25 January 2019

Dan Stuart The Islington, London 28 November 2018 Dan Stuart, voice of long-lost alt-country rockers Green On Red, returned to these shores with an elegantly jaded, world-weary angst as he championed his album ‘The Unfortunate Demise Of Marlowe Billings’. Touring with guitarist (and album sidekick) Tom Heyman, he’s here joined by Long Ryder Sid Griffin for a show that ends up being almost three hours of biting, rootsy Americana. Heyman kicks things of with his own set featuring a lot of elegant fingerpicking, much of it on 12-string. From San Francisco, yet someone who studied in Reading, he throws in pub rock references as he plays numbers such as Out West – a figure described by Stuart as “Kris Kristofferson morphed with Stephen Bruton”. Griffin has made London his home, so much so that he’s wearing a sleeveless pullover, a rarity in roots-rock. Wielding a mandolin (and sometimes his proud possession, a gleaming new Grafton banjo), it’s a finely-crafted set that takes in the likes of Everywhere (a song written with Greg Trooper and covered by Billy Bragg), the Long Ryders’ If I Were A Bramble and You Were A Rose (a duet with wife Rhiannon), all ending in a pumping, stage-striding singalong of The Day The Last Ramone Died, a bluegrass(ish) tribute the New York’s finest. At this point, Stuart and Heyman arrive on stage, a semi-acoustic power trio of guitars and mandolin. Stuart, charmingly unkempt, a man out of his time, wears a brown velvet jacket, another thing you don’t see so much of in country these days. The deadpan delivery and bitter humour belies a craftsman’s touch, years spent living in Mexico or the deserts of Arizona inspiring an ethereal out-on-the-edge sound tinged with echoing Mexican motifs. Much of the set is worked around songs from the new album – the hard rocking Joke’s On Me, the angst of The Day William Holden Died, the chant-like venom of Tucson, the love song turned on its head of Why I Ever Married You and the bleakly beautiful Upon A Father’s Death. In-between, Stuart jokes and jibes, taking on ex-wife, politics and the world in general, someone who was an angry young man, but realises he’s still angry…but not so young anymore. Exquisite runs from both Heyman and Griffin create a soundscape of the big skies of America as the drama plays out, a work of art from three blokes in a pub – albeit a posh one. Nick Dalton  

Ashley Monroe has revealed that she will be releasing a five-track EP featuring five acoustic versions of songs from her recently released fourth album ‘Sparrow’, which will be available on 15 February and can be pre-ordered now. The Grammy-nominated artist has shared one track from the upcoming release in the shape of Wild Love, which is available on all streaming platforms as of now. ‘Sparrow’ itself peaked at #1 on the iTunes singer-songwriter chart upon its release, with a number of critics declaring the album as one of the best to come out of 2018. The Pistol Annie member is currently on a tour of the UK and Europe and being on UK soil added extra significance to the timing of the ‘Sparrow Acoustic Sessions’ EP announcement, with so much being inspired by Monroe’s first trip to London. “It means a lot to be releasing the acoustic version of Wild Love while I’m in the UK, because the song was inspired by my very first trip to London,” Monroe said. “The confidence everyone had made me feel so alive. The fans here in the UK really listen and appreciate music so deeply and it brings me such an energy to be back playing shows here.” Ashley Monroe will be playing: January 27 – Saint Luke’s (Celtic Connections), Glasgow, Scotland January 29 – Bush Hall, London, England (sold out) January 30 – Bush Hall, London, England (sold out)