouac and hitchhiking during his youth he eventually settled down to learning and sharing his stories with others as son ..read more

Prinz Grizzley Dear Leftovers DoWhWa Records Wise and Occasionally Profound Classic Country Straight Outta Austria! Classic Country music via a man born in the small village of Egg, Western Austria? Surely not? But, do you know what? It’s darn good. Recorded under the unlikely name of Prinz Grizzley singer-songwriter Chris Comper as he is known at home, ticks all the boxes. After completing building his own house for him, his wife and year-old child in 2022 he settled down to record, Dear Leftovers. The album’s title comes due to his previous albums, Come On In, To My Green Mountain Home and ..read more

Jake Neuman Little Bitty Town EP Peacedale Records A Mighty Fine New Sound From Nashville That’s Full of Heartfelt Stories From Bakersfield Singer-songwriter, Jake Neuman and his band, the Jaybirds are a newer Americana act. Based in Nashville where he holds down a weekly residency at Eric Church’s venue, Chiefs he has his roots in Bakersfield, Cal. Whether I would have known this on hearing this EP would be questionable, that he was the offspring from the California’s Bakersfield Sound; as quoted in the accompanying promo notes, but that’s another matter, as good as he sounds.  Saved op ..read more