I think I know Belinda O'Hooley reasonably well, if not quite so much personally, then certainly through her songs. Yes I've bumped into her in clubs and at festivals over the past few years, where we've chatted together half a dozen times and shared a joke or two. We've played at the same birthday parties, sat in the same audiences, propped up the same bars; I've even had a pint with her wonderfully charming dad. Over the years I've always enjoyed her songs and her stage manner. There's also been the odd occasion where I've found her particularly nervous before entering the snake pit at festivals, only to catch up with her later to find that everything went superbly well, no worries there. Going on before Show of Hands at the Shepley Spring Festival last year and then again appearing just before Billy Bragg at the Beverley Folk Festival, Belinda and Heidi faced big audiences bravely prior to the release of this their first album together and at the same time have showed remarkable flair in both their stage manner and in their performances alike.
I spoke to singer songwriter partnership Belinda O'Hooley and Heidi Tidow just after they came off stage at the Beverley and East Riding Folk Festival, where they discussed working together, living together and how to find a repertoire suitable for the elderly..
There's a couple of young musicians who live down the lane in the self-contained village of Shepley, almost hidden amongst the rolling meadows of the Pennine fringe just to the south of Huddersfield. You imagine Jack Rutter and Lydia Noble would be delighted to have the opportunity to develop their craft each Spring without travelling much further than their own doorsteps.
There is something otherworldly about Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, something I just can't seem to put my finger on. I don't know exactly why I get this all too familiar shiver skidaddling purposefully down my spine each time I hear those delicious voices, but I'll attempt some feeble analysis on this ponderous question right now, whilst I reflect on the band's second album, and their prestigious launch at the 2007 Cambridge Folk Festival.
I think the last time I entered the confines of Camelots in Doncaster, the building was still resting upon hallowed ground. Coincidentally, the last time I attended a Rachel Unthank and the Winterset gig, it was also in a converted church in historic York.
Belinda O'Hooley is to Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, what Garth Hudson is to The Band, the musical maestro, teacher, guru and all round musical backbone of the band. But more than this, she is the refreshing wit and humour of the band and her personality finds no difficulty in rubbing off on you.
The Wombwell Wheelhouse once again drew a packed audience tonight for the first appearance at the venue by French-born guitarist Claude Bourbon. The classically trained guitarist grew up in Canton de Vaud, Switzerland, where he developed a distinctly multi-styled approach to finger-picked guitar, encompassing everything from classical and Spanish flamenco influences to jazz, blues and folk, with a little Eastern influence thrown in for good measure. Tonight the guitarist gave us a taste of these elements in a couple of sets of delicate songs and outstanding guitar tunes, fusing all the styles in a sort of improvisational recital. One or two of the pieces were extended to include several short guitar pieces that segued into one another, not unlike a classical recital, but with the inclusion of several jazz and blues runs, at times utilising the bottleneck.
Northern Sky met up with French guitarist Claude Bourbon at the Wombwell Wheelhouse to chat about growing up in Switzerland, juke box records and the life of a 'Travelling Man.'
If there's one thing that irritates Kris Drever, it has to be the Weatherman. Rejoicing in the wind and the rain, Kris Drever opens his new solo album, the eagerly awaited follow up to BLACK WATER, with the sole self-penned song on the record that also incidentally provides the album its title, MARK THE HARD EARTH. Kris believes that we are manipulated into believing that inclement weather is a bad thing and that we might just be missing out on something rather nice, despite the sullen apologies we hear each day from the grim weather reaper. As Bill Bryson once noted: British people looking out of their windows each morning saying 'oh, look at all that rain' is rather like Eskimos looking out of their igloos and saying 'oh, look at all that snow!' Kris doesn't like being told that rain is bad by the people who work on the telly: "'Oh I'm afraid it's raining tomorrow' - why are you afraid? Why don't you put on some decent clothes you arsehole."
Northern Sky had a quick chat with singer and multi-instrumentalist Kris Drever on St Valentine's Day 2010, about the imminent release of his second solo album MARK THE HARD EARTH.
Singer-songwriter Leddra Chapman is one of the most hotly tipped music stars of 2010 and has just been seen live on ITV's This Morning, has appeared on Terry Wogan's show, and is about to do a live session for Radio Two with Janice Long. Leddra can be seen at the York House Concerts on 26 march 2010. SOLD OUT
For some of us, the introduction to acoustic music came at a time when the sound of the electric guitar had got just about as loud (Townsend), as aggressive (Townsend, Hendrix) and as sneerfully complicated (Zappa) as it was likely to get. In 1969 the Woodstock Festival certainly marked the height of rock culture of the time, but there amongst the likes of The Who, Ten Years After, Canned Heat, Santana and Jimi Hendrix, with his memorable take on the Star Spangled Banner, came the unexpected appearance of three ex-members of three previously successful bands. Crosby, Stills and Nash, this time armed with acoustic guitars, something we'd almost forgotten about, came out of the darkness and brought a lighter, more harmonious sound that some of us had probably been waiting for. Some of those watching the festival a couple of years later, albeit thousands of miles east of Woodstock and on the big screen, heard for the first time a sound that would mark a change of direction in the music we would now prefer to have infiltrate our already bulging cardboard boxes by the Dansette.
The newly extended Wheelhouse in Wombwell opened its doors once again tonight for a sell out appearance by one of Canada's best loved harmony vocal duos, Madison Violet. The venue itself has been slightly extended, with the addition of an alcove to provide more room, not specifically to cram more people in, but to make the Wheelhouse even more comfortable for the handful of loyal regulars and for those visiting for the first time, including the guest performers of course.
Northern Sky met up with Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac of Madison Violet to chat about their Canadian/Scottish roots and their third album No Fool For Trying.
Barton-upon-Humber stands on the south bank of the Humber Estuary, in the shadow of the southern tower of what was once the largest single-span suspension bridge in the world, that was until sixteen years on from when it was built, when slightly bigger ones began to pop up all over the place. Barton's guest visitor tonight noted that it reminded him of a similar structure that spans the bay of San Francisco over in his home state of California; well we do like our guests to feel at home! Tonight the imposing Humber Bridge, the wide river estuary that it spans and much of the little North Lincolnshire town itself was obscured by a foggy haze, coming in off the river, making the venue difficult to find, despite the place being allegedly well signposted with a series of brown tourist signs. As usual, I left it to basic instinct, a well-tuned musical nose and the help of one or two locals, who were more than happy to point me in the right direction. It was no ordinary night after all, Tom Russell was in town.
Northern Sky caught up with singer-songwriter Tom Russell before his show at the Ropewalk in Barton-upon-Humber to discuss Dylan, Criminology and his new album Blood and Candle Smoke.
Northern Sky met up with Pamela Wyn Shannon at The Wheelhouse in Wombwell to discuss her album Courting Autumn, her love of Pentangle and Nick Drake and building igloos.
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