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Reg Meuross

4 March 2013 - 12:00am
  Making a change from the usual fare at The Leopard in Doncaster, which is better known for its rock and indie band scene, singer/songwriter Reg Meuross headed an afternoon of gentle acoustic performances in the downstairs lounge bar. Unusually quiet, relaxed and cosy, the bar provided a pretty laid-back atmosphere for the Somerset-based singer to perform some songs from his new album...

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By: Allan Wilkinson

Folk Alliance 2013, Toronto - Nick Lawson reports

24 February 2013 - 9:14am
The Old Campbell House, Queen Street, Totonto   Folk Alliance 2013 at The Delta Chelsea Hotel Toronto (20-23 February 2013)   On 17th February I decided to go to the Folk Alliance Conference in Toronto. On 20th February I was there. Plan A involved a flight via Philadelphia, but that fell through because I could not get US travel authorisation in time. Instead I flew via Frankfurt...

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By: Allan Wilkinson

Tour News: Blair Dunlop

16 February 2013 - 1:00am
  'With all those embellishments in place, both visual and auditory, the focus of BLIGHT AND BLOSSOM is Blair Dunlop himself; his crisp and concise guitar playing, his unmistakably mature voice and his aptitude for creating atmosphere throughout. A fine and assured debut.' - Northern Sky on BLIGHT AND BLOSSOM. Tour Dates:   April   With Larkin Poe Tue 02 - All Saints,...

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By: Allan Wilkinson

The Animals and Friends with Steve Cropper

14 February 2013 - 12:00am
  One of the most distinctive features of the re-invented Animals and Friends, is the bear-like frontman Pete Barton, who's been looking after the famous R&B band's vocal duties for a couple of decades now. Normally attired in black leather with a smattering of Native American regalia, this charismatic singer/bassist requires a notably strong image if he's going to step into the...

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By: Allan Wilkinson

Transatlantic Sessions at Celtic Connections

2 February 2013 - 12:00am
  The final Friday evening of the 2013 Celtic Connections festival saw the first of two performances from the annual event 'Transatlantic Sessions'. The long running TV show of same name, was first brought to the concert stage in 2004 as a special event for Celtic connections and has been a permanent fixture ever since. For the past three years there has been a tour of the event straight...

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By: Allan Wilkinson

The Great British Rock and Blues Festival 2013

29 January 2013 - 12:00am
  When we think about the Great British Rock and Blues Festival or the Great British Folk Festival for that matter, held a little over a month earlier, we may be tempted to think why on earth we should be attending music festivals in the middle of a typical English winter? Once you've attended one of these events however, you will come away thinking, well why not? There's a...

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By: Allan Wilkinson

Blair Dunlop/Rita Payne

30 December 2012 - 12:00am
  It was quite fitting that the last Wheelhouse concert of the year should feature Blair Dunlop as 2012 really did belong to this up and coming singer/songwriter. His almost meteoric rise to prominence on the British folk scene has taken him from being a finalist in the BBC Young Folk Awards back in February, his appearance on the bill of The Lady: A Homage to Sandy Denny, which saw the...

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By: Allan Wilkinson

Laurie Levine

8 December 2012 - 12:00am
  The one sure, tried and trusted way to get an invite to play at The Wheelhouse in Wombwell is to make a great record. Once that great record is made then the next step is to make sure your British booking agent gets Hedley Jones to hear it. If he likes it, then he's already checking the tour dates, making the phone call, preparing the bedroom, replenishing the bar, making sure the...

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By: Allan Wilkinson

The Great British Folk Festival 2012

4 December 2012 - 1:00am
  Friday   The cheerful banter usually starts with the compere uttering the well-worn catchphrase 'Hi-De-Hi', to which the audience is supposed to respond with the equally cheerful 'Ho-De-Ho'. It doesn't often work out as planned as the exclusively adult audience doesn't necessarily need to be reminded that this is one of those holiday resorts normally frequented by children during...

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By: Allan Wilkinson

The Gift Band (Liverpool Philharmonic Hall)

3 December 2012 - 1:00am
  If you'd asked me a couple of years ago to compile a list of gigs I thought I'd never see this may well have appeared somewhere near the top. In the winter of 2010 Norma Waterson and daughter Eliza Carthy embarked on a national tour to promote Gift, the album they had released earlier the same year and their first as a duo. During the tour Norma developed a knee infection that quickly...

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By: Kev Boyd