............
Hi there;
I’ve had a lovely few months since last posting a blog or a mail-out; I hope
you’ve enjoyed the respite too..
Since
August I’ve written and have been performing a few new songs (“Cappadocia”
“White Wine Wednesday”,and“Ribbons and Bows”) and over Christmas, which I spent
looking afterJacobi Samuel, two more songs appeared, “Books and Hearts” and one
as-yet untitled song (Orig: “Too Thin to Go Round”). This has effectively
multiplied my annual output by a factor of at least 5, about which I am very happy
of course.....
I’ve not
been playing many gigs but have enjoyed those I’ve done – last Saturday saw me
performing with Dansaul at the Red Lion Folk Club in King’s Heath, Birmingham, and
trawling back through my diary I see I played Hull for the first time in
December, where I met Mike Waterson’s nephew, Eliza’s half-brother (I think).
When I met him Eliza was in hospital expecting the imminent arrival of her
child. Dansaul were also unusually active in September, performing as many as
several gigs before retiring exhausted. (It’s a sign of our age that one of our
band members raised his eyebrows, leaning towards me saying “I’m 47,you
know” - I congratulated him on his firmity - and that when one of us bends
over, he wonders if there’s anything else he should do while he’s down
there..)The festival we were booked at was Swanage, which was, to quote my
subsequent mail-out: “for a while not so much on-sea as under-sea, which made
the atmosphere and the turn-out all the more remarkable.”
Dansaul also hosted a session in November which raised funds for Oxfam, joined
amongst others by Rob Ryan, a great fiddler from Oxford. Dansmall appeared at
the Newhampton club in Wolverhampton, and I’m hoping to put up some tracks
recorded there soon.
..
..
Coming up,
Dansaul have a gig at the Pump House in Watford (see my friends list) with support
from Alice Liddle and Jamie Huddlestone (also from Oxford). Tickets at £8 are
available from carriecharles@hotmail.co.uk
Last but by no means least, Jon Boden is coming to Stony Stratford on March 3rd
to promote his new concept album, “Songs from the Floodplain”, support
tbc. Tickets at £10 are available from www.myspace.com/danplews.
I saw his band “Bellowhead”’s sell-out gig at the Roadmender in Northampton and
it rates in my top five, possibly top one, gig, of all time, which is why I’m
promoting him here in Milton Keynes. His other projects have appeared on Jools
Holland, The Proms Live from the Albert Hall and headlined all the major UK
roots and folk festivals. Just in case you’ve never heard of him. And he did
his first tour with me. I’m so proud. Tickets will probably sell-out, so please
book early to avoid disappointment.
Here’s what it’s about, more at www.jonboden.com
"Deeply resonating folkapocalyptica from the lead-singer of Bellowhead:
Jon Boden’s second solo album Songs from the Floodplain (released March 2nd
2009) builds on the critical success of 2006’s Painted Lady in bold style. In
it he imagines a rural community surviving in the aftermath of apocalyptic
turmoil, coming to terms with what they have lost and confronting the new
order, alongside the every day concerns of love, loss, fear and hope. The
subject matter is dark but the songs are surprisingly upbeat, catchy and often
uplifting.
For the live show Jon is backed by the remarkable Remnant Kings, who weave the
traditional instrumentation of concertina, banjo and fiddle into a
post-industrial tapestry of electric guitar, thumping bass and clanging
percussion. Songs from the latest album combine with the long awaited live
debut of tracks from Painted Lady, and occasional traditional rarities.
Jon continues to tour heavily with big band folk phenomenon Bellowhead and the
critically-lauded Spiers & Boden, so take advantage of this rare opportunity
to catch him performing his own remarkable songs, in this revelatory new
outfit.”
So that's all for now folks, look forward to seeing you soon.
Dan Plews