LIVE: Spell Songs at Cambridge Corn Exchange (4th September 2026)

I’m back! Temporarily.

I’m starting this post on the eve of Super Thursday, the biggest day in the publishing calendar. There is a LOT happening in the bookshop at the moment and only so much time in the day, so much energy in the tank. My free time is currently spent on walks (staring at birds), reading books, doing jigsaw puzzles (mainly buying them) and… right now, watching the new series of Colin From Accounts.

I did however get out to a gig last week, which has definitely filled up my cup.

I’ve spoken here in the past about my love of the work of Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane, both individually (both are magicians in their own right) and collaboratively, on three gorgeous books. It has been a real joy to be bookselling around the publication of their latest book The Book of Birds. I have put so many copies of it into the hands of readers, and enjoyed so many lovely discussions around the book, as well as a couple of events with Rob and Jackie along the way. Next week I’ll be cheerleading for it at the Wainwright Prize ceremony where it is shortlisted.

Last Friday I was lucky to be invited to see the magnificent folk collective Spell Songs performing at Cambridge Corn Exchange. They were there to celebrate the release (on that very day) of their new album In Thin Air, which has been made in response to The Book of Birds. TBOB but set it to folk music? I’m there.

Spell Songs are a collective of 7 extraordinarily talented folk musicians (Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis, Seckou Keita, Kris Drever, Rachel Newton, Beth Porter and Jim Molyneux) put together to make music inspired by The Lost Words. Several years, three books and three albums later and I finally saw them performing.

I’ll be honest that I hadn’t listened to much of their music before, and this show was such a stunning introduction.

The evening started with a scratch choir led by Ben See, who I saw conducting the SYRINX choir at the little old Royal Albert Hall with Stornoway back in March. The choir, with just one rehearsal under their belt, performed a few tracks to get things underway for the evening and they really set the tone.

Next up, Rob and Jackie were interviewed by Karine about the book. I love hearing them both talk. They’re such a joyous, powerful, passionate, cheeky (mostly Jackie) creative partnership and hearing them talk about their work and their passion for wildlife (especially birds in this case) is nothing short of inspiring.

A few minutes later the band took to the stage for the first half of the show, performing songs from In Thin Air while Jackie painted live (with a projection showing on stage). Watching Jackie bringing seven bar-tailed godwits to life before our very eyes while listening to this group of incredibly talented musicians was pure alchemy. Mesmerising, emotional, magic.

I’ve since listened to the new album a bunch, and I’ve really been enjoying it. There’s so much variation - with each artist getting a spin on lead vocals, different instruments taking centre stage, etc. The album follows the flow of the book, which is separated into seven sections (Nest, Egg, Beak, Song, Feather, Flight and Migration.)

There was a brief interlude (to stand in a queue for the ladies, obviously) and then it was time for the second half - with the group performing their self-proclaimed ‘hits’ while Jackie continued to bring wildlife to life on the page. A swift, a pair of seals, acorn and oak leaf and the real pièce de résistance, a raven painted with a raven’s feather.

All of this wonderful music was made all the better for experiencing so much of it for the first time sat with Rob himself (perks of the VIP seats) and having a natter about life (and birds, always birds) in between.

I implore you to catch Spell Songs live if you can, and to take a listen to In Thin Air when you get a chance.

To find out more about the project, and to buy yourself an album (they’re gorgeously produced) head to the Spell Songs website.

LIVE: Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane - River Calls tour (May 2024)

I started writing this post a few weeks back, but life got in the way and I’ve just unearthed the half written post, so here goes nothing for take two...! One of my most well received posts of the last couple of years (and one of my favourites to write, too) was a write-up of a Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane show at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the start of 2022. Opening the post, I wrote:

I went to a gig a couple of days ago! Rejoice. Although ‘gig’ perhaps isn’t the right word, and doesn’t do the evening justice. In the candlelit setting of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, a 340-capacity space that is part of the Globe Theatre no less (!) I saw two of my favourite writers, Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane, performing their album Lost In The Cedar Wood. Music there was, but it was so much more than a gig - a journey… a magical, bewildering evening of story and song, traversing across timelines and continents. Genuinely mesmerising. Tickets were difficult to come by and I feel SO incredibly lucky to have been there.

Looking back a couple of years later, it really was a genuinely transcending and magical experience, a celebration of one of my favourite musical pairings, and of one of my favourite albums of recent years, surrounded by some superb writers on nature. The bookseller and nature writing nerd in me is still giddy with excitement when I think of being in the same room as all of those writers, even (and perhaps especially) having met a few of them at subsequent events (Amy-Jane Beer at Gathering Festival, Sam Lee at the Stornoway album launch, Merlin Sheldrake at a Cosmo Sheldrake show, and of course Rob himself!)

You’d think that it might be difficult to replicate the magic of that evening - the venue, the fact that it was one of the first shows most of us had been to out of lockdown (squished up against strangers), the combination of gig and theatre. It was truly special. Luckily for me (and for all the others who managed to secure some very sought after tickets) the pair have just been on tour across the UK with a full band. 

In venues across the UK (I saw them at Cambridge Junction) audiences were taken on a musical, lyrical journey through songs from the two recent albums, Lost In The Cedar Wood and The Moon Also Rises. Storytelling weaving through the music - as each song finishes, Rob, on stage for the duration of the show, dives into some spoken word. Poetry? Not easy to define, but utterly enchanting. The setlist was clearly very carefully thought out - taking us on a journey through storytelling and song - an extension of what they set out to do in those first shows. With a band too - who are utterly wonderful also.

I saw Johnny with a full band in 2017 at the show which became the Live at the Roundhouse album and I think I’m right in saying that until now, he hasn’t been on a full band tour since then. I’m sure I’m far from alone in being grateful that they found the time to put these shows on, they’ve been a long time coming and they were more than worth the wait! Mainly taking songs from the recent two albums, the show was a true celebration of Johnny and Rob’s collaboration (Bonedigger live is just the absolute BEST, for a start) but they managed to find room for a couple of older favourites (The Ghost of O’Donahue and The Water - both stunning.)

Johnny Flynn · Bonedigger

I won’t be missing the old favourites for too long, as I’ve just secured a ticket for Johnny’s show with the band in London in September, as part of Transgressive Records’ 20th anniversary celebrations. Can’t wait!

I’ve written a lot already about how much I love both Johnny and Rob’s work individually, and this project is such a treat. Whether they continue to write music together or not (my fingers are crossed) I’m glad that they got a chance to take it on the road. To see others responding to the shows so positively and enjoying them so much was the best. In a way there’s an element of bravery in putting on a tour that is quite unlike other things that are out there in format, but it worked so well, and I’ve seen nothing but love for the shows.

With the London show on the horizon, and plenty of Johnny’s acting endeavours to catch up on (I am desperate to watch Ripley!) my interest (as a bookseller and book lover) turns to the books, too. Rob’s work in progress at the moment is Is A River Alive? - I’ll be pestering the publisher for a proof of that as soon as I get a sniff of those existing. (Sorry HH.) Elsewhere, Rob and Johnny are collaborating on a couple of book projects - a graphic novel of the Epic of Gilgamesh (focus of Lost in the Cedar Wood) with artist Dave McKean (very exciting!) and a picture book surrounding the track The World To Come, illustrated by Emily Sutton, due later this year. Truly a marvellous time to be a fan of these two! They’re very busy guys, and I am very happy to be enjoying the fruits of their work.

Now, off to carry on reading Mountains of the Mind with a Johnny Flynn shaped soundtrack. What could be better?

WATCH: Novo Amor - 'State Lines' (Live from Antarctica)

You all know how much I love Novo Amor and it would feel remiss of me not to share this beautiful live performance video, recorded while Ali was on an Greenpeace expedition in Antarctica earlier this year. It's one of my favourite tracks of his, made all the more gorgeous as he performs against the Antarctic backdrop, with whales, penguins and seals the only audience members. 

As beautiful as the music is, however, the video has been shared to help raise awareness for ocean protection, and specifically a petition that Greenpeace are currently running. It's something that Ali has long been advocating for - his Birthplace video was my introduction to his music, and its environmental message was a big part of the reason that I fell so far in love with the project and stuck around to hear more. 

From Greenpeace...

We are urging world leaders to agree on a strong Global Ocean Treaty which will help to protect at least 30% of our oceans by 2030 through a network of marine sanctuaries. Nearly 5 million people globally have signed the petition to protect our oceans. Add your name now and help put the biggest conservation effort in human history into action. 

Sign the petition here. 

Follow Novo Amor - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

An evening Lost in the Cedar Wood with Johnny Flynn & Robert Macfarlane

I went to a gig a couple of days ago! Rejoice. Although ‘gig’ perhaps isn’t the right word, and doesn’t do the evening justice. In the candlelit setting of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, a 340-capacity space that is part of the Globe Theatre no less (!) I saw two of my favourite writers, Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane, performing their album Lost In The Cedar Wood. Music there was, but it was so much more than a gig - a journey… a magical, bewildering evening of story and song, traversing across timelines and continents. Genuinely mesmerising. Tickets were difficult to come by and I feel SO incredibly lucky to have been there.

Music, stories, nature - this show couldn’t have been any more my cup of tea.

Having seen Johnny once before at the Roundhouse (the performance of Live at the Roundhouse album fame) I was very excited to get tickets to see him and Cosmo Sheldrake playing as part of a series of socially distanced folk gigs in Hackney towards the end of 2020. Sadly it wasn’t to be and the shows were put on hold and were eventually refunded a few months ago - the announcement of this pair of shows at the Globe came at around the same time. The world might not make it easy for me to see Johnny perform live, but it had offered up some kind of gig exchange.

While I’ve been in love with Johnny’s music for nearly a decade now (after buying the Country Mile vinyl at my local HMV on a whim) my love of Rob’s work is a more recent thing. Since starting work as a bookseller in 2019 I’ve gradually been made aware of Rob’s writing - for me, The Lost Spells was my introduction. The pocket-size (ish) follow-up to Rob and Jackie Morris’ The Lost Words (look it up), I couldn’t resist it upon its arrival into the shop, and have since been gradually acquiring most of Rob’s books. I’m currently reading Underland - slowly, savouring each page. Rob is genuinely a magician with words, and when I found that he and Johnny were collaborating on some music, my heart skipped a beat. The album was one of my favourite releases of last year… here’s what I wrote about it in my AOTY post:

In the past couple of years, my interest in and love for the natural world has increased dramatically, with furlough offering up more time to get into the garden and to go on walks locally. As my curiosity has grown, I've been seeking out writing on nature, and was unbelievably excited earlier this year to find that one of our best natural history writers, the great Robert Macfarlane, was releasing an album with one of my favourite folk artists, Johnny Flynn. A masterpiece waiting to happen, surely.

As I expected, the pair did not disappoint - Lost in the Cedar Wood is something to treasure and an album I will love for years to come. It arrived at exactly the time I needed it and perhaps could most appreciate it. My favourite line, from Enkidu Walked, describing my experience of the past two years - "the birds have my heart and they won't give it back to me." When two brilliant writers come together to make art it was never really in doubt that it would be something truly special...

Johnny Flynn · Enkidu Walked

Fast forward to Monday… negative covid tests, masks on - ready for the first train journey of the year. A novelty at the moment, that’s for sure. Wanting to make the most of the day out, we first visited the eight miles of bookshelves that make up Waterstones Piccadilly, before my first trip to the Natural History Museum in years. The foundations of a dreamy day, by all accounts. Food consumed (Wahaca - yum) it was almost time for the show, so we wandered along the south bank towards the Globe, passing the National Theatre and Tate Modern, and admiring that night-time London skyline for the first time in a *long* time.

There was time for a spot of birdwatching along the way, as a pair of Mute Swans bobbed around in the Thames, with Greylag Geese resting nearby, one eye open to observe passersby. The entire day had this vibe - spotting Great Tits flitting between trees outside the NHM, a Moorhen rooting around in the grass, and a pair of Cormorants flying over… Robins trying to out-sing one another near the Royal Albert Hall… Goldfinches in a tree just off of The Strand… the train journey too offered up Buzzards, Red Kites, Herons and an Egret. I’m incredibly grateful and excited by this new found love of just observing, of watching. There’s a lot to see when you take the time to look.

After an introduction by Robert and Johnny to the ‘world premiere (part 2)’ of the record, we settled in for an evening of stories and music, all surrounding the Epic of Gilgamesh, the inspiration for the record. It was unlike anything I have experienced before - Rob’s narration transporting us into these far distant settings - that of the Epic itself, and of George Smith, who translated it in the 1800s. Johnny portrayed Gilgamesh and George, intercepting Rob’s narration with lines, often witty. The script contained echoes of the music, and of Rob’s work more generally, I think - and suddenly, Johnny would fill the intimate venue with his song, no microphone needed - the audience were silent, and his voice carries with it a certain power. Some of that power is in knowing when to use it, with moments of tenderness interspersed throughout - if they wanted me to leave having felt a spectrum of emotions, they succeeded.

The songs (including two new ones…!) were utterly transfixing. It was incredibly special to experience tracks from an album that I love so much performed in such an all round beautiful setting. A highlight for me, though, was seeing firsthand the love that both Rob and Johnny have for one another’s art. Johnny clearly found Rob’s words as magical as the rest of us, and Rob’s love of Johnny’s music is no secret… at one point he broke the fourth wall (forgiven) to declare just how much he was enjoying sitting beside Johnny while he performed.

Theirs is one of my favourite working friendships, where both genuinely admire the other’s work, and they make up part of a beautiful ecosystem of musicians and writers with an interest in the environment that I very much wish to be part of. I guess, for the evening, I was…

Loitering in the foyer after the show, checking train times, adjusting coats and scarves… and full of the requisite emotions. I’d had a little cry and was full of adrenaline from the final song (with the audience erupting into a cacophony of clapping for the outro of The World To Come, reflecting the album recording which ends with pans clattering). All of a sudden I look up and… Cosmo Sheldrake! Ah! You all know how much I love Cosmo (and was gutted to not get to see him at the initial show with Johnny) and there he was… and just past him, Sam Lee! Folk musician and general hero of the scene, but also the author of the brilliant book The Nightingale.

Johnny Flynn · The World to Come

We had a train to catch, and I didn’t want to interrupt friends reuniting… but just knowing that I’d seen them was a treat. Since the show, I’ve found this thread of tweets by Dr Amy-Jane Beer (author of, most recently, A Tree A Day) who was at the show with Sam as well as Nick Hayes (author of The Book of Trespass). A little bowled over to find in the replies that Merlin Sheldrake was there too - I’m traipsing slightly away from the ‘cool music’ and into the ‘things’ (about time) but my last year or so of bookselling have found me recommending Merlin’s book Entangled Life to just about anybody who will listen. While I didn’t talk to any of these incredible writers, I’m finding something really special in the fact that I got to share the experience with them, spending a couple of hours in that special venue on that lyrical journey…

There’s a chance this show could be taken on tour and I can only implore you to keep an eye out and get a ticket if you’re able to. Pure magic.

WATCH: Bess Atwell - 'How Do You Leave' (Live)

Busy busy times... working in retail over Christmas doesn't leave much time (or energy) for writing posts, but I wanted to share something that I've been loving lately. I caught Bess Atwell live in Cambridge a couple of weeks ago and it was genuinely so stunning. She's just shared a live video of How Do You Leave (taken from the album Already, Always) with guitarist Chris Matthewson. I'm a little bit in love. Enjoy...

On the video, Bess shares: "I could lie and say that it was an intentional decision to showcase this song stripped back, but the reality is we were in lockdown and couldn't rehearse with a band. Turns out, I think I'm more proud of this duo version that I would have been if we'd performed with a band. It's empowering to be able to play band-produced songs in their original form, the form in which I wrote them. Lyrically, the song is really quite dark, and I think this is actually emphasised more in an intimate performance." 

Follow Bess Atwell - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LIVE: The Staves at Rock City (6/10/21)

I’ve been struggling a little to get back into the rhythm of writing posts regularly lately, but I have something pretty exciting to write about. In a dreamy and somewhat spontaneous turn of events (hey - remember spontaneity?) I went to an actual real life gig on Wednesday night. My first gig in almost 600 days. Long overdue and a completely joyous experience!

There have been a few shows lately that I’ve wanted to go to and haven’t for one reason or another… it has felt a little as if I’m doing nothing but working, interning and failing at being a blogger at the moment. It’s difficult to describe quite how much of a gap live music has left for the past year and a half and just how much I needed this show - but if you’re here, you know that exact feeling.

Like many, getting out into nature has been a bit of a lifeline through all of this and has, I guess, unintentionally filled that gap a little. It’s not too dissimilar - both are an escape of sorts, an opportunity to come across people with similar interests, not to mention the glorious birdsong. (Ps, if you’re interested, I’m posting some nature pics to insta here.)

It was such a treat for my first gig back to be The Staves, honestly. Their latest record Good Woman has soundtracked 2021 for me, and it is no spoiler to say that it will very likely be featuring pretty highly on my albums of the year list.

First up, though, was Samantha Crain. A good woman indeed. And hilarious too. Together with Kyle Reid (“I brought him over from Oklahoma with me”) she performed tracks from last year’s record A Small Death and this year’s I Guess We Live Here Now EP. A genuinely delightful performance. Once I’d got past the novelty of being feet away from somebody performing live music I was blown away by the skill on show. Sam’s vocals are incredible. I’ve (foolishly) not done a deep dive into her back catalogue before, but will certainly be making time to now.

The mind boggles a little at the man behind us who was there specifically to see Sam, and loudly told somebody all about this during a couple of the tracks. Gigs are back and… so are the obnoxious people who think that the artist somehow won’t notice you talking loudly over their set, apparently. Joy. Don’t get me wrong - he sounded as if he really loved her music and I love that energy but... really?

After a quick change around, it was time for The Staves. Just two of them for this tour, Jess and Camilla - Emily, as the pair jovially proclaimed between songs, is selfishly skipping the tour to look after her baby. While it’s a shame not to experience those beautiful three-part sisterly harmonies, the show was pretty darn special regardless. Backing the pair up on stage were their ‘beautiful baby boys’ (their words, and who am I to disagree) Marcus Hamblett, Glyn Daniels, Chris Dagger and Rob Pemberton.

I’ve seen the trio once before, when they performed a secret set in the wine bar at Bushstock Festival in 2015. It was a stunning acoustic set but I’d never actually listened to them before then, and have been desperate for an opportunity to see them again now that I’m pretty besotted with their music. Performing the majority of the new album alongside a few older favourites, the set was a stunner. I think I’d probably have thought any live music was pretty magical after so long away, but this bunch are genuinely on another level.

My biggest takeaway from the show, though, was just how happy everybody on stage looked to be there. To be back performing live and finally sharing their new record with fans in the live setting. Their joy was infectious - I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense that I was exactly where I should be in that moment. And more than a little bit weepy too. All of the emotions. Now… when can I go to another gig?

Follow The Staves - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Follow Samantha Crain - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Fleet Foxes - 'Can I Believe You' (Live)

Not going to lie, I've been full on losing my mind over this performance for a few days now. It might be the church setting, but I am full on transcending over this one. The ever gorgeous Fleet Foxes, who released their record Shore earlier in the year (and a beautiful record it is) took to St Ann & The Holy Trinity in NYC to record a live performance of Can I Believe You for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. With the Resistance Revival Chorus offering choral back-up in the pews, it's a stunning performance all over. Heavenly, even. 

Sharing the performance online, the band wrote: "Special thanks to the Resistance Revival Chorus, Homer Steinweiss, Sean Pecknold, Beatriz Artola, Mark Yoshizumi and Katie, Kate Jackson Mendel, James Fideler, Eli Cane, Aja Pecknold, Elia Lyssy, Marcin Kapron, Geideon Fideler, Austin Williams, Anna Caradeuc, Andie Neff, Erin Boyd, ANTI- Records, as well as Lauren Bakoian and everyone else at St. Ann & The Holy Trinity for helping make the performance happen in these very strange circumstances! Was really fun. Please wear masks and get the vaccine so we don’t have to wear masks or film ourselves with iPhones in 2021."

Follow Fleet Foxes - Facebook | Instagram.

WATCH: Flyte - 'Never Get To Heaven' (Acoustic)

Aren't Flyte just really really special human beings?! I should be used to them stopping me in my tracks with their beautiful tunes by now and yet, every new song brings with it an element of surprise. Their latest tune was released last week, and they've shared a gorgeous 'campfire rendition' for you to sink your teeth (and eyes and ears) into. Go go go! Never Get To Heaven was written by Will when he was just 14 (!) "in an attempt to be post modern and rewrite an old scout chant of the same name", the band share. - "hence, here we are, so many years later, bringing it back to the campfire." 

Follow Flyte - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Ferris & Sylvester - 'Knock You Down' (Iive)

Loving this. There's nothing quite like live music, right? Finding myself missing gigs on a daily basis currently. It's been SO long. A live video capturing that live energy is a treat at the moment, that's for sure. Taken from their upcoming I Should Be On A Train EP, the ever-wonderful duo Ferris & Sylvester released single Knock You Down recently. They've just shared a live video for it, the second in a series recorded during lockdown at Streatham Space Project in London. They're due to headline at the venue as part of the Streatham Festival - just as soon as it can be rescheduled. Despite filming in an empty venue, the video captures the energy of a F&S live show perfectly. For now, this will just about quench that thirst for a live show. 

Pre-order the I Should Be On A Train EP here.

Follow Ferris & Sylvester - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Cosmo Sheldrake - 'Evening Chorus'

It was Earth Day a few days ago, and what better way to celebrate than with a brand new video from Cosmo Sheldrake. The video sees him playing some music (live from an ironing board, naturally) in a bluebell wood in Dorset, recording by Orban Wallace of Galavant Films, who he is luckily in lockdown with. Creative dream team! In the video, he's playing an improvisation using the song of endangered birds - a nightingale, a short eared owl, a tawny owl, a bittern and a cuckoo - at sunset, during the evening chorus. The combination is sublime and I am forever overwhelmed by his work. A true genius and musical magician.

As well as sharing this video, Cosmo also shared a collection of nightingale music, with two wake-up call tracks and a cover of a Tom Waits track, which he sang in the middle of the night next to a nightingale in a nature reserve. Sending out the tracks via email, Cosmo explained that it felt appropriate to release the tracks on Earth day, to "help shed light on the beauty of our natural soundscapes but also their fragility." Nightingales are a famously musical bird and the source of music music and literary adoration historically, but they're endangered, with their population falling in the UK by 93% in the last 50 years. He added that he "also thought it would be nice to share some bird song at a time that many people around the world may not have access to the outdoors or be able to hear bird song for a while."

If you have a spare three hours (or just a few minutes) I implore you to check out the Singing with Nightingales live stream event which took place a few evenings ago courtesy of Sam Lee and The Nest Collective. A bunch of artists joined Sam, via the internet, for live and pre-recorded songs and readings set to the live song of the nightingales, recorded from a wood in Sussex. Cosmo appeared alongside Nick Mulvey, Johnny Flynn, Isobel Waller-Bridge, Chris Packham, and lots more. You can check the full video here, it's well worth a watch and a listen.

Follow Cosmo Sheldrake - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: MarthaGunn - 'Heaven' (acoustic)

You don't need me to tell you that everything is a bit of an apocalyptic nightmare at the moment - I hope you're all staying safe and keeping your heads. All I can say is thank goodness for music. No matter how dark times get, it's always a great relief to know that music will be here to bring joy through those times. On that note, as gigs get cancelled (understandably) around the world, lots of artists, including many of those who I write about here, are placed into difficult situations, as in an age of streaming, they often rely on income from live shows. If you're in a position where you are able to, be sure to support your favourite artists at the moment - buy their CD, buy their merchandise, support their online pages if they're on Patreon or similar, and stream them to your heart's content.

Back to the new (ish) music! MarthaGunn, the total stars, recently shared a gorgeous acoustic performance of Heaven. It was the first track they released a few years back, and they've recently released a new version of the track. I'm adoring this live version. Abi's vocals are, as ever, sublime, as are those 5-way harmonies. Also - if ever a band screamed 'hair goals' - just saying.

As currently stands, MarthaGunn head out on a UK tour this month with a bunch of brilliant support acts across the tour, tickets here. Be sure to follow the band on their socials below in case of cancellations.

Follow MarthaGunn - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

TOUR NEWS: White Tail Falls (March 2020)

Bit quiet on the blog front at the moment... working in retail over Christmas is taking its toll a little. A few posts still to come this month and I'll soon be trying to figure out my albums of the year list too! Exciting news to share today however - White Tail Falls has announced his first UK tour for next March and April. Following the release of debut single Give It Up, Son and the video (watch below) the tour will see him take in eight dates with a show at the gorgeous St Pancras Old Church in London on 26th March.

Full dates for the tour are as follows...

19th March: Head Of Steam, Newcastle
20th: The Poetry Club, Glasgow
21st: Royal Park Cellars, Leeds
26th: St Pancras Old Church, London
27th: The Hope & Ruin, Brighton
1st April: Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
2nd: Night People, Manchester
3rd: The Bodega, Nottingham

Follow White Tail Falls - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

TOUR NEWS: MarthaGunn (March 2020)

Last week I shared the new (but also kind of old) MarthaGunn track to the blog. As I'd scheduled the post a few days before I was already slightly behind as they shared the music video just before my post went live. As well as that, having just wrapped up some touring across Europe supporting Palace, they've announced a tour of their own for next Spring. Check out the video for Heaven below...

The tour dates are below and tickets are available here.

22nd March: Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds
24th: Broadcast, Glasgow
25th: Think Tank, Newcastle
27th: The Castle, Manchester
28th: Dead Wax, Birmingham
30th: Heartbreakers, Southampton
31st: Louisiana, Bristol
1st April: Hope & Ruin, Brighton
2nd: Courtyard Theatre, London

Follow MarthaGunn - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Christof van der Ven - 'Live at RAK' EP

In 2019, Christof van der Ven has managed a kind of new release hat-trick. The legend. Back in March he released one of my favourite EPs of the year, Beneath The Ordinary Load, before returning in September (after a stretch of touring with Bear's Den) with the stunning record You Were The Place. As if those two weren't quite enough, he's recently shared the Live at RAK EP, which features the audio from some session videos that he recorded at the RAK Studios in London. Featuring a whole bunch of talented musicians from the Bear's Den and Matthew & the Atlas live bands and elsewhere, it's hard to imagine it being anything but completely beautiful, and it is. A highlight for me from the album and this EP is 4AM, which you can watch in the session video below.

Check out the full Live at RAK EP from Christof van der Ven here.

Follow Christof van der Ven - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LIVE: Half Moon Run & Leif Vollebekk at Electric Brixton (7/11/19)

Last Thursday I had the utter joy of seeing Montreal indie rockers Half Moon Run headlining Electric Brixton at the London date of their tour supporting brand new album A Blemish in the Great Light. The album was released at the start of the month and I'm really enjoying it, with highlights for me being the single Favourite Boy, the quite intense and immense (over seven minutes long) Razorblade and the lyrically humorous Jello on my Mind.

Opening up for the band for the current run of European shows is fellow Canadian Leif Vollebekk , who created the perfect atmosphere for the show. It's a pretty positive sign when a support act can get some crowd participation going in the first track of their set. When not helping with harmonies or clapping/clicking, the crowd was mostly quiet for his set, respecting and clearly enjoying his music.  There was a really endearing effortlessness as he made up the setlist on the spot. Flitting between the piano and guitar, Leif's musicality was as compelling as his beautifully unique vocals which really captured my heart when I first heard his music through single Hot Tears a few months back. If you like the track below, he released his album New Ways on the same day as HMR - listen here.

Once Leif had finished up, it wasn't long until Half Moon Run took to the stage. I last saw them back in 2015 when they headlined the much smaller Oslo in Hackney, and I'd forgotten quite how impressive a live band they are. All multi-instrumentalists, they're each usually playing more than one instrument at once, or at least switching between one or two seamlessly within tracks. Drums and keys? No problem. Guitar, harmonica and keys? Easy. Slide guitar and guitar? Not an issue. All of this while coming together to create the sublime four part harmonies that the band are loved for. The result of these various additional instruments is that the band are able to create a much richer soundscape, with far more depth than you might expect from a four-piece band.

The setlist featured a mix of tracks from all three albums; the new record, their debut Dark Eyes and second album Sun Leads Me On. The newer tracks were received incredibly well and it seemed the crowd had already learned a lot of the lyrics, despite having had just under a week to do so! Favourites from the past two albums elicited a lot of singalongs, mainly on the likes of Call Me In The Afternoon and Full Circle, two of their best known songs from the debut. A highlight of the set was a stripped back performance of Sun Leads Me On at the front of the stage around one microphone, with the band showing that they can tackle the quieter tracks just as well.

There was a slightly overwhelming response from the crowd as the band took back to the stage for the encore, with unfailing clapping and cheering, which the band lapped up. Eventually, Dev asked for quiet for a "serious" song... cue Jello on my Mind. It was a really superb evening with two brilliant artists and a whole lot of talent on show. If you get the chance to see either of them live - be sure to take it. In fact, Communion have London shows coming up with both of them - Half Moon Run are at the Roundhouse on 12th March (tickets here) while Leif Vollebekk headlines Bush Hall on 28th April (tickets here.)

Follow Half Moon Run - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Follow Leif Vollebekk - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LIVE: Dawes at Islington Assembly Hall (4/11/19)

It's been exactly three years since Dawes were last over in the UK, playing a trio of shows to promote fifth album We're All Gonna Die. I saw them at the Islington Assembly Hall at the time, and found out during the show that they were playing an acoustic set at Rough Trade the following afternoon. Cue a spontaneous decision to travel back to London the next day, obviously. I also found out about a Sofar Sounds show they were playing and somehow managed to get into that too, and it became a really dreamy couple of days following a band I love around London. I've spent much of the time since eagerly awaiting their return, particularly after they released Passwords last Summer. Fast forward three years and I find myself in the exact same venue, watching them exactly three years to the day - I approve of the synchronicity. I wasn't planning to review the show, and spent much of the evening in a combined state of sleepy (I'd travelled to the gig straight from work) and in awe, but considering the rarity of a London show for the band, a write-up feels deserved. 

With ten years as a band under their belts, what always excites me about seeing Dawes live is how much they are genuinely enjoying themselves up on the stage. You most certainly should not go to a Dawes gig if you're hoping to watch them play their albums exactly as they are on record. Instead, expect SO much more. Enigmatic and endearing frontman Taylor Goldsmith provides vocal variations to keep the audience on their toes, and a procession of wild guitar solos as he jams with bassist Wylie Gelber, drummer Griffin Goldsmith and Lee Pardini on keys. As somebody with very little musical skill myself, it's impossible not to be in awe of the band through these instrumental sections, skirting the line between it seeming completely effortless, and as if they are giving the performance every ounce of energy. 

Beyond the music itself, the lyrics of Dawes, mostly the work of frontman Taylor, are pieces of poetical wonder. He manages to blend sadness and humour beautifully, drawing from real life experiences, relatable scenarios and contemporary issues. While quite simple, one of the lyrical highlights for me is the closing track All Your Favorite Bands, where the crowd prove their worth with a powerful singalong. The title track to album four, it's a kind of romantic ode to a lover, a friend, anybody that you care about, exploring various ways in which you could tell them just that, and settling on "may all your favourite bands stay together." I absolutely adore the sentiment.

Elsewhere in the set, the crowd singalong throughout, but most fervently for the likes of When My Time Comes, Somewhere Along The Way and A Little Bit Of Everything. With six albums to choose from, the setlist (which changes between shows, offering the band the opportunity to cycle through rarely played tracks alongside the favourites) actually manages to touch fairly equally on all albums, giving fans a real snapshot of the progression of the last ten years. Even without my favourite track (I Can't Think About It Now - I simply adore the instrumental section in it, it's one of my favourite tracks ever because of it) it was probably my favourite Dawes set that I've seen. A completely magnificent return to London. Now, perhaps not a three year wait for the next one? Fingers crossed!

Follow Dawes - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LIVE: Sofar Sounds Oxford at The Rowing Club Bar & Cafe (24/9/19)

For the three years that I studied in Oxford from 2014 to 2017 one of my favourite things to do was helping out at Sofar Sounds shows in the city. I started volunteering as a photographer at the shows a couple of months after moving there and got to see lots of brilliant artists in various intimate (and often bizarre) venues around the city - a bicycle cafe, an independent cinema, a museum and an art gallery to name a few. I had some time off work last week and headed back to Oxford for the first time in a couple of years. It was really great to be back in the city and luckily my trip coincided with a Sofar - it was a treat to be back!

China Bears

If Sofar Sounds is new to you - they're an organisation run mostly by volunteers, curating live music events in over 400 cities around the world. Originally set up to combat the issue of people talking around you and using phones etc at gigs, they create an environment for people to sit and discover new artists away from distractions. As the line-up and venue aren't announced until close to the show, there is an element of mystery and the opportunity to discover something new - it's a real joy to be part of! 

Tuesday's show took place at the Rowing Club Bar & Cafe at the City of Oxford Rowing Club, overlooking the Thames. I took a beautiful walk along the river from the centre of town to get to it. It was great to be reunited with my friends on the Sofar crew, as well as to meet some of the new volunteers and we had four brilliant artists on the line-up.

Opening up the show, it was a real pleasure to catch local (ish) guys China Bears playing their first ever Oxford show. I blogged about a couple of their songs recently and I'm really enjoying their debut EP I've Never Met Anyone Like You which was released via Fierce Panda Records back in August. Giving us a stripped back set showcasing their honest songwriting and indie influences it was a really fun way to open the show, and really sweet to meet the guys after the show. They're fans of the blog so I may be a little biased towards them... here's a video of them performing the EP title track from a Sofar London show!

Next up and hailing from Vancouver were duo Momento. I'm a fan of a violin at a gig, but what's better than one violin on stage? Two violins! Though their live set is now more electric in nature, they offered us a stripped back set (because they couldn't carry all the extra kit on the train, I think) covering popular tracks. Their immense talent and stage presence was obvious immediately and they very quickly got the audience on side - it was a really typical Sofar set, something that you might not expect and might not have usually gone to see, but which everybody seemed to love. Watch a cover of The Killers' Mr Brightside below!

Having travelled down from a show in York the night before especially for the night, next up was Sofar veteran Kim Logan. She's played lots (upwards of 70, I think?) Sofar shows and helps curate Sofar Paris as she currently lives between New York and Paris. Also (do you sense a theme?!) delivering a stripped back set and promising that her usual show was a full band rock affair, Kim sang a set of country and blues infused acoustic tunes. There's a video from Sofar Long Island below, featuring live dancing. Very Sofar.

Last up and after a long day exploring the gorgeous museums that Oxford has to offer, the lively set I needed to wake me up - Oxford favourites of mine, Little Brother Eli. It was the third Sofar I've seen the guys at, and my ninth time seeing them in total. I'll never tire of the infectious energy of frontman Alex Grew and his impressively broad vocal range, while backing him up, Josh Rigal and Adam Stowe offered superb musicianship and lovely harmonies. They're a well oiled machine and a local favourite and you can catch them playing at the O2 Academy Oxford for their Christmas gig on 21st December (tickets.)

Overall it was a really lovely show and is one of my favourite ways to experience live music - a really calm and inclusive environment where you're likely to leave the show having seen something you didn't expect, and lots that you loved. Long may shows like Sofar Sounds continue - I think it is clear that fans and artists alike love these shows! Check out the Sofar website here to see if there are shows happening close to you and take a chance on an evening of music discovery - you won't regret it!

Follow China Bears - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Follow Momento - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Follow Kim Logan - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Follow Little Brother Eli - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

GIG NEWS: Bear's Den at Eventim Apollo (20th Feb)

Did I mention that I really love Bear's Den yet? Once or twice, probably. After playing a cracking headline slot on the Communion stage at Citadel Festival recently the guys have announced their next London headline show for next February. Having played a gorgeous show there in 2017, they're heading back to London's Eventim Apollo on February 20th and tickets are on sale now!

Tickets for the February gig, as well as their UK tours in August and November are on sale here.

Follow Bear's Den - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

TOUR NEWS: Ferris & Sylvester (Autumn 2019)

With a sold out headline tour across the country already under their belts earlier in the year, the magical Ferris & Sylvester have just announced a 20-date UK and Ireland headline tour through September and October. They'll follow up a string of festival slots at the likes of Bushstock, Glastonbury and Boardmasters from June to August with shows in Oxford, Brighton, London, Manchester and many (many) more. 2019 is looking to be a pretty sweet year for the duo who have also taken their gorgeous blend of blues, folk and Americana to SXSW, The Great Escape, on a support tour with Billy Lockett and recently on the Under The Apple Tree tour with Wildwood Kin. Check out this stunning Maida Vale session performance of recent single Sickness to see for yourself just how superbly talented the pair are (also - that harmonica!)

UK tour dates below - check out their website for tickets (on sale today!) and a list of their upcoming festival appearances.

September

3rd: Boiler Room, Guildford

4th: The Horn, St Albans

5th: Omeara, London

16th: Hare & Hounds, Birmingham

17th: The Bullingdon, Oxford

18th: Metronome, Nottingham

19th: Green Door Store, Brighton

20th: Think Tank?, Newcastle

22nd: Stereo, Glasgow

23rd: Mash House, Edinburgh

25th: Lost Lane, Dublin  

27th: Phase One, Liverpool

29th: The Wardrobe, Leeds

30th: The Portland Arms, Cambridge

October

1st: Deaf Institute, Manchester

3rd: Forum, Tunbridge Wells

4th: Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham

6th: Sin City, Swansea (Fringe Fest)

8th: Old Bakery, Truro

9th: Phoenix, Exeter

Follow Ferris & Sylvester - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LIVE: Bear's Den at Rock City (9/4/19)

I'm sitting in a coffee shop tasked with writing a review of Tuesday night's Bear's Den show at Nottingham's Rock City. My first thought is to simply paste the word 'wow' a few hundred times, because I am completely in awe of this band and struggling to find the right words to explain just how magical they are - but for the sake of a more interesting post I'll give it a go...

The show in Nottingham followed a short run of shows in Europe and marked the start of the band's first UK tour in a couple of years. After seeing them seven times in just under a year from 2016 to 2017 it has been a long wait - and I am so glad that they are back playing live and with lots of brilliant new music in tow. Soundtracking my review writing is the band's new album So that you might hear me - it's not released until 26th April but I've been treated to an early stream - I'll be posting a review soon but I can promise fans that it is a gorgeous record and you're going to adore it.

Bear's Den live at Rock City, Nottingham

Opening the night was Tusks, AKA Londoner Emily Underhill. I have a lot of respect for an artist (particularly the opening act) who can bring a crowd to near silence with just an electric guitar for company on stage (she usually has the backing of a four-piece band, but joked to the crowd about having run out of money to pay them after the European dates of the tour.) I went to the show armed only with the knowledge of the support act's name, so had no idea what to expect and was - as I think the 2000 strong crowd were too - watching in quiet admiration for the duration of her set. A personal highlight was a stunningly understated cover of London Thunder by Foals which I've shared below.

Once Tusks' set finished, the stage was readied for Bear's Den, with an almost immeasurable number of guitars both on and off the stage, and a beautiful backdrop made from hundreds of feathers, paying homage to the artwork for the new record. 9pm arrived and the lights went down (ten points for perfect timekeeping) and the anticipation in the room became quickly apparent, it's safe to say Nottingham had missed them. The band took to the stage, a six-piece live ensemble, and opened the set with Fuel On The Fire, the first taste of the new record which they dropped back in January. Consider the bar set for the rest of the evening.

Performing a mixture of tracks from all three records, there was huge variety throughout in terms of both volume and tempo. Updated arrangements of older tracks refreshed the set, and despite it being my eighth Bear's Den show it felt like seeing them for the very first time again (a thought which leads to much fond reminiscing of their headline slot at Bushstock in 2015.) What better way to be reminded just how brilliant the band are in a live setting than with two tracks performed without any amplification or microphones. First, early track Sophie performed from the front of the stage and, during the encore, new album single Blankets Of Sorrow played within the crowd. It's pretty mesmerising to see a band perform to a crowd of that size entirely unplugged, creating an intimacy you wouldn't usually expect from that size of show. Sophie in particular left me totally in awe, it encompassed a power that I really couldn't wrap my head around at the time. (Chuffed to find that somebody has uploaded a video of that particular track here.)



As well as Fuel On The Fire and Blankets Of Sorrow the band played four more tracks from the new record - recent single Laurel Wreath and unreleased tracks Fossils, Crow and my personal favourite from the new record, Hiding Bottles (at the moment I'm adoring the lyric "yeah I'm keeping it together but you don't know the half of it, it's starting to show, no I'm not on top of this.") The new tracks were received superbly, but the crowd was probably most excited for an impromptu cover of (the chorus of) Nelly Furtado's I'm Like A Bird, which was as simultaneously crazy and wonderful as it sounds. That'll teach Davie not to joke on stage about being so rock and roll that they'd been singing her songs backstage - cue the entire crowd yelling at them to play it - "you've gotta sing along otherwise we're fucked [...] I can't believe this is happening."

So well loved are the band that it felt as if the majority of tracks they played were fan favourites, each receiving cheers of excitement from the very first notes. Testament to just how many brilliant songs they have, my personal favourite Magdalene is sadly not on the setlist at the moment, but I think I can forgive them. Bringing out the electric guitars and synths from the second record, the likes of Auld Wives, Emeralds and title track Red Earth & Pouring Rain received a rapturous welcome and got the crowd singing along, but nowhere are the audience louder (I think) at a Bear's Den show than during first album track Isaac. The track features the lyric "I'm gonna give all my love to you" - it was lovely to see how happy, and in a way shocked, the guys were to hear the crowd singing this back to them so loudly at this point - I love a band that doesn't take that level of fan interaction for granted!

A huge highlight of the set for me was another first album track, When You Break, which contrasted enormously with the unplugged segments of the show as the band descend into a jamming, drum-pounding and strobe-light infused outro which left me in a complete state of amazement. This level of variety in between tracks is one of the things that makes a Bear's Den show so exciting. As the show neared its end, Above The Clouds of Pompeii and closing track Agape, both from the first album, offered the crowd a last opportunity to exercise their lungs and show some love for the band - and they did!

As you've probably guessed, I loved the show and I really really love this band. A few dates are sold out, but they have a few UK shows still to come, including two nights at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, followed by a US tour in May and June - all the dates and ticket info are here - I hugely recommend getting along to a show if you can.

I'm really excited for what the year has in store for the band, they're on the cusp of releasing a brilliant record and deserve every ounce of success it brings - from previous shows and chatting to them after the gig on Tuesday I can attest to Davie and Kev being two of the sweetest, kindhearted and humble people I've had the joy of meeting and my heart is currently swelling with pride for them. Now: buy a ticket and pre-order the incredible new record So that you might hear me here, you can thank me later.

Follow Bear's Den - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Follow Tusks - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.