Nowhere Town

Curtis Eller’s American Circus return to the UK this November for ten shows. Once described as New York City’s angriest yodelling banjo player, Curtis will once again have his ‘sons’ Bradley Blackwell on upright bass and Matthew Rheeston on drums comprising the American Circus. You can read our review of a show from the last … Continue reading »

On August 25th The Verge (above the Cheshire Ring) in Hyde hosts the first ever Manchester Americana Festival. The all day event features numerous acts from the North West and beyond, entry is just £5. More details of the line up that features the likes of Richie Syrett, Blind River Scare, Garron Frith and Quiet … Continue reading »

Previously acclaimed as “The most exciting and promising band in Sheffield”, Pistola Kicks certainly offer something a little different. Not least when they perform their stripped down acoustic ‘Los Pepe Sessions’. Almost two bands for the price of one. Lazy Baby Hurricane is from their 2011 EP Proceed Advance/Lazy Baby Hurricane.

It’s always a pleasure stumbling across bands that are completely new to you quite by accident. Just such a thing happened with London based four piece Novella. Eat Yourself is taken from their self titled EP on Italian Beach Babes records.

Dave Harding of the mighty Richmond Fontaine has announced the release of his second solo album on El Cortez Records. You Came Through is the follow up to his 2007 offering Across The Road and features ten brand new tracks put together at the end of 2011. Production duties were again handled by Mike Coykendall … Continue reading »

This looks rather fun. The Washington in Sheffield plays host to fine Americana themed triple bill in celebration of July 4th. No strangers to these pages The Payroll Union head up the evening, as they kick off a busy couple of months of gigs and recording. The line up is completed by one of two … Continue reading »

Otis Gibbs is back in the UK supporting latest record Harder Than Hammered Hell which we talked about back here not so long ago. Having already played shows in Ireland and appeared at this weekend’s just gone Maverick Festival, the tour continues in Bristol on July 3rd with 18 more UK dates to come as … Continue reading »

Another random stumbled across while going to see somebody else at a gig. Based in Sheffield and from one live snapshot and two songs available on Bandcamp (both downloadable for free too) all we can say about Andrew Tregoning is that’s he sounds really rather good. He’s supporting Carrie Rodriguez at Sheffield’s Greystones in June. … Continue reading »

A Good Enough Day was a 2007 offering from another fine Canadian singer/songwriter, Royal Wood. Our choice cut Juliet is featured below. Compared to the likes of Ron Sexsmith and Rufus Wainwright, A Good Enough Day found a number of its tracks making their way onto film and TV soundtracks and led to Royal being … Continue reading »

May already? This year’s going quick. We saw some great shows in April. Tours overlapping from last month include Chuck Prophet, Simone Felice and there are still Irish dates to come for Amanda Shires and Rod Picott. Those Irish dates lead up to and include what looks to be another wonderful Kilkenny Roots Festival over … Continue reading »

Twilight Hotel hail from Canada but are now based in Austin, Texas. They just finished a European tour and we caught the last show in Nottingham at The Maze (sharing a bill with Amanda Shires). Sounding a little like a gothic take on Whitehorse, the multi-instrumented duo proved to be darkly entertaining. When The Wolves … Continue reading »

Quiet Loner (aka singer/songwriter Matt Hill) is inviting the public to attend the live recording of his third album – a collection of self-penned protest songs entitled Greedy Magicians. The recording takes place at Salford’s Sacred Trinity Chapel on Thursday May 10th. All concert attendees will receive a free copy of the record once it … Continue reading »

Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest drummers and most influential musicians of all time, the great Levon Helm sadly passed away yesterday. Between The Band, his solo output and other projects we’re left with a wonderful musical legacy that we’re unlikely to see the like of again. Sleep well Levon.

Killing Fields Of Ontario are set to release brand new single Cloud on May 7th. Following on from their 2010 LP The Shock Of The Sparks which brought them national radio attention, the band have been back in the studio working on new material. Cloud will be the band’s first single and is backed with … Continue reading »

Dolly Varden have announced some details of their forthcoming new record. They have released a ‘sneak peak’ version of the track Saskatchewan to Chicago which is available for free download via their website: http://www.dollyvarden.com The track can also be streamed from there. In return for signing up to their mailing list the band promise further … Continue reading »

Sheffield Americana three piece The Payroll Union are currently offering new song Mary Lamson for free download. You can grab your copy here. A tale typically steeped in American history, the song is taken from a session the band recently recorded for Exposed Magazine. You can watch videos from the session plus read an interview … Continue reading »

Saluting Magpies is the second EP release from South Yorkshire quartet In Fear Of Olive. Debut offering All We Can Do Is Wonder drew more than favourable praise and set the bar high for the follow up. Fortunately the band have delivered another four tracks (five if you buy the download version) that should once … Continue reading »

Here we go then with another month of our live music highlights that lay ahead. Firstly overlapping from last month, you can still catch Rachel Harrington & The Knock Outs who have a handful of dates remaining in Scotland. We had the pleasure of catching the tour in March. Highly recommended (look out for a … Continue reading »

Last night we were introduced to the wonderful music of Canada’s Cam Penner. In the UK promoting latest album Gypsy Summer he certainly won himself at least one new fan here. Completely uninitiated until catching a stunning performance from Cam on acoustic guitar and harminica, with sideman Jon Wood trading between electric guitar and lap … Continue reading »

Ok, so we previously featured Otis Gibbs in our festive Essential Listening selections, but the good news for fans of the favourite son of Wanamaker, Indiana is that he has a new regular season album on the way. Harder Than Hammered Hell is officially released in the UK in May (though you can buy direct … Continue reading »

Now in its fourth year in the UK, April 21st is the date for 2012′s Record Store Day. Originating in the States in 2007, Record Store Day was launched as a celebration of the sadly declining independent record store. While numbers still continue to fall, vinyl sales in the UK are on the up. Of … Continue reading »

The sweet voiced country soul sounds of Rachel Harrington have caused quite a stir in the UK over the last few years. Building an ever growing audience and with three studio albums behind her, Harrington’s fourth offering has seen a punchy (!) new change of direction. Cranking up the volume and forming all girl band … Continue reading »

Head over to http://www.hanschew.com/ and for just the price of an e-mail address you can grab yourself Mercy, the brand new single from Hans Chew. Hans is currently recording the follow up to his critically acclaimed debut album, Tennessee & Other Stories… in the legendary music town of Woodstock. Mercy will be released to coincide … Continue reading »

Part review, part essential listening, part gig pick, so posted as a Feature… Like his home state of New Jersey, PJ Bond is a contradiction. His music is as the same time bittersweet and abrasive, melancholic and beautiful with his recorded output proving the point. Debut solo album, “You Didn’t Know I was Alphabetical” is … Continue reading »

Starting out as an experimental spoken word bluegrass band, The Deadly Gentlemen developed to play what they call “epic folk and grasscore”, a punk mentality applied to bluegrass. Featuring Greg Liszt (of Crooked Still and Bruce Springsteen’s Seegar Sessions band) on banjo and vocals; Stash Wyslouch, guitar and vocals; Mike Barnett, fiddle and vocals; Dominick … Continue reading »

Another great month of gigs lays ahead. Here’s our pick of what’s coming up this March. Crossing over from last month, Austin Lucas has 7 dates remaining of his UK tour beginning in Bristol and winding up in Brighton on the 7th. Another man who kicks off his tour on February 29th is Canada’s Matt … Continue reading »

The Man In Black would have been 80 years old today. The Drive-By Truckers said it best. “Dammit Elvis, don’t he know, he ain’t no Johnny Cash“ Happy Birthday JC.

Crime writer and Nowhere Town contributor Nick Quantrill is set to release his latest novel this spring. Combining two of his great loves, the afore-mentioned crime literature with music, The Late Greats sees ex-rugby league player turned private investigator Joe Geraghty embroiled in the attempted comeback of New Holland, Hull’s most successful band of the … Continue reading »

Official confirmation has been made today of the dates for Sheffield’s 2012 Tramlines festival. Launched in 2009, this will be the 4th year for the city wide free event that continues to go from strength to strength. Indeed 2011 saw Tramlines scoop the ‘Best Metropolitan Festival’ gong at The UK Festival Awards, beating the likes … Continue reading »

Fresh out of Hull…Last Winter Dance Party are a sort of supergroup, drawing members and influences from a wide range of genres. It’s not easily nailed down to folk, American or indie - it’s just joyful life affirming music. “The Dawn Chorus” currently sits at number five in the Strummerville DIY download chart. Maybe the band … Continue reading »

“it ain’t just country music gets me moving across this floor but it’s the only thing that made me cry and kept me coming back for more” That’s a line that just about sums up what this record is all about. Newport Line is the first release from Welsh singer/songwriter Greg Harrisburg. A stripped down, … Continue reading »

Wether it be as part of semi-legendary band Mat Wale & The Rackets, Mat Wale & Friends, or various other bands and side projects, Mat Wale has been writing and recording for almost ten years (though he barely seems old enough for it to be that long). The one constant through many guises is the … Continue reading »

What started out as epic drinking and busking sessions to celebrate Christmas 2011 saw a group of Portsmouth musicians, The Southsea Alternative Choir, raise £1,500 for local cerebral palsy charity, Samuel’s Fund. Comprising members from several groups in the city, including Jim Lines from ‘Ricky’, who enjoyed chart success with their sixties-inspired take on Britpop, … Continue reading »

The Silver Darlings are a transient collection of musicians, based around the mainstay of singer/songwriter Andy Whitehouse (much like the similarly aquatically titled Eels in a way). Described as downbeat romantics and helpless optimists, after several years of solo shows and band gigs in various configurations, with as near a settled line up as they … Continue reading »

As we roll into February the gig diaries start to look a little a fuller. Here’s our pick of the month ahead. We should of course begin with Quiet Loner, Dan Raza and Greg Harrisburg who we recently interviewed here about their upcoming tour. The dates begin in Bedford on the 5th and also take … Continue reading »

Nothing is wrong with our top ten albums of 2011. Except had we gotten around to hearing Dawes 2011 album Nothing Is Wrong in 2011, it’s a surefire bet it would have comfortably made that list. Word is that album number three could be in the works before the end of the year. But that … Continue reading »

Between making great records with wife Diane Christiansen as part of Chicago’s Dolly Varden, and various other side projects, Steve Dawson has unleashed a couple of solo offerings. 2010′s I Will Miss The Trumpets And The Drums is an album packed full of soul, and this track is as good as anything gets.  

February offers a rare treat for gig goers with a triple barreled tour featuring three fine singer/songwriters. Taking to the road for a ‘package tour’ comprised of individual sets and collaborations will be Quiet Loner (aka Matt Hill), Dan Raza and Greg ‘Harrisburg’ Rees. Nowhere Town talks to the trio about current works, future plans … Continue reading »

Jeffrey Foucault made some of the finest records of the 2000s. He’s still at it with latest effort Horse Latitudes. Everybody’s Famous is taken from said album. It’s difficult to suggest as to where else to start. Talk of his ‘best’ album seems to genuinely divide opinion. You can’t really go wrong anywhere. Just start … Continue reading »

Justin Townes Earle has announced the release of new record Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now. The record will be available from March 27th through Bloodshot Records. The title track is currently available for free download at http://www.justintownesearle.com in exchange for signing up for the mailing list. Justin is set to … Continue reading »

Back in July when Nowhere Town spoke to Joe Solo he told us about the new record Going Home: Music From Potter’s Field Vol II that he was working on. Well it’s arrived and he plays two album launch shows at the end of this month. On Thursday January 26th he heads to York’s ‘pub … Continue reading »

It took former member of The HaveNots Liam Dullaghan almost 3 years to deliver his debut solo album. It was time well spent. It’s here now. And it’s been a worthwhile wait. Indeed we included it in our top ten albums of 2011. The Irish Times called Making History “an amalgam of the joys of … Continue reading »

It’s another brief one this month, but here are a few highlights of what’s happening as 2012 gets underway. We’ll begin at the end, January 31st, when Canadian duo Whitehorse make their UK ‘debut’ at the Railway Inn, Winchester. We say ‘debut’ as it’s the first official outing for Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland‘s duo … Continue reading »

We’ve already brought you our top ten albums of the year as featured here. Now for a round up of a few things that don’t fit in such a list… So our favourite new musical discoveries of 2011 that weren’t actually new but we heard for the first time: The Good Lovelies Canadian all girl … Continue reading »