Richard Hawley

Whoops - missed out Orphan Colours and Tin Chapel at the Artisan Tap:

The lovely Ange, drummer with Tin Chapel:

Orphan Colours:

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Dragged myself off my sick bed to see my mates in The King's Pistol. Now suffering for it.

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So.. this week so far - we played a gig in Nottingham on Saturday. Tuesday I caught the train to Blackpool to see Sheridan Smith - saw her in Legally Blonde down in London a few years back and have followed what she's done ever since. Very different from Springsteen on Broadway, but an equally emotionally powerful show in a completely different way. The girl wears her heart on her sleeve -and as the Guardian said, she's a force of nature. Superb, old-school showbiz voice too and a natural comedienne who swears like a trooper. Fantastic show. (Did I spot Charlie Beresford in the orchestra too?)



Back early today and charging one of the "good" cameras (as opposed to the Stylus 1 pocket thing which I took the Ms Smith ones with) to go and photograph Rowan Godel at Biddulph Up In Arms. Thursday it's Lilly Hiatt and Daniel Lucas/Boss Caine in Manchester, then a double-header of Courtney Marie Andrews in Liverpool and Manchester over the weekend, with a viewing of "Funny Cow" at Home in Manchester squeezed in on Sunday.

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Rowan Godel in Biddulph - pleasant enough, but not really my musical cup of tea. One for the folkier purists.

Lilly Hiatt at Manchester Gulliver's - now we're talking! Lovely lady and her recent album "Trinity lane" is really strong. The gig was done as a trio and helped to flesh out the songs, although I'd love to see her with a full band.

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Double-header of Courtney Marie Andrews in Liverpool and Manchester for me this weekend. She started off as a teenager playing keyboards for Jimmy Eat World and despite being only in her twenties, has released half a dozen albums, the last three of which have really pushed her to the forefront of attention. The live shows were prominently drawn from her last two "Honest Life" and "May your kindness remain". Two fabulous shows from a friendly and talented young lady and her excellent band.

Liverpool:


Manchester:




Inbetween gigs I also managed to see "Funny Cow" - fantastic, uncompromising kitchen-sink drama allied with Samuel Beckett-esque themes. Thought Rodney Chitterton did OK too...

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Saw Colin Blunstone and his band in Derby last Friday at the Flowerpot Pub. Not a huge venue but sold out with an audience profile slightly older than Richard’s. (I fitted in well!) Colin was in fine voice and his band is a really tight unit. Away from the Zombies, where Rod Argent tends to be the orator, Colin comes over as a really nice bloke and his anecdotes don’t rely on bad language or crudity – other rock stars take note! The set list includes a couple of Zombie hits but primarily features Colin’s own songs and those he made famous by other writers such as my favourite from the Alan Parsons Project “Old Wise”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt7xYiXNuVc

Looking forward to seeing the Zombies in Edinburgh in June!

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Woke this morning and I got myself a beer ............

The line-up for next week - Lilly Hiatt on Sunday - in Brussels... Jez Lowe in Biddulph on Wednesday - and then the Kilkenny Roots Festival in Ireland from Friday-Monday.

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Had a good weekend in Brussels, mainly for the Lilly Hiatt gig. After seeing and enjoying her gig in Manchester a week and a half ago, it was good to see the increased confidence in the trio, presumably born out of regular playing and responsive crowds. Lilly is a lovely, friendly performer and she chatted with great patience to nearly half the audience after the show. Next time I see her will probably be at the Americana Fest in Nashville in September.

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..and then it was off to Ireland to the Kilkenny Roots Festival. I've played there half a dozen times on the "Trail" of free gigs with Elvis Fontenot but this was only my second time as a full-time punter. Loads of highlights - Mary Gauthier in the Set Theatre bringing everyone to tears with her stories about American veterans and their treatment - the joyous jangle of Bennett, Wilson Poole in Cleere's - Superb classic country from a lady that I'm pleased to call my friend, Whitney Rose, in Billy Byrnes - and unbelievable playing from Rachel Baiman and Molly Tuttle, also in Cleere's -and the force of nature that is The Blasters. The most fun to be had with your clothes on, though was from Hillbilly Casino - surely the world's best bar band. I met their bass player Geoff Firebaugh nine years ago when our paths crossed when we were both playing the same festival and we've kept in touch ever since.
Despite the sad loss of Willie Meighan hanging over the festival - this was the first festival since the hugely popular Rollercoaster Records' boss's passing -it was a fabulous tribute to his legacy, carried on by some wonderful, wonderful people. Simply the best festival I know.

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Two very different gigs in very different locations this week - first, it was Joel Savoy, Jesse Lege and Cajun Country Revival in a cowshed extension to the Cross Keys pub near Oswestry in Shropshire. I know the Savoy family through Sarah, who I've photographed for her cookery book and an..."Accordion babes" calendar...I first met Jesse in 2007 when he came to see my band play at the Blue Moon Saloon in Louisiana. He's probably the best Cajun accordion player in the world, so no pressure...he's a lovely bloke. The gig was completely acoustic - no need for a PA - and it sounded fantastic. At the end, Jock Tildesley and Vera Van Heeringen (who had hosted the band during the day as they live in the village) got up to do an encore tune. Boring drive through an hour's worth of country lanes, edit the photos then up to catch the first off-peak train to London, to see Johnny Marr at the Islington Assembly Hall the next day. JM was promoting his new album "Call the Comet" - it's not been released yet, apart from a couple of teaser tracks, so the audience response was a strange mixture of respectful muted listening for the new tracks and euphoria for the half-dozen Smiths' tracks that he played.

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Anderson East - Manchester Night & Day Cafe 29th May - what a set of tonsils this guy has got. He's from the deep south and you can tell, both in his music and soulful influences. A sweaty, storming set. He covers Ted Hawkins too, so his taste is impeccable.

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Next up was an album release show for local band The Red Kites, with support from Megan Dixon-Hood and Merrym'n. A full house and an excellent night. St Lawrence's church is a great venue - even if me and the event organiser have to rearrange all the furniture before and after the gigs. Would make an excellent RH acoustic venue - capacity 150, but we'd sell it out no problem. Name your price and we'll book you! (As long as it's not a daft price) We could get it broadcast live too if you wanted...what's Graham's email?

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..and then off to Manchester to see Courtney Barnett at the Albert Hall.

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Tuesday off, then down to London to see The The at Brixton Academy - Matt Johnson has announced these gigs ages ago and it turned out to be the worst possible time, with his dad passing away only a few days before - he started with a lovely eulogy to his dad and brought his own son on before the band started, so that he could share in the experience - as he admitted - his young son wasn't old enough to know what his dad actually did.
The band were well-polished, but the gig took off when they took more chances - the usual musician glances around the stage for cues started to appear more as the two-hour set progressed and the band loosened up and grew into each other's playing.

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Took the nieces to see Taylor Swift in Manchester, flew to Stuttgart, got a train to Nuremburg and met up with a friend and colleague from the exchange school in Germany that I started a partnership with. Spent four days working at the school doing outdoor pursuits, then flew to Dublin to see Ms Swift again. Back home for 24 hours then off walking in the Lake District.

Croke Park Dublin:



Manchester

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