May 2001

London Gigs - May 2001

Tue 1st Bela Fleck & The Flecktones
http://www.flecktones.com
Dingwalls, NW1 020 7267 1577
also
Wed 2nd at The Pizza Express, 10 Dean Street, W1 020-7437 9595
Thur 3rd The Borderline
Fri 4th Ocean, E8 020 7314 2800

Pioneering banjo player and innovative bandleader who first came to
prominence as a member of Sam Bush's ground-breaking 'Newgrass
Revival' and 'Strength In Numbers' formed out of the group of friends
that always seemed to play on each other's records: Jerry Douglas,
Mark O'Connor, Edgar Meyer and Sam Bush, their album, 'The
Telluride Sessions' (MCA) becoming a new acoustic classic. His work
with the Flecktones, with top bass player Victor Wooten, Victor's
brother, percussionist/inventor RoyEl (known as 'FutureMan') and
saxophonist Jeff Coffin, however, has taken him pretty squarely into
the world of Jazz, creating a unique and wonderfully inventive hybrid.
Their latest album is 'Outbound' (Sony).

Wed 2nd John Hammond
http://www.rosebudus.com/hammond/
Jazz Cafe, Camden Town, NW1

Veteran bluesman who is entering his fifth decade as a professional
musician. He has just released his 28th solo album 'Wicked Grin'
(Pointblank/Virgin Records), a collection of 12 songs by Tom Waits
who has also produced the album. Described as a raw and dynamic
synthesis of the Delta style Hammond has perfected over his long
career and Waits' eclectic and fascinating portraits of American
outsiders, "It's the most evocative, imagistic, incredible material I've
ever recorded", Hammond declares with unbridled enthusiasm.
According to Waits, "Sometimes 'producing' is just drinking coffee,
waving your arms around and nodding 'yes' or saying nothing at exactly
the right time. John's particular dialect in music is that of Charley Patton's
shoe size and Skip James' watch chain. He has a blacksmith's rhythm
and the kind of soul and precision it takes to cut diamonds or to handle
snakes."

Wed 2nd Flook
http://www.flook.co.uk
The Borderline 020 7734 2095

Just back from a seven-week Australian tour and now touring the UK.
Flook's unique combination of flutes (Brian Finnegan and Sarah Allen)
underpinned by fluid guitar (Ed Boyd) and hugely impressive bodhran
playing (John Joe Kelly) has made them one of the most popular groups
on the live music circuit in Britain today. Describing their last CD,
'Flatfish', Songlines Magazine, "It is, quite simply, one of the most
stunning contemporary Celtic albums you'll hear this or any other year....
fiery wildness and adrenalin-fuelled spontaneity with razor-sharp
technical control and rich fullness of feeling."

Thur 3rd Louis Killen
http://members.aol.com/folktrad/louiskillen/index.html
Islington Folk Club

One of the most highly respected figures of the English folksong revival,
long resident in the USA. In the fifties, Louis was at the forefront of the
folk music revival in the British Isles. He worked with Ewan MacColl,
A.. L. Lloyd and many others to bring his country's musical heritage into
the conciousness of his contemporaries. After emigrating to the USA,
he worked similarly with Pete Seeger, aboard the Hudson River Sloop
"Clearwater", and with Dr. Kenneth Goldstein at the Smithsonian Folk
Life Festivals . While his broad repertoire includes story-telling, balladry,
rural and urban folk song, his name has become synonymous with sea
music and chanteying through his recordings, lectures and experience on
traditional rigged sailing ships. His most recent recordings are available
from Knock Out Productions.

Sat 5th The Strawbs
http://www.strawbpage.ndirect.co.uk/
Jazz Cafe, Camden Town, NW1

Originally formed as The Strawberry Hill Boys in the early 60's by Dave
Cousins and Tony Hooper, the band included Sandy Denny for a short
while in 1967, going electric in 1970 when Rick Wakeman joined for a
year (before leaving to join 'Yes' in 1971) and achieving chart success
with the singles 'Lay Down' in 1972 and 'Part of the Union', which
reached No 2 on the UK Charts in 1973. The current incarnation
includes original member Dave Cousins, with Brian Willoughby ,
John Ford, Richard Hudson, Dave Lambert & Blue Weaver.

Sat 5th Dana Robinson
http://www.robinsongs.com
Cellar Upstairs, Golden Lion, 88 Royal College St., London NW1
020-7281 7700

American traditional singer & songwriter in the traditional idiom, with
a unique guitar style mixing American cross-picking and percussive
English finger-style, and also old-time fiddle, making his first visit to
the UK. According to Dirty Linen magazine, "Many songwriters have
been heralded as modern day Woody Guthries or keepers of the
American rural spirit, but that mantle might be better entrusted to
musicians like Dana Robinson who embody both the heart and the
soul of folk music." The title of his latest album 'The Trade' (Threshold
Music) was inspired by Utah Phillips' philosophy about the songwriters
craft being a trade.

Sun 6th Roger McGuinn
http://www.rogermcguinn.com
Blackheath Halls
also Mon 28th & Tue 29th at The Jazz Cafe

Founding member of The Byrds, touring the UK throughout this month
promoting his forthcoming album 'Roger McGuinn - Treasures from the
Folk Den' (Appleseed Records in the States, Koch International in
Europe), an all-acoustic album with 12- and 6-string guitar, banjo,
violin and dulcimer, and including duets with Joan Baez, Tommy Makem,
Pete Seeger, Jean Ritchie, Josh White Jr., Odetta, and Judy Collins.
For years Roger has been posting a folk song a month on his wonderful
'Folk Den' Web Page, and his new album has evolved from that.
Describing the Folk Den as a 'Global Community Project', Roger says
"The purpose of this page is to use the medium of the World Wide Web
to continue the tradition of the folk process, that is the telling of stories,
and singing of songs, passed on from one generation to another by word
of mouth."

Sun 6th & Mon 7th Ryan Adams
http://www.ryanadamsmusic.com
Lyric Hammersmith

Solo European tour by frontman and creative force of US alt.country
band 'Whiskeytown' whose new album 'Pneumonia' (Lost Highway
Records) will be released on 22nd May. His own debut solo album
"Heartbreaker" (Bloodshot Records) has been described by The
[London] Times as "the finest American album of the year" whilst
Rolling Stone called it "a raggedy folk-punk confessional.....With guest
appearances from Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings and
Kim Richey, this record has quality all over it. Adams' sources run deep
--from Paul Westerberg to Hank Williams --and he has the raspy,
quavering voice and innate tunefulness to be worthy of them."

Wed 9th Jim White
http://www.jimwhite.net/
Dingwalls, NW1 020 7267 1577

Describing his latest album,'No Such Place', Rolling Stone Magazine
said, "A Southern cracker with a suitably nondescript name, a literary
bent and a taste for country folk and blues gets produced by a raft of
trip-hop all-stars. But not only does it work, it's engaging in every way...
this album transports the listener to the imagination's rural outskirts --
the "no such place" of the title - where spectral images and flesh-and-
blood reality intermingle with dreamlike ease."

Wed 9th Hamell on Trial
http://www.hamellontrial.com/
Upstairs At The Garage

US singer songwriter from New York, with "hard-boiled attitude",
fresh from a two-week sold-out tour with Ani DiFranco. Described
by Rolling Stone as "a homicidal Otto Preminger", Ed Hamell, aka
'Hamell on Trial', plays solo shows on acoustic guitar (a 1937 small-
body Gibson) but, as his bio is quick to point out, he's "more The
Clash than James Taylor". The music on his debut album 'Big as Life'
(Mercury) is "fast and frenetic; his amphetimized playing style has an
aggressive punk energy that would pin even the most caffeinated folkie
poets flat against the coffeehouse wall...storytelling, with brutally frank
and often very personal observations about the ironies of human life."

Thur 10th Ken Perlman
http://www.kenperlman.com/
Islington Folk Club
also Tue 15th at Sharps (Greene King Bar, Cecil Sharp House)

A pioneer of the 5-string banjo and a master of fingerstyle guitar
from the US, Ken has been described by Banjo Newsletter as "the
undisputed king of the 'melodic clawhammer' banjo style," who is
known in particular for his skillful adaptations of Celtic tunes to the
style, drawing his material from traditional sources -- the music of
Scotland, Ireland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island and the
American South. An acclaimed teacher and an active folklorist, whose
tune-book 'The Fiddle Music of Prince Edward Island: Celtic and
Acadian Tunes in Living Tradition (Mel Bay), according to Fiddler
Magazine, "rates as the most important published contribution to the
study of a Canadian Maritime fiddle tradition." His latest CD
'Northern Banjo' (Copper Creek) will be released this month.

Fri 11th Bob Brozman & Takashi Hirayasu
http://www.bobbrozman.com
Barbican Centre

London concert, as part of the Barbican's Urban Beats Festival, for top
US guitarist Brozman, described as the king of the Hawaiian slide guitar,
and Okinawan vocalist and sanshin maestro, Takashi Hirayasu, whose
album 'Jin Jin/ Firefly' was recently voted number one album of the year
in Amazon.com's world music chart. (For background to the recording
see this interesting interview on the Rootsworld site). Their latest
collaboration is 'Nankuru Naisa' (which means 'Take It Easy') on
Riverboat Records which, according to The [London] Times, ranges
"from delicate traditional sounds to deranged slices of funk. Brozman
plays with great feeling and his slide guitar proves to be the perfect foil
for the more plaintive Japanese instruments and his colleague's striking
vocals." The duo will also be making a special in-store appearance on
the previous day (Thur 10th 2-4pm) at Selfridges in Oxford Street,
W1. Later this month Bob begins an extensive May/June UK tour
with fellow US guitarist, Woody Mann

Fri 11th Dave Peabody
http://www.getmusic.com/artists/amg/Artist/802/19802.html
The Troubadour, 265 Old Brompton Rd, Earls Court, W5
020 7737 0600

British folk-blues musician, blues scholar, producer, photographer
and singer/songwriter who sings and plays guitar in a variety of acoustic
blues styles, including bottleneck slide and fingerpicking. He has
recorded several solo albums since his 1973 debut 'Peabody Hotel',
as well as with his longtime collaborator, blues and boogie-woogie
pianist Bob Hall and has also appeared on half a dozen albums as a
harmonica player with the likes of American harmonica ace Charlie
Musselwhite and Cincinnati pianist Big Joe Duskin. His latest recording,
'Two Trains Running' (Indigo), is with top harmonica player, Brendan
Power. See Dave's full discography here.

Fri 11th Szapora
http://www.lejazzetal.com/szapora
The Spitz, Old Spitalfields Mkt. London E1 0207 392 9032

Furious, reckless and passionate, Szapora comprise two Bosnian sisters,
Tea and Mirella Hodzic, on vocals and five acclaimed British musicians
including fiddler Christian Garrick (described by The Irish Times as "a
world-class talent) and accordionist Eddie Hession, from The Three
Tenorsband . Uplifting Balkan folk and gypsy Doinas from Romania,
Czardas from Hungary and Horas from Bulgaria, described by Folk
Roots Magazine as "spectacular, sensitive, idiomatic and breathtaking."

Sat 12th Pete Cooper
http://www.melbay.com/authors/coop.html
Cellar Upstairs, Golden Lion, 88 Royal College St., London NW1
020-7281 7700

Top English fiddle player who started his professional career in 1978,
performing first with Appalachian dulcimer player, Holly Tannen, before
teaming up with the fine English traditional singer, Peta Webb . Since the
mid 1980s, Pete has concentrated his musical efforts on the study and
teaching of folk fiddle styles, publishing his book 'Complete Irish Fiddle
Player' (Mel Bay Publications), whilst also writing film music and
continuing to do solo gigs and as a member of 'Vivando' with cellist
Kathryn Locke and mandolin player Geoff Coombs.

Tue 15th Ben Andrews
http://www.crawleyblues.f2s.com/bensnews.htm
The Spitz, Old Spitalfields Mkt. London E1 0207 392 9032

Delta blues guitarist, originally billed as "the Ry Cooder of Washington"
when he first visited the UK in 1999, over again promoting his new
album 'Gallows Pole' (Powerhouse Records). Drawing inspiration from
players like Roy Bookbinder and John Hammond as well as the old
masters, his previous album 'Journey', recorded in the UK, was a
collection of new & old American folk tunes, and included a guest
appearance by Wes Weston, one of the UK's top blues harp men.
According to Blues on Stage, he is "currently one of the finest acoustic
blues guitarists on the go.... It is only a matter of time before he picks
up a Handy award. Highly recommended."

Thur 17th John Wright Band
http://www.johnwrightband.co.uk/
Hale End Folk Club

According to Dave Dewar in this 1998 Living Tradition article, "Some
new bands create a small buzz, others come and go, largely unnoticed.
The advent of the John Wright Band is a big buzz ... and getting bigger
all the time...You just have to see a live performance of this trio." Singer
John Wright, guitarist/vocalist Kenny Speirs and fiddler Stewart Hardy
have been together since late 1996 and have made four albums. Their
latest 'Language of the Heart' (Greentrax) includes songs by the album's
producer, Mike Silver as well as by Lucy Kaplansky, Richard Shindell,
David Wilcox, John Gorka and Robin Laing, amongst others.

Thur 17th Pauline Cato & Tom McConville
http://www.tomcatmusic.com/
Islington Folk Club

One of the most popular and successful acoustic duos around, Pauline
is widely recognised as one of the greatest Northumbrian pipers there
has ever been, whilst Tom is regarded by many as one of the finest
fiddle players in the British Isles. Their most recent album 'The Surprise'
was the Daily Telegraph's 'Folk Album of the Year' in 1999.

Thurs 17 Chris While & Julie Matthews
http://www.chriswhileandjuliematthews.co.uk
The Spitz, Old Spitalfields Mkt. London E1 0207 392 9032

Ex Albion Band female duo recognised as two of the most influential
singer-songwriters in the UK. Matthews' songs have been covered by
Richard Thompson and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Together they
perform a smidge of blues, a touch of country and a lot of folk.

Thur 17th Sarah Harmer
http://www.sarahharmer.com
The Borderline 020 7734 2095

First UK dates for Canadian singer songwriter promoting her debut solo
album of her own songs 'You Were Here' (Zoe/Rounder) described as
a "stunningly beautiful pop-folk hybrid" by The Music Box. Singer with
Canadian band 'Weeping Tile' in the mid-90s, in 1999 she released a
collection of old favorites titled 'Songs for Clem', which she was
originally intended as a special gift for her father. Billboard's Larry
LeBlanc called it "the most intimate, personalized and tasteful roots-
styled album I've heard in years." Of her follow up album, The Boston
Globe said, "Every once in a while an unsolicited CD from an unknown
artist rises to the top of the teetering pile, finds its way into the portable
player, and leaps right off the proverbial page."

Sat 19th Christine Collister
http://www.thebeesknees.com/bk-cc-nw.html
Blackheath Halls
also
Thur 31st at Ocean, E8 020 7314 2800

One the most powerful and distinctive of contemporary British folk/blues
singers. Following her association with the Richard Thompson Band,
Christine formed a successful seven year partnership with Clive Gregson,
before going solo in 1992, since when she has released several well
received albums, the last being 1999's 'Songbird' (Fledg'ling Records).

Sun 20th Pierre Bensusan
http://www.pierrebensusan.com/
The Verge, 147 Kentish Town Road, NW1 Tel.: 0207 267 9452

An acoustic guitar visionary described by the LA Times as "one of the
most unique and brilliant acoustic guitar veterans in what might most
accurately be described as the world music scene today", whilst the
Washington Post says he "mixes folk, jazz, ethnic, blues and Celtic
elements in ways that suggest a truly borderless world." He is a true
guitarist's guitarist, feted by the likes of Doc Watson ("I love what he
does"), Larry Coryell ("He is one of my favorite guitarists"), John
Renbourn ("A truly individual voice"), and Leo Kottke ("a treasure")
whilst Ireland's Evening Press said "You'd want to be mad to miss this
man, he is one of those rare performers who, once heard, immediately
becomes an essential part of the fabric of your musical life." His latest
CD 'Intuite' (DADGAD Music) is his first solo acoustic instrumental
album.

Sun 20th Boo Hewerdine & Clive Gregson
http://www.compassrecords..com/booh.htm
http://www.clivegregson.com
Ronnie Scott's, 47 Frith Street, Soho, W1

Duo UK tour for two of the UK's top songwriters. Boo, from
Cambridge in England, was a member of 'The Bible' in the 80's
before going to Texas to work with Darden Smith in 1989. In
1994 he formed a memorable trio with Clive Gregson and Eddi
Reader, writing several songs for her solo album 'Patience of Angels'.
His songs have also been covered by the likes of kd Lang, Alison
Brown, Eleanor Shanley and others and his own latest solo album is
'Thanksgiving' (Compass Records). Clive Gregson, from Manchester,
was a member of rock band 'Any Trouble' before teaming up with
Christine Collister in the mid-80s, whilst also a member of the Richard
Thompson Band. In the 90s he worked with Nanci Griffith on 'Other
Voices, too', and toured in Plainsong with Iain Matthews and Andy
Roberts. Clive's most recent solo album is 'Happy Hour' (Compass)
described by Dirty Linen Magazine as "one of his best ever records..." .
His new album 'Comfort & Joy' will be released later in the year.

Tue 22nd Steve Forbert
http://www.steveforbert.com
+ Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart
http://www.staceyearle.com
Dingwalls, Camden Lock, NW1 020 7267 1577

In the mid-'70s, Steve Forbert left his truck-driving days in the small
town of Meridian, Mississippi, to become a folk hero in New York
City. Albums like 'Alive on Arrival' and 'Jackrabbit Slim', which
featured the hit 'Romeo's Tune', established him as the fresh face of
the folk-rock scene. His most recent album 'Evergreen Boy' (Koch),
produced by renowned Memphis producer, Jim Dickinson, displays
his ability to "channel the best of folk, rock, country, and R&B into his
uniquely American sound." Koch are also about to release 'Young
Guitar Days', a twenty-song compilation of outtakes from his first four
albums and this summer plan to release a live album recorded at New
York's Bottom Line last year, featuring Victoria Williams. (see UK/Irish
tour dates). Support from US singer songwriter Stacey Earle (Steve
Earle's sister), along with husband Mark Stuart, promoting her latest
album 'Dancin' With Them That Brung Me' and a new European 5 Song
EP, 'Is It Enough (I Luuuv You)', which is only available from her website
or at gigs (see full UK tour dates).

Tue 22nd Sharon Shannon
http://www.compassrecords.com/shannon.htm
Ocean, E8 020 7314 2800

Top Irish accordionist, originally a member of Arcady and The Waterboys,
before making her debut solo album in 1991 which has been hailed as the
traditional album of the nineties. Her latest album 'The Diamond Mountain
Sessions' (Grapevine in UK, Compass Records in North America) marked
a departure from her previous almost entirely instrumental albums, with
guest vocal appearances from Jackson Browne, John Prine and Steve Earle
who said of the experience, "Sharon Shannon is the embodiment of pure joy
in playing music. She's a great player and totally fearless. She's one of the
best musicians I know. There are a lot of people who master an instrument
but few who are real stars like Sharon. Recording with her was a lot of fun."

Wed 23rd Rodney Crowell
http://www.rodneycrowell.com
Dingwalls, Camden Lock, NW1 020 7267 1577

Short UK tour for Grammy- winning country legend described recently
by The Hollywood Reporter as "One of the finest singer-songwriters in
contemporary American music." A member of Emmylou Harris' Hot
Band in the 70's, Emmylou was one of the first artists to record his songs,
along with Bob Seger, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, The Nitty Gritty
Dirt Band and many others. Also a renowned producer for the likes of
Guy Clark, his ex-wife Rosanne Cash, Jim Lauderdale, and Beth Nielsen
Chapman amongst others. His latest album 'The Houston Kid' (Sugar Hill),
is a 12-track song cycle which he calls "a biography of the environment I
grew up in", has been described by USA Today as "his masterpiece".

Thur 24th Geoff Muldaur
http://www.adastra-music.co.uk/geoff.html
Blackheath Halls 020 8463 0100
also
Wed 30th The Borderline 020 7734 2095

One of the great voices and musical forces to emerge from folk and
blues scenes centred in Cambridge and Woodstock during the mid-to
-late 1960's. He has been in many notable bands including Jim Kweskin's
Jug Band and Paul Butterfield's 'Better Days' - where he brought in his
country blues to influence the band. He has also performed solo for
many years and is highly regarded as a composer of both film and TV
scores, winning an Emmy in the process. One of his main impacts in his
earlier days was his musical and spiritual influence on Monty Python
albums.

Fri 25th Salsa Celtica
http://www.salsaceltica.com
The Borderline 0207 7342095

Sexy salsa grooves with a Celtic edge, snazzy jazzy horns, foxy fiddle
and wicked vocals. Cultivated in the hot beds of Latin America yet
based in Edinburgh, Scotland, they have been described as a "sure
fire recipe for a dance floor explosion." Their second album "The Great
Scottish Latin Adventure" (Greentrax), released last year, reached the
top 10 of both the European and Canadian World Music charts, and
this summer the band are due to play at New York's Lincoln Centre
before setting off to cover most of the States and Canada.

Fri 25th The House Band
http://www.houseband.org
Hammersmith & Fulham Irish Centre, W6 0208 5638232

One of the most imaginative, creative groups in Celtic music today,
encompassing Irish, Scottish, Breton, Bulgarian and African traditions.
Co-founded by top guitarist Ged Foley (ex Battlefield Band and also
a member of Patrick Street) and renowned melodeon player, Chris
Parkinson, their line-up also includes fiddle, flute, Northumbrian
smallpipes, bombarde and bouzouki.The Boston Herald calls them
"The Celtic music find of the year...brilliant individual playing, crystalline
ensemble work, and an unerring taste for great material", whilst Dirty
Linen Magazine says "Their gleeful disdain for traditional categorizations
is matched by an affectionate respect for the spirit and mood of the
music, whatever its source."

Tue 29th Jackie Leven
http://www.jackieleven.com
The 12 Bar Club

Scottish singer songwriter described by The Daily Telegraph as "as
good as it gets: a passionate, eloquent songwriter with undeniable
charisma, copious musical ability and a beautiful singing voice,
blending aching Celtic soul with rich tone." Tonight Jackie plans to
present a world exclusive playback of his next studio album,
provisionally entitled 'The Sexual Loneliness of Jesus Christ' (Cooking
Vinyl). Whilst this new album, the follow up to his universally acclaimed
'Defending Ancient Springs', is not scheduled for release until July 2001,
Jackie plans to provide a commentary from stage on the record and it's
contents. Meanwhile, Cooking Vinyl have just released a four album
boxed set called 'Great Songs from Eternal Bars" containing: 'Control'
(released by Jackie Leven under the name John St. Field in 1973),
'Fairy Tales For Hard Men', 'Forbidden Songs Of The Dying West'
and 'The Wanderer', a live album originally released by Haunted Valley,
the Jackie Leven fan club.

Browse the index of Previous Articles