April 2001

Best of the Rest of the UK

Sun 1st Andy White
http://www.andywhite.com
The Tron Theatre, Glasgow 0141 552 4267

Belfast born singer songwriter now living in Switzerland,
whose latest album, his tenth, entitled 'Andy White' (ALT
Recordings) has just been released. Now Magazine
describes his music as "rhapsodic, Celtic-dusted folk/pop...
marbled with the kind of brainy, dry humour the Irish have
patented. Giddy, sardonic and precocious" whilst The Stage
newspaper calls him "Tall, doe-eyed and mop-haired, this
international treasure is a storyteller in the classical mould
who weaves his words with gorgeous melodies and wry
humour. Blisteringly romantic without being sentimental."

Wed 4th Adrian Bryon Burns
http://www.bluesarchive.com/btr/abbhome.htm
The Albert Hole, West Street, Bedminster, Bristol
0117 9661968

Voted 'Acoustic Artist of the Year' in 1999 by The British
Blues Connection, Adrian, originally from Washington DC
but now resident in the UK, draws on a wide range of
musical influences through jazz, soul, funk and blues to
produce a style that is unique in the contemporary blues
world today. Describing his latest album 'Back to the Wood'
(Bluetrack Records), Paul Jones, host of BBC Radio 2's
R&B Show said, "On this form, Adrian Byron Burns could
well be mentioned in the same breath as Keb' Mo, Alvin
Youngblood Hart and Eric Bibb."

Wed 4th Elaine Palmer
http://www.ursasoft.com/bob/elainepalmer.html
The Purple Onion Cellar Bar, Middlesbrough

"A singer/songwriter par excellence with a magical voice
and a tremendous presence.... who just has to be destined
for great things." (Rob Nichols, Evening Gazette, Teesside).

Thur 5th Abdul tee Jay
http://www.adastra-music.co.uk/abdultj.html
The Junction, Clifton Road, Cambridge Tel: 01223 511511

Palm wine a-go-go! Spangly, jangly guitars, hip-shaking
percussion, spirit rousing vocals and the sunniest sounds
around. Abdul fronts one of Britain's most danceable bands
on the planet, playing authentic modern street music from
Sierra Leone, described by The Guardian as "the best
exponent of African dance music in town" and by Q
Magazine as "recommended for wild dancing".

Sat 7th The Huckleberries
http://www.thehuckleberries.com
The Red Lion, Yarnton, nr Oxford 01865 373556

Started in 1996 by Dave Hum and Simon McPhee as a
busking duo, The Huckleberries are now a five-piece band
with banjo, fiddle, guitar, bass and drums, mixing "the liveliest
and most tuneful selection of the ancient, merry melodies of
our islands, with influences from further away, such as
American Bluegrass, combined with rhythms that steer you
through Calypso, Reggae, Tribal and Contempory dance."
The band, who recently appeared in the BBC series 'Down
to Earth', have released two albums, 'Reelgrass' and
'Jigweed', and have a new album due very soon (e-mail for
details).

Sun 8th Sharper Than the Thorn
http://www.folkicons.co.uk/wcgigs.htm
The Anvil, Basingstoke 01256 844244

Four of Britain's greatest ballad singers - Martin Carthy and
Norma Waterson from England, Kevin Mitchell from
Northern Ireland and Alyth McCormack from Scotland
make up 'Sharper Than The Thorn' described as "a journey
through the head, heart and history".

Sun 8th Steve Phillips
http://www.gobmusic.co.uk
The Greys, Brighton 01273 680734

Began his musical career in his early teens after being exposed
to the influential sounds of Snooks Eaglin, Robert Johnson,
Blind Blake etc. During the 1968 "British Blues Boom" he met
up with the guitarist Mark Knopfler in Leeds and, having much
in common musically with the then junior reporter, went on to
form a duo with Knopfler called The Duolian String Pickers.
The pair worked together on and off for the following five
years, during which Steve introduced Knopfler not only to the
majestic lead style of black blues guitarist Lonnie Johnson, but
also to the technical minutiae of finger style country blues guitar.

Fri 13th K-Passa
http://www.k-passa.com
The Flowerpot, Derby

Driven by the brilliant squeeze box playing of Simon Edwards
and the madcap fiddling of Mark Knight, K-Passa fuse Celtic
folk and hard rock into a formidable hybrid guaranteed to
whip up any crowd into an excited frenzy. Reviewing their
new album 'Born Again' (Que-P Records), released later this
month, Revolutions say, "This bunch can kick up a storm that
would have insurance underwriters groaning and roofing
companies jumping for joy."

Wed 18th Nick Harper
http://www.nickharper.com
The Witchwood, 152 Old St, Ashton-Under-Lyne
0161 3440321

First date of an extensive UK tour for Nick, son of renowned
UK singer songwriter, Roy Harper. According to Colin Harper
(no relation), reviewing Nick's latest album 'Harperspace' in
Mojo Magazine, "Comparisons with Roy are unavoidable, as
with Tim and Jeff Buckley, but while Nick exhibits a similarly
maverick undercurrent, his writing's elevated, yet never ring-
fenced, by a more consistent pop slant. Splendid stuff."

Wed 21st Eric Roche
http://members.tripod.co.uk/innerearmusic/index4.html
Windsor Arts Centre 01753 859 336

Head of Guitar at 'The Academy of Contemporary Music',
Eric has been the regular acoustic columnist at Guitar
Techniques Magazine since 1996 and is transcriber of
numerous music books and folios. "Unless you see him live
you can't believe that it's just one person playing. It sounds
like a whole band", says Guitarist Magazine whilst renowned
acoustic guitarist Alex de Grassi describes his debut
instrumental album 'The Perc U Lator' as "fresh energy, big
tone and great great playing."

Sun 22nd Amy Rigby
http://www.amyrigby.com
The Greys, Brighton

Nashville based singer songwriter with a career going back
to NYC's urban hillbilly band The Last Roundup and then
with the much-loved Shams, she first came to attention with
her debut solo album 'Diary of a Mod Housewife' (Koch) in
1996. Her latest album 'The Sugar Tree (Koch) "continues
Amy's tradition of blending laughs with what could be
feminist anthems for the modern age."

Wed 25th Five Furious Fish
http://www.fivefuriousfish.co.uk/
The Westgate, Taunton (01823 284933)

A West Country based high energy roots dance band, who
play an original carefully crafted mix of cajun, reggae, celtic
& funk, with a sprinkling of East European influences just for
good measure. The latest recruit to the band is fiddler Simon
Swarbrick, the nephew of the great Dave Swarbrick and
there debut album is a self financed eight track CD entitled
'Hook Line & Sphincter'.

Sat 28th The John Tams Band
http://www.adastra-music.co.uk/tams.html
The Platform, Morecambe 01524 582803

Best known for his ground breaking albums, "Rise up Like the
Sun" and "Alright Jack", a past member of The Albion Band,
he later worked for the Royal National Theatre in London for
many years, writing both songs and tunes and acting as
Musical Director, forming the band 'Home Service'. John was
awarded best original song and best album in this years BBC
Radio 2 Folk Awards for his recent release 'Unity' on Topic
Records.

Sun 29th Barachois
http://www.barachois.com
Phoenix Arts Centre, Leicester 0116 2554854

Juno nominated 'Best Roots Traditional Group' from Prince
Edward Island. Reviewing their second album 'Encore', Alex
Monaghan in Irish Music Magazine said, "It's bouncy, it's
bubbly, it's brilliant, it's Barachois. This Canadian family
quartet combines the energy of the maritime fiddle traditions
with the songs and rhythms of French Creole....If you're
looking for a fresh, exciting sound with plenty of technical
brilliance but an even higher level of showmanship and fun...
this is a covetable CD indeed, and one of the best to come
out of North America in recent years."

Go to:
Back to Page 1
London gigs
Best of the Rest of the UK
Festival Listings