Hambones' Blues Rumshack All shades of Blues from all around the world

Hamilton Loomis UK tour and new album

April 25, 2013 | Album News, Tour News | Permalink

Hamilton Loomis and his band will be back in the UK for a short run of dates from the middle to the end of May 2013. They return to the UK in support of the release of the new album Give It Back.

WORKSHOPs

Sat, 11/05/2013, BEGINNER BLUES HARMONICA in Cardiff
Sun, 12/05/2013, GUITAR WORKSHOP in Birmingham
Mon, 13/05/2013 Beginning blues harmonica in Liverpool

UK TOUR DATES

Wed, 15/05/2013, The Live Room at the Caroline Social Club, Caroline St, Soltaire, Yorkshire
Thur, 16/05/2013, Farnham Maltings, Bridge Sq Farnham, Surrey
Fri, 17/05/2013, Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Altwood Road, Maidenhead, Berks
Sun, 19/05/2013, The Hope Tavern, Caistor Road, Holton-Le-Moor, Near Market Rasen, Lincs
Mon, 20/05/2013, Famous Monday Blues Club, Jericho Tavern at 56, Walton Street, Oxford
Tues, 21/05/2013, The Club, 88-89 Woodfield Street, Morriston, Swansea
Wed, 22/05/2013, Johnny’s Blues Club, Garston Royal British Legion, Liverpool
Thur, 23/05/2013, Festival workshop, Ardrossan Music Experience, Ayrshire
Fri, 24/05/2013, Main Stage Show, Ardrossan Music Experience, Ayrshire
Sat, 25/05/2013, Shades of Blues, Maltings Arts Theatre, St Albans
Sun, 26/05/2013, The Retreat, Bocking, Essex
Tue, 28/05/2013, Real Music Live, The Beaverwood Club, Chislehurst, Kent
Wed, 29/05/2013, The Jamhouse, Jewelery Quarter, Birmingham

The Kevin Thorpe Award for Original British Blues Song 2013

April 23, 2013 | Blues News, Podcast | Permalink

This is the fourth year of the British Blues Awards organised by the Nottingham Blues Society, and the third year of the Kevin Thorpe award for Original British Blues Song. The previous two winners were 2011 – Joanne Shaw Taylor – Same As It Never Was and in 2012 – Marcus Bonfanti – The Bittersweet.

The songs for this award are initially nominated by UK based blues show DJs, who pick four tracks each and then the public vote on that four and the final fifteen go forward for the final public vote for song of the year.

Listen to the fifteen here

Rooster Blues – Babajack from the album Rooster
Ian McKenzie – Wednesday’s Even Worse on Phonic FM

Try Anything Twice – Blues n Trouble from the album Try Anything Twice
Paul Stiles – UK Blues Today on Radio Seagull

I Hear The River – Katie Bradley from the album She’s Ready
Kevin Beale – Blues On The Marsh on Channel Radio

Here I Am – Oli Brown from the album Here I Am
Rob Bancroft – The Rock and Blues Circus on 10radio

I’m No Superman – Half Deaf Clatch from the EP Hard Times Make Me Harder
Jimmy Carlyle – Shades Of Blue/Hambones’ Blues Rumshack

Journeyman Blues – Tom Doughty from the album Have A Taste Of This
Ashwyn Smyth – Digital Blues on Gateway FM

The Snow Lies Deep – John Fairhurst from the EP Hungry Blues
Gary Grainger – Blues Show on Bishop FM

Do You Remember (When) – Otis Grand from the album Blues 65
Ian McHugh – Blues Is Truth on UK Jazz Radio

Love Is Here To Stay – Stuart James
Les Young – Wall To Wall Blues on Penistone FM

Goldrush – Rosco Levee and the Southern Slide from the album Final Approach To Home Martin Clark – The Blues Session on Radio Wey

Blind Dead McJones – Blind Dead McJones Band from the album Last Resort Mexico
Bob & Norm – The Blues Show on GTFM

White Lightning – Mighty Mojos from the album Hook Line and Sinker
Tim Aves – The Blues Is Back on Saint FM

Don’t Make Me Stay – Ron Sayer Jnr from the album Better Side
Colin Etches – Friday Night Blues on Trent Sound

I Am The Train – Ian Siegal from the album Candystore Kid
Dave Raven – Raven & The Blues on Talk Radio Europe

The Burning Truth – Dani Wilde from the album Juice Me Up
Dave Watkins – Blues Train on Frome FM

Alligator Records release free sampler album

April 9, 2013 | Album News | Permalink

Cover of free sampler album from Alligator Records

Cover of free sampler album from Alligator Records

Alligator Records, in collaboration with NPR and public radio stations, will release a free, downloadable 17-song sampler to help bring attention to Public Radio Music Month. Alligator Records Presents Blues & Roots features songs selected from throughout the label’s storied 42-year history. The sampler was personally curated and annotated by Alligator president and founder Bruce Iglauer, and will be available beginning April 11 at the Alligator Records Facebook page. It will remain available until May 11. Alligator is the only label with which Public Radio Music Month is collaborating on a sampler.

Artists include Marcia Ball, James Cotton, JJ Grey & Mofro, Curtis Salgado, Janiva Magness, Joe Louis Walker, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Koko Taylor, Roomful Of Blues, Saffire–The Uppity Blues Women, Jesse Dee, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Anders Osborne, The Holmes Brothers, Charlie Musselwhite, and Albert Collins, Robert Cray, and Johnny Copeland (together).

Public Radio Music Month, held during April, is a tribute to the impact of public radio in music. The Public Radio Music Month website states, “The national initiative brings together local public radio stations, artists and music to recognize the work and importance of these cultural institutions.”

According to Iglauer, “Since Alligator Records was founded over 40 years ago public radio has been one of the best friends of blues and roots music. Public radio stations have dedicated themselves to helping their listeners discover important music, whether old or new — music of depth, complexity and intense emotion (including music that’s intensely fun!), whether it’s commercially popular or not.

“We’ve created this free sampler of some of Alligator’s current and classic artists as a salute to public radio and its open-to-discovery listeners. We hope you enjoy the music, make some new discoveries, and remember that, without public radio, a lot of great blues and roots music might never have reached your ears. Happy Public Radio Music Month!”

Podcast 65

April 7, 2013 | Podcast | Permalink

Click here to listen

Muddy Waters – I Just Want To Make Love To You
Ismo Haavisto and Andres Roots – Muddy Waters
Fiona Boyes – Baptized In Muddy’s Sweat from Blues for Hard Times
Mud Morganfield – Midnight Lover from Son of the Seventh Son
Big Bill Motganfield – Hot Love from Blues With A Mood
Bluesmix – Magnetise from Flat Nine
Sam Hare – Homegrown man from Down To The Sea
The Cedars – The Colour from Little Copper Still
Bex Marshall – Rent My Room from House Of Mercy
Katie Bradley – I Hear The River from She’s Ready
Rival Sons – Run From Revelation from Head Down
Duke Robillard Band – Below Zero from Independently Blue on Stony Plain
Jake Chisholm – Diamond In A Coalmine from Diamond In A Coalmine
Baby Atlas – God Don’t Let Me Get Old
Scott Sharrard – 8 Days On The Road
Greg Nagy – I Won’t Give Up

King King – A Long History Of Love from Standing In The Shadows

 

Record Store Day 2013

March 31, 2013 | Blues News | Permalink

RSDCOM2011_nodate_1With less than a month to go till Record Store Day, Saturday April 20,  I thought I would have a look through the official list of releases that will be available on the day and see what would be of interest to blues and roots fans. As usual there is a few interesting titles coming out and if you are lucky enough to live near one of the participating record shops then you might be in luck in nabbing one of these tasty vinyl albums or CDs.

Unfortunately there are no more local record shops on the islands where I stay in the North Atlantic. The nearest record shop to me is Grooves Records in Kirkwall, Orkney all of 159 kilometres away from Shetland, my next stop would be Inverness and then off to Norway. Kind of says a lot about the state of play of our local record shops. I will quite happily hold my hands up and say I stopped supporting mine years ago due to numerous reasons, not least of which was having a family and looking for alternative ways to listen to music. In fact when the local record shop, Clives Record Shop, was closing the doors and having a closing down sale I could only go in the once to have a look and pick over the stock.Why ?Because the feeling of guilt that I had not been loyal over recent years was very strong, but you know I had cause to thank the music Gods that the record shop was there. I had a radio show to do and there was no time to work with the mp3 files I had and I had to dash to Clive’s to see what I could grab to play on the family request show, Gie Us A Tune, I found music, CDs that I could play and know what I was going to play. Cannot do that any more. Of course the replacement for the local record shop is the local charity shops and over the years I’ve found some gems, not the valuable ones as charities are a bit wiser now, the musical gems of times gone by and memories of youth, guilty pleasures as well as the ones that you wished you had bought in the past. A fun day in Aberdeen last year going around all the charity shops and increasing my collection of CDs.

The only problem I have now is that I have no room for storing CDs and I have started buying vinyl again, if the release merits it, the feel of heavy vinyl is so addictive. Just need to sort out my turntable but thank heavens most of these vinyl releases come with a download code or a CD included. Well most other than Record Store Day releases !

I’ve singled out the blues and roots orientated releases and the stand outs for me would be Buddy Guy, Newport Live 1961, Big Mama Thornton and the Bobby Rush compilation are what appeal to me. Mind you the Joe Bussard and Gary Clark Jr releases would be worth tracking down. Ach let me just say that they are all worthwhile and if you have the chance to get out there and support a local record shop do it. Mind now a record shop is not just for Record Shop Day but for every Saturday of the year.

You can download the complete list here but here is a list of the Blues and roots releases, so far.

Record Store Day Exclusive Release

The Animals - The Animals are Back  10″ LP
More Info: First vinyl reissue since 1964, cut on 10″ 45 RPM for audio fidelity. Includes We’ve Got To Get Out of This Place, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, Bring It On Home To Me, Club A Gogo

The Animals - The Animals is Here  10″ Vinyl
More Info: First vinyl reissue since 1964, cut on 10″ 45 RPM for audio fidelity. Includes House of the Rising Sun, Gonna Send You Back To Walker, I’m Crying, Baby Let Me Take You Home

Big Mama Thornton - Jail  12″ Vinyl
More Info: Re-issue of Big Mama’s 1975 classic live-from-prison album. Newly re-mastered from the original tapes.

The Black Keys/ Stooges - Side by Side: No Fun  7″ Vinyl
More Info: A) The Black Keys – Black Chandelier (Live Zurich, Switzerland 19.01.13)  B) Stooges – City Of Dreadful Night.  Black and Clear splatter colored vinyl in clear plastic jacket. Two tracks exclusive.

Various Artists - Blues at Newport 1963 12″ Vinyl
Features performances from Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, Mississippi John Hurt, John Hammond, Rev. Gary Davis, John Lee Hooker and Dave Van Ronk.

Joe Bussard - Guitar Rag/Screwdriver Slide  7″ Vinyl
More Info: 8 RPM of Fonotone Records owner and 78 collector playing slide guitar.
A. Guitar Rag B. Screwdriver Slide

Gary Clark Jr. - HWUL Raw Cuts, Vol. 2  12″ Vinyl
More Info: A) When My Train Comes In (Live). B) When My Train Comes In (Album Version).
12″ Vinyl single, regular weight vinyl. Three colors randomly shipped. 1K of each color: Clear, White and Gold.

Cream - Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6 2005  Vinyl Box Set
More Info: 3 x 12″ vinyl box set (white vinyl).  Limited to a one time pressing of 1,500 units. Title has been unavailable for more than 5 years.

Buddy Guy - Hold That Plane  12″ Vinyl
More Info: re-issue of Buddy Guy’s blistering 1972 set. Newly re-mastered from the original tapes.

Ben Harper - By Your Side  12″ Vinyl
More Info: The vinyl version of his latest release, on which Ben curated his personal favorite ballads.

JD Mcpherson - Fire Bug  7″ Vinyl
More Info: SIDE A: Fire Bug / SIDE B: A Gentle Awakening

Rolling Stones - 5 X 5 EP   7″ Vinyl
More Info: First time on original format since 1964. Includes If You Need Me, Empty Heart, 2120 Michigan Ave, Around and Around.

Bobby Rush - Southern King Of Blues Funk  12″ Vinyl & CD
More Info:  This is gonna be the best single package of his music of all times—not only will it have his biggest hit (original version of ‘Chicken Heads‘), his single for Philly International/Gamble & Huff(bet you didn’t know he had one with those guys), but two extended versions and a cut from his late February 2013 release also. Cover for each piece is unique.

Record Store Day First Release

Taj Mahal - Hidden Treasures
Label: Legacy

Taj Mahal - Natch l Blues
Label: Legacy

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin Thorpe Memorial Award – nominations 2013

March 22, 2013 | Blues News | Permalink

Here are my four nominations for the first round of voting in the Kevin Thorpe Memorial Award for best British Blues Song 2013. There are a total of fifteen radio shows involved in this round of voting, each picking four tracks for the public to vote for. After this initial round of voting, which ends on 31 March, the remaining fifteen songs will go forward for a further round of voting , with the winner being annouced at the Awards ceremony at the Great British Blues Festival in Colne over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

You can vote for your favourite here. You will be sent a confirmation email once you have voted and your vote will only count once you confirm the link in this email.

 

The Cedars – Little Copper Still release

February 26, 2013 | Album News | Permalink

cedars_cover

Click on the cover to hear samples from the album

The Cedars combine raucous Folk-Americana with dark, menacing blues and the occasional heart-stopping ballad to produce heady, intoxicating music. On April 8th their much anticipated debut album, Little Copper Still will be released on Clubhouse Records.


Recorded in California with Grammy award-winning producer Ian Brennan (Peter Case, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Tinariwen), Little Copper Still will appeal to all with a penchant for authentic ‘roots’ music played from the heart and delivered with oodles of soul.

Lead singer Chantal Hill’s instantly captivating vocals tell tales of lost love, warning signsand drinking, driven along at breakneck speed by a band right on top of their game. The single ‘The Colour’ echo’s old Gillian Welch in design, Hill’s beautiful foreboding tones a sinful delight whereas ‘Phoenix’ is full of mainstream possibility – instantly catchy, totally loveable. This is a ‘roots’ band that has the looks, songs and appeal to make a break for the mainstream. And we certainly wouldn’t be betting against that.

The Cedars have built both a formidable live set and an enthusiastic following since their first show back in 2006, and are highly respected amongst their peers on the alt.folk and Americana scenes. Since they formed, The Cedars have played a huge variety of shows and festivals including Glastonbury, Reading, Secret Garden Party, Wilderness, The Great Escape, Camp Bestival, Cropredy Fringe, Truck and many more.

With the album release scheduled for April, ‘Little Copper Still’ has already earned critical acclaim from radio and music press with tracks from the album appearing on Americana and Folk collections here in the UK and in the US.

“A very very good album” Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2

“The album is certainly going to be worth waiting for” Mark Lamarr, BBC Radio 2

“An excellent album ….” Country Music People

“A thoroughly juicy selection serves as a splendid introduction to a band currently at the
forefront of the UK’s alt.country scene” R2 Magazine (Rock’n'Reel)

Upcoming gigs

Wednesday 17th April 2013
Green Note
106 Parkway, London, NW1 7AN
w/ Troubadour Rose
Doors open: 7pm;
Music starts: 8:30pm
£7 adv.

Saturday 4th May 2013
The Gladstone
64 Lant Street, Borough, London SE1 1QN
More info TBA
£Free

Tuesday 28th May 2013
Live Radio Session
@ Bob’s Folk Show
Radioway
Performing live on Bob’s Folk show!
Broadcast live at 9pm.

Friday 5th July 2013
Maverick Festival 2013
Easton Farm Park, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP13 0EQ
Festival runs 5-7 July 2013
More info TBA
Get tickets here

Jess Klein UK Tour 2013

February 25, 2013 | New bands, Tour News | Permalink

logo-soundcloud“She has one of those voices you want to crawl up close to the speakers to listen to.” –Mojo Magazine

jessklein0856Jess Klein will tell you; she’s moved to Texas and she’s not going back.  Indeed, since relocating to Austin in 2007, Jess Klein has been embraced by the quirky yet robust Texas music scene, and it shows in her latest release Behind A Veil a deep collection of americana-tinged musings on love, loss and redemption.

No stranger to culture shock, the Rochester, New York native first picked up the guitar and started writing songs while living as a student in Kingston, Jamaica in her late teens. After returning to the states, Klein moved to Boston and began performing locally, releasing her first album, Wishes Well Disguised independently. Soon after, in 2000 she was spotted and signed to Rykodisc. Her first release for the label, Draw Them Near, (3.5 stars, USA Today), launched Klein on a worldwide tour that saw her wow 70,000 attendees at Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival with her relaxed confidence and rootsy soulfulness. After a move to NYC, Klein recorded her second solo effort for Ryko, Strawberry Lover (2005), which debuted as the No. 1 most added album at triple A radio a week before its release and garnered four stars from MOJO, as well as having the title track named one of the “Top Ten Sexiest Songs of the Moment” by the NY Daily News. Draw Them Near, Strawberry Lover and 2006’s City Garden would capture the attention of critics and fans worldwide.

Now a bonafide Austinite, Jess has shared the stage, recorded or collaborated with Arlo Guthrie, Steve Earle,  Alejandro Escovedo, Shawn Colvin, John Fullbright, Drew Womack, Josh Abbott, Stoney LaRue, Matt the Electrician, Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Jimmy LaFave, Jon Dee Graham, Band of Heathens, Shelley King, Will Sexton, Suzanna Choffel, Randy Weeks and Ray Bonneville among others.

Behind a Veil (2012) marks Klein’s 2nd album with Austin based producer Mark Addison, the first being 2009’s critically acclaimed Bound to Love. In Bound to Love, Klein keenly embraced the dusty roots of Texas songwriters while reveling in her new surroundings.Behind a Veil goes deeper, chronicling her feelings during a particularly hard year; the loss of her father after a 5 year battle with ALS, a split with a long-time lover, and the self-empowering decision to move forward with no record label.

Jess explains: “You never really know what the big picture is to a situation – sometimes the meaning is veiled. It can seem really bad, but then later you can look back at the same moment and feel so grateful it went that way; I love that about life. Sometimes things are just really hard and really painful, but also beautiful.”
On Behind a Veil, Jess writes honestly and courageously about the conflicting emotions of love, loss, joy and pain. But even in the most delicate passages you can hear the triumph in her voice.

April 2013 UK Shows:-

April 13th – LITTLE RABBIT BARN, COLCHESTER
April 14th – HOUSE CONCERT, WYCOMBE
April 17th – CAFE ORT, BIRMINGHAM
April 18th – GREEN NOTE, LONDON
April 20th – HOUSE CONCERT, WINCHESTER
April 21st – FLEECE, SUFFOLK
April 26th – THE SHAKESPEAR, SHEFFIELD
April 28th – LIVE ROOMS, SHIPLEY, NTH YORKS

 

Matt Woosey Band – UK tour

February 24, 2013 | Blues News | Permalink

Matt Woosey

‘On The Waggon’, the new album by the Matt Woosey Band, which is due for release on April 22. The band will be touring the UK to launch the album from March 29 until April 27.

“Completely convincing and a master at what he does – Matt is the real deal.” Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music.

While the Matt Woosey Band has gigged on and off in various guises for over five years, the current line-up, featuring Matt Woosey, Jim ‘E’ Williams (drums) and Adji Shuib (bass) has only cemented quite recently. One of the hardest working musicians around, and still only in his mid-twenties, Matt’s slap and pick guitar technique and big range blues shout have earned him a considerable reputation over the last 10 years, during which time Matt has averaged around 250 shows a year.

The tunes on Matt’s latest studio album, On The Waggon are the result of more than eighteen months road testing, during which time Matt has gigged extensively, both solo and with the band. The general vibe is rootsy and as always more than a little tinged with the blues, Matt’s first and foremost passion. The album’s single however, ‘Find A Way’, could just as easily fit into the acoustic and/or folk bracket, lying stylistically somewhere between Paulo Nuttini and John Martyn.

Considering Matt uses a road hardened, battered old Taylor guitar, the sound the three-p

iece make can be deceptively heavy and powerful at times, as evidenced on the likes of ‘Black Smoke Risin’’. Elsewhere On Th

e Waggon comprises subtle and melodic moments like the beautiful ‘Don’t Need Money’ while also demonstrating Matt’s growing ability as a lyricist on the dark ‘Cruel Disposition’.

Having completed two European tours and played several sell out TV Nights shows at Ronnie Scott’s in London, The Matt Woosey Band are fast creating something of a snowballing effect, which promises to make the launch tour for On The Waggon a huge success in the UK and further afield in Europe, following a month long tour of South Africa.

“Woosey is amongst the most promising new names in British blues.” BluesNews.de

“His songs cover the same ground as all blues songs do; hardship, women, alcohol but he plays, or rather, sings, in a way that is not a mere copy of the originators. Woosey is not trying to be someone else, he is being himself and that comes out i

n every note he sings or plays.” Fatea Magazine

All dates feature Matt and the band except those marked * which are duo format with Dave Small on percussion

Matt WooseyMarch
29 Friday  Bewdley, Worcs. The Little Pack Horse*
30 Saturday  Cropredy, Oxfordshire The Brasenose Arms
31 Sunday  Gloucester Blues Club, The Green Room @ The Brunswick
April
1  Monday  London Private House Concert
2  Tuesday London Ronnie Scott’s
3  Wednesday  Derby The Flowerpot*
4  Thursday Bristol The Canteen
5  Friday Monmouth The Old Nag’s Head*
6  Saturday Great Malvern Great Malvern Hotel
7  Sunday Cheltenham Private House Concert
8  Monday Birmingham Private House Concert
9  Tuesday  Birmingham Kitchen Garden Café
10 Wednesday Coventry Private House Concert
11 Thursday Stourbridge Katie Fitzgerald’s*
12 Friday Plymouth The B-Bar*
13 Saturday Glastonbury La Terre
14 Sunday Penzance Private House Concert
15 Monday Woodbridge, Suffolk The Angel*
16 Tuesday Worcester Private House Concert
17 Wednesday Gloucester Café René
18 Thursday  Stroud The Prince Albert
19 Friday  Cirencester Brewery Blues @ New Brewery Arts
20 Saturday  Dorchester Dorchester Arts Centre
21 Sunday  Bristol Private House Concert
22 Monday Bath The Bell
23 Tuesday Cambridge The Flying Pig*
24 Wednesday London The Karamel Club*
25 Thursday Nottingham Private House Concert
26 Friday Harrogate The Blues Café Bar
27 Saturday Leeds The Duck & Drake

 

search engine optimization