Lost Boys find their way to North East
ALAN NICHOL HAS THE LATEST NEWS ON THE ROOTS MUSIC SCENE
A HIGHLY-REGARDED Cornwallbased young folk musician slips in ahead of a clutch of American visitors to head this week’s round-up.
Sam Kelly is originally from the Norfolk farming community but is now based in the deep south west of England.
He is the recipient of the Horizon award (for emerging artists) in last year’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards for his debut album, The Lost Boys.
Kelly started making waves on the folk scene three or four years ago with a couple of EPs which attracted the attention of club and festival bookers and radio stations, too.
Performing in trio format – multiinstrumentalist/singer Kelly plus banjo and percussion – he soon gained prestige slots at Cambridge folk festival and on national radio.
His work has been championed by a strong cast of fellow folk musicians such as Cara Dillon and Sam Lakeman, Sean Lakeman, Kate Rusby and by broadcasters Mark Radcliffe and Mike Harding.
The seven-piece Lost Boys comprises Kelly on vocals/guitars, Ciaran Algar (fiddle, tenor guitar, bouzouki), Jamie Francis (banjo), Toby Shaer (flutes, pipes, whistles, fiddle, cittern), Graham Coe (cello), Archie Moss (melodeon) and Evan Carson (percussion).
The new album, Pretty Peggy, is released to coincide with the UK tour. You can catch Sam Kelly and the Lost Boys at Sage Gateshead’s Hall 2 next Tuesday night (8pm) when the support act is the Manchester quartet, 4 Square.
Thursday night brings several US acts to the north bank of the Tyne. The Live Theatre has a visit from the all-women four-piece, Laura Cortese and the Dance Cards.
Californian Cortese attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she is currently based. She has, however, a strong career as an accompanist with stints with acts such as Band of Horses, Uncle Earl, Jocie Adams (of The Low Anthem) and the late Pete Seeger.
The band – which is Cortese plus cellist Valerie Thompson, fiddler Jenna Moynihan, and bassist Natalie Bohrn – has just released a new album, California Calling, which was produced by Sam Kassirer, who has worked with Lake Street Dive and Joy Kills Sorrow.
On Wednesday night , The Cluny has American guests in Cluny 2. The Colorado collective, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, come with a new album entitled The Commandments According To SCAC (Glitterhouse Records).
The Denver outfit has been making records – in alt.country, psychobilly, folk, blues, gospel, punk-rock and more – for well over two decades and all six studio releases have received critical acclaim. Eclectic should just about cover it!
The band members have featured in a variety of guises over the years – Wovenhand, The Denver Gentlemen, Jay Munly, The Blackstone Valley Sinners are some of them – and this relatively rare European tour sandwiches 10 UK/Ireland dates between trips to France and Russia.
On the same night, upstairs in Cluny’s main room, there is a chance to see Juanita Stein, the Australianborn (but London-based) singer of Howling Bells.
She sang (and played acoustic guitar) with Howling Bells – her brother, Joel, was lead-guitarist – on their four albums, three of which achieved minor chart positions in the UK and in Australia.
Stein has also worked with the Killers and has just been announced as their opening act on nine of their November UK dates.
She formed a band called Albert Albert with Kaiser Chiefs drummer, Nick Hodgson and sang backing vocals on the Coldplay song Up With The Birds (on the album Mylo Xyloto).
She has just released her debut solo album, America, which seems like perfect timing, from a sales perspective, since the Killers tour is a mere few weeks away.
The Cluny has another attractive show, although quite different in style, on Thursday night. American blues guitarist, Kirk Fletcher, is the guest.
The Los Angeles-based Fletcher, former lead-guitarist with the Fabulous Thunderbirds – a highly-prized role which has also been filled by Jimmy Vaughan, Kid Ramos and Duke Robillard among a lengthy list – has fronted his own band for years now and is currently working on his fourth solo album.
He has won numerous awards and been the recipient of significant praise from other players, Joe Bona-