and more... those more being Socrates Johnson. The second half of a double header weekend we'll be using to celebrate a whole six years of WagonWheel shows by not actually marking it in anyway and just getting on with putting some good gigs on. Anyway, the lowdown...
On Sunday October 28th,
WagonWheel Presents… welcomes
Josh Harty back to Sheffield for his first headline show at The Greystones. The North Dakota songsmith was with us in 2011 when he supported Rod Picott and made quite an impact. Support comes from
Daughter Of Frank and
Socrates Johnson who will be performing a stripped down set. Advance tickets priced at just £5 are available from WeGotTickets (
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/171029) and from the venue. Entry on the night will be £7. Doors open 7.30pm for an 8pm start.
***JOSH HARTY***It doesn’t get more Americana than Josh Harty. His father, both a preacher and the Police Chief of his boyhood small town, was also Harty’s music mentor. “I was either going to jail, or to hell,” Harty muses. That kind of humour, that hell-bound hope, is in the centre of Harty’s music. Music captured on the new disc, polished in performance in America, and now ready for another UK tour in support of Nowhere.
Together with his father, Harty says he “sang in just about every church, Lions Club, Elks Club, and senior citizen centre within 200 miles of Fargo.” When his parents moved out of the area when Harty was a Senior in high school, his devotion to the school’s music program and its director led him to relocate to an apartment with his older brother,5 years his senior. They lived near the Empire Tavern in downtown Fargo, and for the impressionable young musician, watching the cast of characters come and go was like going to songwriting college. The hard life, lies and perseverance in the face of both, surface to the top of Harty’s music like a beer mug ring left behind on a wooden bar top.
Those in the upper Midwest who have watched Harty grow since his move to Madison, Wisconsin in 2005 know what he can make happen live. His warm, woeful voice is buoyed by charismatic guitar playing. He can hush a bar room. When he lets his guitar do the talking audiences are carried all the way in.
“
there is a dignity to this music making that leaves us feeling enriched for the experience”
No Depression”
‘Whisky and morphine have been good friends to me’ is the opening line of Josh Harty’s third album. It pretty much ensures you know right from the start that this is not going to be a cheerful album and it doesn’t disappoint. Nor does this excellent album disappoint in any other fashion, except for the simple fact that it is only seven tracks long”
Backroads Music“
This is a release that deserves a wide audience and one that is, in its quiet way, up there with anything else you’ll hear this year”
Americana-UK.comhttp://www.joshharty.com ***DAUGHTER OF FRANK***Acoustic folk rocker Daughter Of Frank, aka Victoria Hogg, has been writing and singing her own songs from an early age. Record and publishing deals were secured which saw her working with a band under the name ‘Victorialand’ alongside some top producers (see
http://www.myspace.com/victorialands). Now concentrating on her work as a solo artist, Victoria is making a welcome return to Sheffield and the live scene where you can expect a typically captivating performance.
http://www.myspace.com/daughteroffrank ***SOCRATES JOHNSON***Socrates Johnson are usually a four piece bluesy rock n’ roll band, whose male/female fronted retro sound is full of passion and melody. Originally formed in 2007, they’ve gone through some line up changes, but continue to build their reputation as a quality live act. Described as sounding like a cross between Tom Petty and Neil Young, they offer something a little different on the current underground scene. One early review commented how they “strummed and harmonised like West Coast veterans”. We can only agree when they also summed up with “well worth a look”.
“
Socrates Johnson stepped up and filled the place with an energy and talent that is uncommon for a gig that only cost three quid. Each track was well constructed, masterfully performed and an absolute pleasure to hear.”
Toast Magazine“
If you closed your eyes it could be Big Pink in ’68”
Sandman Magazinehttp://www.myspace.com/socratesjohnsonband Facebook Event page:
http://www.facebook.com/events/103776129780994Last.fm Event page:
http://www.last.fm/event/3405029