Nicky Swann HOW DOES YOUR LAND LIE? album release…

Nicky Swann is one of the very best of a new generation of female singer-songwriters. A great storyteller and a passionate performer this powerful, original and versatile singer has achieved critical acclaim with sublime, narrative led songs that draw on contemporary folk, roots and country. Her first CD MATCHES AND DISPATCHES received ecstatic reviews in 2010 and now in 2012 Nicky is releasing her second album HOW DOES YOUR LAND LIE?

SHOW OF HANDS FRONTMAN KNIGHTLEY TO APPEAR ON MAJOR NEW BBC TV SERIES

Show of Hands’ inspired frontman and BBC award-winning songwriter Steve Knightley is to appear in a major new BBC 2 TV series starting next week.

Devon-based Knightley, who won the 2010 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Best Original Song title for his topical Arrogance Ignorance and Greed and who recently sold out the Royal Albert Hall for the fourth time with multi-instrumental bandmate Phil Beer, will be seen and heard in the new eight-part landmark series entitled The Great British Story.

Presented by historian Michael Wood, the series starts on Friday, May 25 at 9pmand will chart Britain’s chequered past from the perspective of ordinary people and local communities –from Viking invasions and the Norman Conquests through to the Industrial Revolution and two World Wars.

Rachel Harrington & THE KNOCK OUTS

NEW ALBUM NOW AVAILABLE!

Imagine Loretta Lynn playing Otis Redding songs in a garage in Seattle – in 1963. That gets you somewhere near the new territory being scouted out by country soul sensation Rachel Harrington as she heads for the hills and honkytonks with her newest adventure.

Over the course of the past three striking albums, Seattle-based singer-songwriter Rachel Harrington has proven an ability to conjure songs and stories that are real and resonant and timeless – whether she’s singing about yesterday’s heartache or tomorrow’s dreams. “Ancient sounding country noir” (Q - 4 Stars) with “songs that conjure the ghosts of old America” (Mojo - 4 Stars).

So what happens when a true original like Harrington gets a full band behind her? And what if that band is dedicated to excavating the very soul of American roots music, to mining the old school sounds and sentiments from Etta to Loretta? And let’s just say that band is comprised of some of the finest female musicians in the Northwest? That band would be called Rachel Harrington and the Knock Outs.

FAIRPORT CONVENTION – Babbacombe Lee Live Again (Matty Grooves Records MGCD052)

For many of us old enough to remember it the first time round Fairport Convention’s “Babbacombe Lee” was one of those albums with its gatefold sleeve and detailed book with the sticker (“Don’t Hang Babbacombe Lee”) that every self-respecting folk-rock enthusiast counted himself lucky to own – I know I did. Here was the band at their peak of their story-telling prowess relating the legendary tale of ‘the man they couldn’t hang!’ The reason it worked so well forty years ago (and still does to this day) is in no small part down to Dave Swarbrick’s every-man vocal approach and now brilliantly re-interpreted by Chris Leslie. Many of the songs took on a life of their own outside the restrictions of the folk-opera and always guaranteed to bring

ALISON KRAUSS & UNION STATION – Paper Airplane (Rounder Records 0011661066526)

It will come as no surprise to anyone that knows me how Alison Krauss more or less single-handedly re-kindled my liking for all things bluegrass. OK, Ms Krauss and her well oiled band of Barry Hales (bass), Jerry Douglas (slide guitars), Ron Block (banjo) and Dan Tyminski (guitar & mandolin) are the ultimate kings of cool lifting the often berated yee-haw cliché to new peaks of excellence. On this recording her gifted bunch of musicians prove truly inspirational for those ready and eager to embrace ‘acoustic’ music in all its glory and conversely, for those that feel there’s no relevance of this genre in today’s society (and specifically aimed at those ‘Countryfile’ viewers amongst you) then I suggest you check out the three minute diatribe of Peter Rowan’s song “Dustbowl Children” where the stark banjo and desperation in the vocal

EWAN McLENNAN – The Last Bird To Sing (Fellside Recordings FECD250)

Indelibly etched in my mind are the many times I recollect seeing Dick Gaughan perform at folk clubs throughout the UK. His passion and at times seething contempt for an unjust society also carries over into that conveyed by this decade’s young pretender Ewan McLennan. Perhaps more restrained but still with a bite that would be the envy of many a Rottweiler his composition “Whistling The Esperanza” is a damning indictment of a company’s greed at the expense of those who have to ply their trade getting their hands dirty digging for gold. Much like Durham’s pitman poet Tommy Armstrong his way with words will I’m sure reverberate for years to come earning him a place in the ‘folk’ balladeers hall of fame.

OTIS GIBBS – HARDER THAN HAMMERED HELL Cd Release and UK & Ireland Tour

Otis Gibbs is a man in search of an honest experience. Gibbs is often referred to as a folk artist, but that is a simplistic way to describe a man who has planted over 7,000 trees, slept in hobo jungles, walked with nomadic shepherds in Romania, was a fifth grade yo-yo champion and once wrestled a bear (and lost). Otis has played countless, theatres, festivals, bars and house concerts and has managed to carve out a living, while remaining happily independent. Much of his work concentrates on the world ignored by pop culture. Sometimes forgotten, obsolete, or simply marginalized, it is a world that doesn’t fit into a twenty-second sound bite, or talking point. Otis has spent the last fifteen years traveling across America and abroad documenting this world, and has a story to share about each stop along the way.

Chagstock announce Fun Lovin Criminals, Seth Lakeman, Alabama 3 (acoustic)

CHAGSTOCK FESTIVAL (FRIDAY 20th – SATURDAY 21st JULY 2012) recently announced their full Saturday evening line-up. Fun Lovin’ Criminals will headline their main stage, supported by Dartmoor’s very own Seth Lakeman. Alabama 3 (acoustic) will headline the Acoustic Stage.

Simon Ford from Chagstock Festival says, “We are delighted to announce our Saturday line-up for 2012. We can’t wait to see Fun Lovin’ Criminals and Alabama 3 headlining, as they are both bands with a brilliant catalogue of songs as well as being great live performers. The addition of local hero Seth Lakeman to the bill reinforces Chagstock’s commitment to supporting the very best that the Westcountry has to offer.”

JON BROOKS – Delicate Cages (Borealis Records BCD220)

There’ll be no banner waving or singing of “Nearer My God To Thee” if the lyrics of Jon Brooks opening track “Because We’re Free” is anything to go by. This Toronto based singer-songwriter certainly knows how to put across his message in a self-assured style that will send a shiver down the spine of any ‘thinking’ man (that rules out any guests on the Jeremy Kyle show then) bringing back nostalgic memories of early Dylan and Paxton. If you’re going to get your point across then do it with the minimum of fuss and leave the reader to fill in the gaps using their own imagination as to what it is you’re trying to convey. On this recording it is an image alluded to yet never quite dangled like a guillotine suspended over a victim from an Edgar Allen Poe tale that entertains and enthrals in equal measure.

Garron Frith – AWAY FROM THE BRIGHT LIGHTS

Garron Frith is a musician from Stalybridge, North West England. He is steadily building up a reputation as an outstanding performer and original songwriter. His live shows have been appreciated by audiences nationwide. Garron has opened shows for Imelda May, Madeleine Peyroux, Peter Green, Glen Tilbrook, John Bramwell, The Saw Doctors, Midge Ure, Edgar Broughton and Jack Bruce. Garron’s self titled debut album received good reviews from the media including the Sunday Express, Acoustic and Maverick magazine. His latest album AWAY FROM THE BRIGHT LIGHTS was produced by Simon J. Alpin (Davendra Banhart, Teenage Fanclub, The Willard Grant Conspiracy) and features ten original compositions covering the genres of folk, rock, blues and gospel. A number of great musicians have contributed to the recording including Dennis Cronin (Lambchop), Nick Simms (Cornershop) and Simon Edwards (Fairground Attraction, Julian Lennon, Kirsty McColl).