Jela Webb's Blog (54)

As I walked in to the venue, I happened to spot what looked like a set list perched upon the sound desk and asked if I might take a photograph of it – much to my delight the sound engineer was happy to indulge me and I clicked away! Finding my seat, I read the list and almost couldn’t believe how…

I’ve always wanted to turn up to a live music event and be able to say ‘I’m with the band!’ and tonight at Stackridge’s show I was able to do just that because my brother-in-law needed an extra pair of hands to help sell the merchandise and I got in as ‘crew’. Thanks Mike!  

Stackridge, a (very) British progressive pop/folk band enjoyed some success in the 1970’s when no less a luminary than Beatles’ producer George Martin put his stamp on their album THE MAN IN THE BOWLER HAT. It was…

‘Best Duo’ nominees in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and Spiral Earth Awards, Katriona Gilmore and Jamie Roberts played the Turners Hill House Concert series – this is one of my favourite venues in which to listen to live music because it is such an intimate setting. In fact, this evening was cosier than usual as…

Birds of Chicago is a collective brought together under the guiding hands of J T Nero (J T & the Clouds) and Allison Russell (Po’ Girl). Tonight the four piece ensemble was made up of our two protagonists accompanied by guitarist Peter Mulvey (Redbird) and drummer Will Langhorn. 

Peter Mulvey, in addition to being in the band, opened the evening with a six-song set. He’s a seasoned performer in his own right, a masterful storyteller, accomplished guitarist and has a whole…

You can listen to the CDs, you can watch the videos, you can hear selected tracks played on the radio but you really hope that one day you’ll get the opportunity to attend a live performance…when that first time beckons, full of eager anticipation, and then turns out to be something really special...well, you just can’t beat that experience. 

In the hallowed setting of St Pancras Old Church, steeped in…

 John Fullbright is…

…twenty-five years old in a couple of weeks time

…a shy, unassuming personality off stage

…a young man with a commanding presence on stage

…making waves across both sides of the Atlantic

…a GRAMMY nominee

…playing London for the second time in as many months

…opening with an a capella Am I Born To Die

…accompanied by guitarist Terry ‘Buffalo’ Ware

…singing songs old and new, recorded and…

‘Oh, I cut my hair?’ questioned Ron Sexsmith during his first headlining appearance at this prestigious venue, but a fan had actually shouted out to him ‘I’m glad you’re here!’ That summed up perfectly the sentiments of the rest of tonight’s audience, which included Sexsmith’s parents who had travelled from Canada to see their son perform.

I sat in the Stalls and the people around me were so attentive throughout and like me, hung on every note of this twenty-eight-song show. In the…

Oh the stories she told…Caroline Herring’s latest album CAMILLA draws much of its inspiration from the Civil Rights movement and focuses on the prejudice and hardships experienced by those using non violence and civil disobedience in their fight for equality. Hailing from Mississippi, although now residing in Atlanta, Herring is steeped in the history of the South and immerses herself so poignantly, in tales of tragedy as well as graceful triumphs. 

The title track Camilla is…

What do you do on Saturday afternoons? Me, I often go to Union Music in Lewes and listen to the musicians who are playing an in-store. Today, ahead of a sold out evening show in the town, Annabelle Chvostek pitched up on the shop’s tiny stage, accompanied by Jeremie Jones on acoustic bass and Tony Spina on percussion and treated us to a thirty minute taster of her new album, RISE.

A multi-instrumentalist (and former Wailin’ Jenny) she is deservedly proud of receiving a Juno nomination…

Never let it be said that Anaïs Mitchell is one to rest on her laurels! She followed the release of her folk-rooted debut and sophomore albums with the ambitious folk opera HADESTOWN, she then took on the persona of a YOUNG MAN IN AMERICA and is once again forging a different path, this time with collaborator, Jefferson Hamer, by reinterpreting some of the ballads collected by Sir Francis James Child, in their duet album, CHILD BALLADS. 

Tonight’s show was the first in a three-month…

Richard Thompson, one of British folk’s national treasures, has recently released an album titled ELECTRIC which has been so well received that many are saying that it is his best one for years! Taking it out on the road, accompanied by Michael Jerome on drums and Taras Prodaniuk on bass, the trio are whipping up a storm and I was privileged to witness them take the stage at Brighton’s Dome and play their hearts out for nigh on two hours.

What can I say about Thompson that hasn’t…

Four years ago, a friend, Gerry, from TwickFolk, invited me to a birthday celebration to see Transatlantic Sessions in London at the Royal Festival Hall. For many years the collective had/has been a highlight of the annual Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow as well as a popular…

In 2006 I saw Jeffrey Foucault at a house concert during which he sang a song that was unknown to me (I’ve been a fan from way back when he released his first album, 2001’s MILES FROM THE LIGHTNING so am pretty familiar with his canon of work). Upon enquiry he responded by saying that it…

Manitoba native, Alana Levandoski, spent five months of 2011 on a music pilgrimage. She drove away from heartache, loss and financial ruin without any particular agenda except to immerse herself in the music of the communities living along her route – from Newfoundland to New…

Earlier this year I watched the film documentary SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN. It told the story of how two South African fans tracked down Detroit based singer/songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, a cult hero in their country, decades after he had released a couple of albums which had sank without trace, everywhere that is, apart from South Africa. The documentary tells one of the most heart-warming stories in the music business. As well as showing what happened to Rodriguez during the ‘lost decades’ it…

Walking into the Hall the first thing I noticed was that the ‘stage’ for tonight’s show was on the floor, and the ‘proper stage’ was all curtained off as if it was out of bounds.  All became clearer later as Martyn Joseph explained to the audience that the Hall’s stage was too high and he really wanted to be ‘closer to my peeps’.  The second thing I noticed was the guitar rack, which housed two acoustic guitars, a tenor guitar and a Stratocaster next to which stood a ukulele. Hmmm I thought…

Producer extraordinaire Ethan Johns (Kings of Leon, Laura Marling, Rufus Wainwright, Ryan Adams, Tom Jones etc. etc.) is undertaking a tour of eighteen record stores throughout the UK in anticipation of the release of his solo album IF NOT NOW, THEN WHEN? It is scheduled for a February 2013 release although a limited edition vinyl version has been made available to coincide with this tour. 

His appearance at my ‘local’ independent record store, Union Music, had been highly anticipated…

And so to the final date of the UK tour where the show signage indicated another sell out. We Brits have taken Sam Baker to our hearts since Bob Harris first played him on BBC Radio 2 back in April 2005; such was the response to Iron that sales of MERCY spiked incredibly and consequently set Baker on a full time career as a singer songwriter. 

Known for his keenly observational style, Baker’s writing is sparse, poetic, tender and visual. I don’t think that I can recall a writer…

Mary Chapin Carpenter and Shawn Colvin have been friends for many years and I recall seeing them way back when, when Colvin was the opener for Carpenter. Since that time their friendship has developed through a shared love of music and opportunities to sing and play together, sometimes on each other’s albums but mostly privately. It was this that helped cement thoughts that perhaps they should go out on the road jointly and play the songs they adore, to their fans - and so it was that this…