We’re all big fans of Hannah Wood and Abbe Martin, better known as Sound of the Sirens here at Riot Towers. Since seeing them for the first time less than two years ago at The Half Moon in Putney, they’ve been working incredibly hard to bring their own unique blend of perfect harmonies, dynamics that range from a whisper to a whirlwind and a bunch of songs that combine memorable melodies with lyrics that are poetic and profound. It’s not necessarily cheerful but the overall experience is always life-affirming.
After a reasonably busy 2015, which included Glastonbury, both Carfests, a live appearance on Radio 2 and an appearance on TFI Friday, Hannah and Abbe have really put the pedal to the metal this year with appearances all the major festivals from the Isle of Wight to Cropredy. Now the festival season’s over, it’s time for a rest, yeah? No chance, they’re working on the new album and they’re going back on the road headlining a mini autumn/winter tour. If you want to see this force of nature in action, here’s where to go:
Friday October 14 Bush Hall, Shepherd’s Bush, London
Saturday October 15 Deaf Institute, Manchester
Tuesday November 29 Notes Café, Southampton
Wednesday, November 30 Gwdihw, Cardiff
Thursday, December 1 Exeter Cathedral
If you go along to any of these gigs, make sure you take along some extra cash because you will want to buy CDs at the end.
You could hear huge sighs of relief in guitar shops all over Britain earlier this year when Henrik Freischlader announced his return to playing and recording music. His playing’s very accessible to all, but guitarists just can’t get enough of him. Whatever the reasons for his extended sabbatical he’s come back firing on all cylinders with a great new album “Openness” and he’s now coming back to the UK to play some dates as the Henrik Freischlader Trio with Alex Grube (bass) and Carl-Michael Grabinger (drums) working in the engine room. His playing alone will have the guitarists in the audience salivating, but he has another secret weapon; he has a very, very good blues/soul voice. This isn’t just a guitarist who sings a bit, this is someone who’s a guitarist and a singer and he’s completely at home in both areas.
If you want to see him in the UK in 2016, here are your choices:
Wednesday September 21 The Borderline, London
Thursday, September 22 ABC, Glasgow
Friday, September 23 The Flowerpot, Derby
Saturday, September 24 Yardbirds Club, Grimsby
Sunday, September 25 Komedia Studio, Brighton
Special guests are still being confirmed but the Henrik Freischlader Trio will be joined by Stuart James Band for the London gig and Ben Poole will play in Brighton.
Here’s an interesting one for UK blues aficionados. Lisa Mann, blues singer and bass player, is about to start her first UK tour. She’s been winning awards across the pond for a few years now and she’s touring the UK in support of her latest album, “Move On”. She combines sinuous, funky bass with a powerful, earthy voice that works perfectly for blues ballads, stompers and Motown/Stax soul. She’ll be backed on the tour by Dudley Ross (guitar), Steve Watts (keys) and John Sam (drums).
Like the sound of that? You can see her here:
07/07/16 Worthing Pier’s Southern Pavilion
08/07/16 The Convent, Stroud
09/07/16 The Astor Community Theatre, Deal
10/07/16 The New Crown, Merthyr Tydfil
11/07/16 The Iron Road, Evesham
14/07/16 The Half Moon, Putney
15/07/16 Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival
16/07/16 Pizza Express Music Lounge, Maidstone
17/07/16 The Tunnels, Bristol
Here’s a superb clip to whet your appetite:
There’s a couple of interesting tours coming up in late November/early December that we really thought we should share with you. First up is a tour by the absolute legend Ronnie Spector with her “Ronnie Spector Sings the Fabulous Ronettes” tour, featuring the greatest Ronettes hits, including “Me My Baby”, “Baby I Love You”, “Do I Love You” and “Wallking in the Rain”, plus Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich/Phil Spector originals that became hits as covers, such as “I Can Hear Music” (Beach Boys) and “Chapel of Love” (Dixie Cups). The tour follows the release earlier this month of “The Very Best of Ronnie Spector” on Sony Music.
As if that wasn’t enough, Ronnie’s also working on her new album “English Heart”, a set of covers of songs by the sixties British invasion bands including The Beatles, The Stones, Gerry and the Pacemakers and The Animals which is scheduled for release in April 2016 on 429 Records. If you want to see the greatest hits tour, Ronnie’s doing the following dates:
November 28 Philharmonic Hall Liverpool
November 29 Royal Concert Hall Glasgow
November 30 The Sage Gateshead
December 1 Town Hall Birmingham
December 3 The Barbican London
December 4 Colston Hall Bristol
In early December, the European leg of the Light of Day tour comes to the UK. The Light of Day Foundation is a charity raising funds for research into Parkinson’s and related degenerative diseases, which originated in New Jersey in November 2000 and has been supported by many performers including Bruce Springsteen (whose song gave the Foundation its name), Michael J Fox, Southside Johnny, Darlene Love, Willie Nile, Jakob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Badly Drawn Boy and Gary ‘US’ Bonds.
The headline band for the UK tour this year is Joe D’Urso, Vini ‘Mad Dog’ Lopez, Eric Bazilian, Ed Manion and Jake Clemons. If you want to see some incredible musicians and donate some cash to a very good cause, then you can catch the Light of Day tour on the following four UK dates:
December 4 Oran Mor Glasgow
December 5 TAPE Arts Centre Colwyn Bay
December 6 The Musician Leicester
December 8 The Half Moon, Putney London
You should catch both of these tours if you can, and maybe we’ll see you at The Half Moon for the Light of Day gig.
Right, we’ve just got time to remind you about this. One of the Riot Squad’s favourite keyboard players is coming back to the UK with a tour which starts this Friday in Southend-on-Sea. He’s promoting the brilliant “Mojo Deluxe” album (which we reviewed earlier this year) and you should really make the effort to get out and hear Bob rip it up with his own unique blend of rock, blues New Orleans r’n’b. We may even see you out there.
Here’s the itinerary:
Friday October 9 The Railway Hotel, Southend-on-Sea
Saturday October 10 Boogaloo Blues Weekend, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Sunday October 11 The Navy Club, Maryport
Wednesday October 14 Dusty’s Blues Club, High Wycombe
Thursday October 15 The Green Hotel, Kinross
Friday October 16 The Blue Lamp, Aberdeen
Sunday October 18 Hope Tavern, West Lindsey
Tuesday October 20 Blues Café, Harrogate
Wednesday October 21 Railway Venue, Bromley Cross, Bolton
Thursday October 22 The Jam House, Birmingham
Friday October 23 Keighley Blues Club
Saturday October 24 Catholic Club, Peterlee
Monday October 26 The Bullingdon (Haven Club), Oxford
Tuesday October 27 The 100 Club, London
Wednesday October 28 The Jazz Café, Cardiff
Well, the good news is that now the festival season’s almost over, we’re starting to see a few good tours appearing. Riot Squad favourite Dean Owens has put together a mini-tour in support of his latest single, “I Still Miss Someone” from his superb album of Johnny Cash covers (and one Dean Owens original), “Cash Back”. If you go along to The Cabbage Patch gig in Twickenham, you may even bump into the Riot Squad. We’ll also have a review of “I Still Miss Someone” coming up in the next few weeks.
Saturday October 5
Hazy Recollections (part of Glasgow Americana) CCA Glasgow
Friday October 25
Cafe Panola (Pentland Garden Centre), Loanhead nr Edinburgh
Saturday October 26
Friday November 1
Saturday November 2
Friday November 8
Caffe Borsa, Dundee
Saturday November 9 – Soundhouse No 42, Edinburgh
A few weeks ago we reviewed Paul Carrack’s new album “Good Feeling” here on MusicRiot and we loved it. If you haven’t listened to it yet, you really should. If you want to hear the songs live, Paul and his band are just about to start a UK tour running through October and November. Support on all dates will be the excellent Tinlin.
If you want to see Paul before that, BBC4 are showing an hour-long profile on Friday October 12 (10 pm) as part of an evening of Squeeze-related shows.
Tour dates
October
Tuesday 16 October Derby, Assembly Rooms
Friday 19 October Worthing, Assembly Hall
Saturday 20 October Bournemouth, Pavilion
Monday 22 October Northampton, Derngate
Thursday 25 October Scunthorpe, Baths Hall
Friday 26 October York, Barbican
Monday 29 October Southend, Cliffs Pavilion
Tuesday 30 October Ipswich, Regent
Wednesday 31 October London, Indigo 2
November
Wednesday 7 November Llandudno, North Wales Theatre
Thursday 8 November New Brighton, Floral Pavilion
Sunday 11 November Eastbourne, Congress Theatre
Monday 12 November Swindon, Wyvern Theatre
Tuesday 13 November Swansea, Grand Theatre
Friday 16 November Preston, Charter Theatre
Saturday 17 November Leamington Spa, Royal Spa Centre
Thursday 22 November Crawley, The Hawth
Friday 23 November Southampton, The Brook
Wednesday 28 November Harrogate, Royal Hall
We’ve got another Riot Squad favourite touring the UK in November to launch his new album, “Cash Back”. Dean Owens is on the road for the first couple of weeks in November and I really recommend that you go out and see him; you won’t regret it. If you’re at the Wilmington Arms show, you might even bump in to the Riot Squad on the town.
Friday November 2, 2012
Backstage At The Green Hotel, Kinross
Saturday November 3, 2012 (2 shows )
Afternoon at The Tea Posy @ The Greenhouse Project, Dingwall
Evening show at The Arch, Ullapool
Sunday November 4, 2012
The City Walls, Stirling
Monday November 5, 2012
Glasgow, Cottiers Theatre (album launch show)
Wednesday November 7, 2012
The Ram Jam Club @ The Grey Horse, Kingston Upon Thames
Thursday November 8, 2012
Wilmington Arms, Clerkenwell, London (album launch show)
Friday November 9, 2012
Tynemouth (near Newcastle) House Concert.
Contact Dean for info if you’d like to attend.
Saturday November 10, 2012
Studio 42 (Douglas Robertson Photography), Edinburgh
Sunday November 11, 2012
The Steeple Arts Centre, Newburgh (Fife)
If you haven’t managed to see Riot favourites the Billy Walton Band yet, you can see them across the UK in November of this year. I know I keep saying this, but you really should make the effort to go and see them. Full details available at www.billywaltonband.com .
November 2, 2012 7:00 pm
The Regal Cinema Evesham, Port Street
Evesham, WR11 3LD
November 3, 2012 (Time TBA)
The Flower Pot, 25 King Street
Derby DE1 3DZ
November 4, 2012 4:00 pm
Grimsby Yardbirds Club, Church Street
Grimsby, DN32 7DD
November 7, 2012, 7:00 pm
The Caves, 8-12 Niddry Street South
Edinburgh EH1 1NS
November 8, 2012 (Time TBA)
Backstage at the Green Hotel, 2 The Muirs
Kinross, Perthshire, Scotland KY13 8AS
Billy Walton Band & WT Feaster Band
November 9, 2012 (Time TBA)
The Cluny, 36 Lime St, Ouseburn
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK NE1 2PQ
November 10, 2012 (Time TBA)
Cameron’s Club, Hartlepool
Double Bill w/ WT Feaster
November 11, 2012 (Time TBA)
True Blues Club at Earlestown Conservative Club,
17-19 Earle Street, Newton-le-Willows, WA12 9LW
November 12, 2012, 8:00 pm
The Greystones, Greystones Road.
Sheffield, S11 7BS
Double Bill w/ WT Feaster
November 13, 2012 (Time TBA)
The Cellars, 56 Cromwell Road,
Eastney, PO4 9PN
November 14, 2012 (Time TBA)
The Robin 2, 20-28 Mount Pleasant
Wolverhampton, WV14 7LJ
Double Bill w/ WT Feaster
November 15, 2012 (Time TBA)
Crawdaddy’s, Basildon
Double Bill w/ WT Feaster
November 16, 2012 (Time TBA)
Boom Boom Club/Sutton United Football Club
Gander Green Lane, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 2EY
Double Bill w/ WT Feaster
November 17, 2012 (Time TBA)
Halling Community Center, High Street
Halling, Rochester, ME2 1BS
Double Bill w/ WT Feaster
November 18, 2012 (Time TBA)
The Pavilion, Harbour Street,
Broadstairs, CT10 1EU
The Billy Walton Band are touring the UK between November 3rd and 16th in support of their latest album. You can see them in all these places:
Beaverwood Music Club, Chiselhurst Thursday, November 3
Halling Community Centre, Rochester Friday, November 4
Boom Boom Club/Sutton United Football Club, Sutton, Surrey Saturday, November 5
Glasson Club, Maryport Sunday, November 6
Trojan Rooms, Whitley Bay Monday, November 7
The Greyhound, Beeston Wednesday, November 9
Yardbirds, Grimsby Thursday, November 10
Touchline, Hockley Friday, November 11
The All Saints Art Centre, Whetstone Saturday, November 12
The Brown Jug, Cheltenham Sunday, November 13
Famous Monday Blues at The Bullingdon, Oxford Monday, November 14
The Brook, Southampton Wednesday, November 16
You can get full details here http://www.billywaltonband.com/home.html.
Watch out for an interview with Billy in the next few weeks.