The touring circuit in region
BRINGS YOU ALL THE LATEST FROM THE BLUES & ROOTS SCENE
THE relentless touring schedule of Bob Dylan, dubbed the “never-ending tour,” really pales alongside that of the Australian guitar phenomenon Tommy Emmanuel, who visits Whitley Bay Playhouse tomorrow night.
Emmanuel should be studied by geneticists for his stamina levels alone because it is a mystery how he maintains the most punishing work schedule in the business which has seen him spend more time in the air than Tim Peake. James Brown and BB King were often tagged as the hardest-working men in showbusiness but Emmanuel, surely, is the undisputed world champion these days.
He arrives at the Playhouse with a recently released “all-star” album, Accomplice One. It features a stellar line-up, too, with Mark Knopfler, Jerry Douglas and Ricky Skaggs among those appearing.
The breadth of styles the album covers is stunning. From his typically masterful country-influenced ‘Travis picking’ to country blues, rock fret-melters and beautifully melodic classics, the standard never fades.
Tommy, always a top-notch accompanist with flawless timing, described his outlook thus: “For me, music has always been about collaboration – the push and pull you get from another human being’s energy. Even when I play solo, it feels like I’m playing to the emotions I’m getting from the crowd. To feel the love or the joy or the hope coming through these other pickers and singers was electric – I played in ways I never would on my own."
Of the album, he said: “It took me two years to record it, and I am very proud of it. There are so many great moments on this record that I truly cherish. One of my favourite songs from Accomplice One is one I recorded with one of the best artists out there, Mark Knopfler. When I approached Mark about playing on my album, he told me he would love to but it has to be one of his songs and “none of that fast stuff”. I immediately concurred, as I love all his compositions. We sat down with our acoustic guitars, and he sang me the song You Don’t Want To Get You One of Those. It’s brilliantly written, and honestly and humbly performed. We recorded it like a performance, playing and singing in the same room. We purposely left it raw. It was a great experience for me to be directed by such an accomplished artist as Mark.”
Emmanuel’s guests for the night are two long-time friends and hot-shot pickers, New York duo Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo who also feature on Accomplice One.
On Monday night, Sage Gateshead has an interesting show in which Chicago-born Nils Lofgren plays songs and talks about his 50 years in music. What a 50 years it has been! Starting on the classical accordion at the age of five, he graduated to guitar in his teens after ten years of music study, mostly in classical and jazz.
While playing with his band, Grin, Lofgren met-up with Neil Young and became a member of Young’s band at the age of 19 and played both guitar and piano on Young’s seminal After The Goldrush album.
He made four albums with Grin in the early 70s, started a solo career and in the early 80s joined Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, initially as replacement for Steve Van Zandt, but both Lofgren and Van Zandt were soon side by side when Springsteen re-formed the band for many subsequent world tours.
More recently, Lofgren has continued his links with Neil Young, tours as a solo artist and is a sometime member of Ringo Starr’s All Star band. He had a hip replacement around 10 years ago which may have been the result of his former gymnastic activities and regular onstage flips (while playing guitar)! He now lives in Arizona.
A couple of days later in Sage Gateshead’s Hall 2, Nashville’s Gretchen Peters is the guest and she has fellow country-folk singer songwriter Kim Richey as her “very special guest”. Peters was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame four years ago and has written songs which were later covered by artists like Shania Twain, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, Neil Diamond and many others.
Her most recent album, Blackbirds, was the UK Americana Association album of the year in 2016.
The Cumberland Arms has the Dan Walsh Trio on Tuesday night. Walsh is widely acknowledged as the UK’s banjo maestro (he also plays guitar and sings) and that recognition has led to calls from the likes of Imelda May, Martin Simpson and Seth Lakeman for collaborative work. His current album, Verging On The Perpendicular, is his fourth to date.
On Sunday night Newcastle’s Boiler Shop has a gig by the long-running Brazilian band, Os Mutantes, who kicked off the ‘tropicalia’ sound several decades ago. Across the river in Sage Gateshead’s Hall 2, the eight-piece Mongolian band Anda Union make a return visit to the venue after receiving widespread praise for their unique vocal and instrumental skills.