2024 (Live Review)

September 28, 2024 by David Vousden in Alt-Country, Americana, Classic Rock, Country, Country Rock, Live Review, Singer Songwriter

Nick Lowe seemed genuinely surprised that so many folks had come out on a Tuesday night for the first show of his UK tour at the London Palladium. It was standing room only at the 2200+ capacity venue. This says much about the high esteem in which Nick Lowe is held as an artist and songwriter. From his early days in Brinsley Schwartz and late 70s solo chart success, Rockpile with Dave Edmunds and on through the critically acclaimed Brentford Trilogy of albums to his latest work with Los Straightjackets, Lowe has been a mainstay of British music for fifty years. Lowe is also well known for his production work in the 80s with the Stiff record label that included ‘New Rose’ for The Damned and a run of classic albums for Elvis Costello. I’m pleased to report that, even at 75, Lowe shows no signs of slowing down, and he looks to be enjoying keeping things fresh with Los Straitjackets.

Canada House - Moth Club, London Jan 24th 2023

February 02, 2023 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Country Rock, Folk, Live Review, Singer Songwriter

On a bitterly cold January night, the RGM team are in London’s Hackney, where I’m pleased to report, despite the multiple issues of recent years, live music is thriving with a wide variety of venues still hanging in there. Moth Club is one such venue, tucked away just off the main street but still, very much, part of the bustling Hackney ambience. The reason for our visit this evening is the first of two nights showcasing some of the very best Americana and Roots music Canada has to offer as part of Americana UK Music Week (that’s Americana Fest to you and me) hosted by CIMA (Canadian Independent Music Association) in partnership with Music PEI. Twelve acts over two days with a good mix of old favourites and new blood, so let’s dig in to Canada House.

Black Deer Festival 2022 - Eridge Park, Kent

July 19, 2022 by Rich Barnard in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Classic Rock, Country, Country Rock, Folk, Live Review, Singer Songwriter, Rock, Stoner, World Music

My first experience of standing tightly crowded in a field for the love of music was not the euphoric epiphany it promised to be. To be fair, it was a long, long time ago; I was fifteen and fragile. Some of my fellow patrons were fearless and fighty. I retreated to a safe spot and tried not to think of the Battle of the Somme. Somewhere in a different postcode, I could vaguely make out one of my favourite bands doing their thing.

Black Deer Festival 2019 - June 23rd (Day Three)

July 08, 2019 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Blues, Country, Country Rock, Folk, Live Review, Singer Songwriter

The RGM team doubled in size for day three of Black Deer in an effort to reach into even more of the many nooks and crannies from which live music could be heard floating around the site. On arrival, RGM and Black Deer favourite The Sheepdogs were doing their thing on the main stage (impressive as they’d closed the Supajam tent the previous evening). The Sheepdogs were again going down a storm with ‘Nobody’ a perfect complement to a sunny day with its Paul McCartney & Wings tribute/pastiche breakdown and no less than three guitarists trading musical blows to complete their set. A great start to the day.

Black Deer Festival 2019 - June 22nd (Day Two)

July 03, 2019 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Alternative Rock, Americana, Country, Country Rock, Folk, Live Review, Singer Songwriter, Soundtrack

Day two at Black Deer broke bright and sunny, which always does wonders for the spirit and rejuvenates a tired mind and body. As usual, where to start our musical journey was a tough choice, but Jessie Buckley won the day, mainly on the strength of positive feedback from the photographers in the pit. This feedback turned out to be a very good tip, as Buckley and her excellent band won over a crowd that didn’t really need to be won over, as she had them in the palm of her hand from the off.

Black Deer Festival 2019 - June 21st (Day One)

July 01, 2019 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Blues, Classic Rock, Country Rock, Country, Folk, Hard Rock, Live Review, Singer Songwriter, Southern Rock, Stoner, Psych

For the first day of the annual Black Deer Festival, the gods have been kind and the sun is trying to break through the clouds. The UK is back in love with country music and all things Americana - at least on a musical level. This level of acceptance for the genre has not been seen on our shores since Dolly, Kenny and Tammy topped the charts and the Wembley Country Music festival was a must-see on BBC2. Black Deer is only in its sophomore year but it already feels like a must do on the crowded festival calendar.

The Sheepdogs - The Borderline, London 05/11/2018

November 12, 2018 by David Vousden in Classic Rock, Country, Live Review, Country Rock

With so much music available these days it’s very easy for a band to slip between the cracks. It’s going to happen no matter how hard you try to keep your finger on the pulse. Until a recent email (thanks Tom) arrived in the RGM inbox with an invite to check out The Sheepdogs I was totally in the dark. The band name doesn’t exactly help as it brings to mind visions of that old British TV institution ‘One Man and his Dog’ but any such apprehensions were blown away by the road-hardened Canadian quintets perfect mix of classic and country rock which proved to be a total joy.