Para fans de Country, Folk y Blues, Rock, y Indie y Alternativa.
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Earle was born in Hampton, Virginia, United States in the 50s, but spent the majority of his childhood in San Antonio, Texas. He learned how to play the guitar at age 11 and by the time he reached 14 he was placing in talent contests. Earle was rebellious as a child and naturally evaded school to focus on music. He ran away from home at 14, dropped out of school at 16 and not long after moved in with his uncle in Texas, who was only a couple of years older and was also a musician. When Earle was 19 he pursued a music career in Nashville and supported himself through various odd jobs. He eventually acquired the position as a staff songwriter for Sunbury Dunbar, but grew bored with Nashville and rerooted to Texas where he formed a group called The Dukes.
Earle returned to Nashville in the 80s as a ghostwriter and had some of his work performed by national legends such as Johnny Lee, Zella Lehr and Carl Perkins. In 1982 he emerged as a solo artist, releasing the studio EP “Pink & Black”. His music teeters on the line of Springsteen style roots rock and traditional outlaw country revivalism. Although his recordings very rarely peered into the mainstream, he was venerated as a cult hero. Earle’s sound took inspiration from country (Merle Haggard, Hank Williams) folk iconoclasts (Bob Dylan, Neil Young) and most notably his personal idol, Townes Van Zandt (whom he named his son, Justin Townes Earl after).
His studio debut album “Guitar Town” was issued in 1986 to critical and commercial acclaim. It followed in line with the trend of rockabilly, which was popular during that time, but it also acted as a strong reinforcement of Townes unique style. Earle put two more albums out in the 80s “Exit o” (1987) and “Copperhead Road” (1988). The latter of the album’s was ostensibly the first of it’s kind to mix the genres of heavy metal and bluegrass. The album’s track “Johnny Come Lately” is a standout on the album in large respects due to the Pogues’ memorable contribution. Earle’s 4th studio album “The Hard Way” came out in 1990 and marked his last release through MCA. By this time Earle had fallen deep into substance abuse and put his life as a recording artist on hold.
He emerged with a vengeful comeback in 1995, putting out his highly anticipated follow up “Train a Comin’”. The album featured Peter Rowan, Norman Blake, Roy Huskey, and Emmylou Harris and earned him a Grammy nomination in the category “Best Contemporary Folk”. This phase saw Earle in full swing and welcomed a frequent and consistent output of albums spanning from the mid 1990s to the early 2000s: “I Feel Alright” (1996), “El Corazon” (1997), “Transcendental Blues” (2000), “Jerusalem” (2002), and “The Revolution Starts Now” (2004).
After a three year break between studio albums he released his 11th studio album “The Revolution Start’s Now”, which brought him his 2nd consecutive Grammy award. His 2009 follow up “Townes” featured experimental virtuoso guitarist Tom Morello and peaked to No. 19 on the US Billboard 200. Acclaimed songwriter, musician, and sound engineer T-Bone Burnett produced Earle’s next album “I’ll Never Get out of This World Alive”. The title shares it’s name with a Hank Williams‘ song as well as with Earle’s first novel. Earle released his 15th studio album “The Low Highway” on 16 April 2013 through the record label New West.
Emmylou released her first album 'Gliding Bird' in 1969. She was still establishing herself in the industry and finding her sound so it was a mixture of Joan Beez influenced originals with covers of some of the country/folk industries most prolific names such as Bob Dylan and Hank Williams. A folk re-imagination of Dionne Warwick/Bacharach/David hit 'I'll Never Fall In Love Again' gained the songwriter particular attention.
Her next LP 'Pieces Of The Sky' came six years later and charted at #7 on the US Country chart, it also included Harris's first hit single 'If I Could Only Win Your Love' which peaked at #4 on the Country singles chart. Whilst there was a lot of buzz around her major label debut, Harris established a solid backing band and released 'Elite Hotel' at the end of the same year. It topped the Country chart and included two number one singles, 'Sweet Dreams' and 'Together Again'. Her album success continued after the release of these two albums, to date she has had fourteen original albums chart within the top 10 of the US Country chart.
She scored a number one in 1987 when she recorded 'Trio' with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. To date she has sold over 5.5 million records in the States. Emmylou is also known for her charity work, since 1999 she has performed an annual tour entitled Concerts for a Landmine Free World with proceeds going to Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation. She has been joined by a large selection of artists on these tours, including Bruce Cockburn, Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle and Joan Baez to name a few. She has been honoured with numerous awards over her long career, perhaps her most successful being thirteen Grammy Award wins. Her first came in 1976 after the release of 'Elite Hotel' she won the award for Best Country Vocal Performance and her most recent was a victory in 2014 in the Best Americana Album category for 'Old Yellow Moon'.
Jackson was born in Germany in 1948 before moving to California where he began folk singing in local clubs. As a teen he moved to New York and became a part of the Greenwich Village scene, befriending the likes of Tim Buckley and Nico. Nico and Jackson became romantically and musically involved resulting in Jackson contributing heavily to her debut album ‘Chelsea Girl’. Although classic songs like ‘These Days’ were Jackson’s compositions he wouldn’t record his own versions till years later.
Under the management of David Geffen, Jackson signed to Asylum Records and released his self-titled debut album in 1971. Singles like ‘Doctor My Eyes’ and ‘Rock Me On The Water’ were popular and a tour with Joni Mitchell helped to further promote the album. His next albums ‘For Everyman’ and ‘Late for the Sky’ received critical and commercial acclaim (the latter peaking at 14 in the album charts) and helped to solidify his sound, becoming known for his memorable melodies and personal lyrics.
As his career continued, his music to remained popular and his contributions to music were acknowledged when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. He also became known as a vocal activist on environmental issues (such as nuclear power and living more ‘greenly’) and has always contributed to charitable causes throughout his career.
It is quite impressive to see the following that Steve Earle has amassed over his career, with a number of fans in the audience looking old enough to have purchased his very first EP way back in 1982. The singer/songwriter has enjoyed critical and commercial success which has taken him around the globe numerous times so his interaction with the crowd between tracks is assured to be interested.
Often described as something of a social commentator within his music, Steve uses the platform to express his views on a number of causes to receive a number of small nods of approval as if to say 'right on'. His performance style remains relatively unchanged with his trusty guitar in hand and very little else to distract from the music.
There is an organic, humble mentality to his performance style and therefore the whole gig feels intimate and personable. By his final bows Steve has well and truly proved that musical integrity and a trueness to your original goal means you can achieve consistent relevance without having to sell yourself short.
Elizabeth Cook's show at the Birchmere in Alexandria was first rate. Her three-piece backing band was tight and featured Derek Green, the producer of her latest album, on guitar and backing vocals. She sang most of the tracks from Exodus to Venus, including Methadone Blues coupled with My Heroin Addict Sister. My personal favorites were two covers, the Velvet Underground's Pale Blue Eyes and J.J. Cale's Magnolia.
On the one hand, it feels as if it’d be daft to suggest that Emmylou Harris is underappreciated - to a generation of songwriters, she’s taken on a status that borders on goddess, and she’s also got no fewer than thirteen Grammys on her mantlepiece - but that said, under her own name, she’s never experienced huge commercial success; the only platinum record she has to hang over said mantlepiece is for Trio, a collaboration with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. Much like her old songwriting partner, and some would say musical soulmate, Gram Parsons, her influence is not in question, but she’s never quite been appreciated by a wider audience. She continues to write and record to this day, with Hard Bargain, her twenty-sixth full-length, released in 2011. She’s still touring, too, and back in May, she played shows in London, Bristol and Brighton that saw her lean heavily on her iconic 1995 album Wrecking Ball in its entirety, as well as play a handful of covers from the likes of Kate McGarrigle and Gillian Welch. For those UK crowds, it was a rare opportunity to see a legend of songwriting in the flesh; she might not be a household name, but neither her fanbase and influence are in serious doubt.
Another certified rock Legend, Jackson Browne practically invented a totally new sound of Rock music in the 1970’s. It helped define a part of the country and the time period. The shows was packed full and in a very large outdoor arena.
Most of the crowd was older but there were some younger people here and there. He had a great back up band. He opened the show with his smash hit “Runnin on Empty”. He played his other hit songs like “Boulevard” and “Somebody’s Baby”. One of the best songs was when he did the radio favorite “Doctor my Eyes” and it really brought the house down. He closed with “The Pretender” and the song “Stay” which is always the perfect show to end a concert on.
He really looked good and his voice sounded great. He did not show or sound his age. He played for almost 2 hours and was really good with interacting with the crowd. He also told a lot of good and funny stories about his life as a rock and roll legend. Everyone was really pleased with the performance and I would see him again if he tours again. It is a rare treat to get to see someone with so many hit songs.
Blues is a genre of music that I love relaxing to at home, and it’s fusion with rock music from Hot Tuna is incredible, and immediately made me want to see them live and hear their exciting and original musical talents displayed live. Their electronic spin on traditional blues tracks is incredible, and the way that they’ve revitalised and modernised traditional favourites to keep them current is incredible. Although the group was started originally as a side project by Jack Cassidy, they’ve achieves much success over the years, and have created some incredible records. The band has seen several line up changes over the years, but fortunately it doesn’t seem to have effected the performance of the remaining members, and if anything, they seem to have improved over the years.
They opened the show with Jorma Kaukonen coming on stage and shouting a welcome into the microphone, before introducing the rest of the band, who then launched straight into Yellow Fever. It’s incredible how they change the instruments that are required for each track, as over the years they’ve lost a harmonica, and violin, and gained a mandolin, just to name a couple. This versatility to make any of their tracks work really demonstrates just how talented they are. The band were great at interacting with the audience, and even took requests for songs.
5 Stars - Molly Tuttle+band with Magpies support at Brudenell Social Club Leeds 28/10/19
Loved Molly at Caroline St Social Club Saltaire (fab venue) earlier this year when solo. This time she brought her band - fiddle, bass, drums which was even better - a real treat. All excellent, fantastic performance - fab 5 star gig!