POETRY / THEATRE / MUSIC: FOLK, CLASSICAL, AMERICANA, COUNTRY AND JAZZ Sidetracks & Detours Sunday 1st March 2026

CONTENTS

ALL ACROSS THE ARTS

poetry and creatiove writing

1 Amy Stansfield

2 Northern Voices and Identity

3 Spoken Word and Young Voices

announcing theatre events

4 Heywood Civic Hall re-opens

5 Meet The Hatter

6 Lifting The Curtain

classical music

7 Toad Lane Concert

FOLK MUSIC collated by Expo Folk and Sound Roots

SIDETRACKS & DETOURS

UK folk music

8 Folk Album Of The Year Gala

9 Album Of The Year Gala

10 Jersey Folk Festival

11 Official UK Folk Albums Chart

classical music

12 Music In Porstmouth

country music

13 Lucie Tiger

americana music

14 Lucinda Williams

15 Josh Ritter and Bob Weir: Blue Mountain

live jazz music

16 Ben Crosland´s All Star Jazz band

1 AMY STANSFIELD IN THE POETRY SPOTLIGHT

by Steve Cooke

From Rochdale, at University in Edinburgh and currently living in Canada, Amy Stansfield is a 21-year-old trying to make time to write. She writes everything from journalistic articles to short stories and poems. She is currently planning her first novel.

Kruckle: To roll one’s ankle

Everyone I meet I teach them the word kruckle. I tell them it means to roll one’s ankle, and they say, ‘ohhhh’ that makes sense.

I tell them even in the town over they do not know this word. I tell them I am seeing how far I can spread the word across the world. It is in Canada, for now.

But I do not think these people care to remember, to tell others. So, it is down to me. I will keep trudging along these strange roads I do not recognise. I will say it over and over in my head as I listen to Jesus is a girl from Rochdale while getting strange looks wearing my Burnley shirt.

“This poem is about my connection to my hometown of Rochdale. Living abroad for the first time I feel more connected to British culture, northern culture than ever and I miss it very much. It also touches on my struggle being so far from home and how it can be bitter-sweet to see the world.”

creative writing

Spotland Library

2 NORTHERN VOICES AND IDENTITY

review by Steve Cooke

On Friday 6th February Rochdale hosted a very special afternoon of poetry and spoken word at Spotland Library with Northern Voices and Identity. The mic was firmly in the hands of powerful Northern voices, exploring what identity means to us in 2026.

Hosted by Rochdale’s Poet Laureate, Sammy Weaver, this event was part of a borough-wide series celebrating bold new poetry and creative voices. Visitors found striking words, bold and creative Northern perspectives, and performances that will linger long in their memory.

The theme of identity invited a range of stories and styles, from playful to profound and from personal to political. Performers included:

• Hafsah Aneela Bashir, award-winning poet, playwright, and performer
• Mike Garry, poet and poet-librarian
• Alende Amisi, young poet in residence
• Local poet Yasmin Hussain
• Local poet Sid Calderbank

This event was part of a partnership between Rochdale Borough Libraries, Rochdale Borough Council, and Rochdale Development Agency, funded by Arts Council England and Flexible Funds, and forms part of Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture programme for 2025/26, celebrating Rochdale’s role as the region’s cultural heartbeat.

Together, they are doing a great job of creating space for Northern Voices to inspire and connect our community. :

The Yard in Heywood

3 SPOKEN WORD AND YOUNG VOICES

Preview by Steve Cooke

Spoken Word and Young Voices is an evening of poetry, spoken word, and creative energy at The Yard in Heywood designed especially for young people and their families

Spoken Word and Young Voices is an evening of poetry, spoken word, and creative energy at The Yard in Heywood designed especially for young people and their families.

Rochdale’s Poet Laureate Sammy Weaver will host the session as part of the Rochdale Creates Town of Culture programme, bringing fresh, local voices into the spotlight with young voices, from page to stage

.“Expect electrifying words, lively performances, and plenty of opportunities to hear young people share their stories.”

Youth workers will be on hand throughout the evening to ensure a safe space for everyone, and you will hear
Alende Amisi – young Poet in Residence

Reece Williams – First Story poet

Andy Craven-Griffiths – workshops for writing and performance for all ages

Darnhill Young Poets presenting their own work

Join in, this is more than just listening, it’s about sharing, creating, and championing creative young voices from our fabulous borough.

Whether you’re familiar with poetry or it’s your first time exploring it, you are invited to join in and feel the amazing vibe of spoken word poetry in action. Not to mention you can pick up some tips from the performers.

Delivered in partnership with Rochdale Youth Services, Rochdale Libraries, Rochdale Borough Council, and Rochdale Development Agency, and funded by Arts Council England and Flexible Funds, this event gives young voices a stage to shine.

Free to attend and open to young people and families, go along and catch the bug.

announcing THEATRE EVENTS

4 HEYWOOD CIVIC HALL reopens with a programme of family theatre events

Preview by Steve Cooke

Heywood Civic reopens after a major refurbishment with a programme of family theatre events. The venue now includes a modernised theatre, upgraded facilities and a brand-new bar and kitchen.

The programme includes a variety of family shows including The Detective Dog, The Ultimate Bubble Show and Kpop Fantasy. The Pay What You Can ticketing model means that families with a low household income can book discounted tickets – no evidence needed.

There’s also a free Family Fun Day taking place on Sunday, March 1 with arts, crafts and games for all.

5 Book tickets now for MEET THE HATTER

preview by Steve Cooke

In celebration of their 15th anniversary, Joss Arnott Dance returns with the company’s most ambitious production to date, their brand-new, cinematic dance and multimedia show Meet the Hatter. Integrating dance, storytelling, original music, digital projection, lighting and animation, this epic production features a new retelling of the iconic Hatter character from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – but with a twist.

With no one arriving at the iconic tea party, the lonely Hatter uses the power of his imagination to create his own magical version of Wonderland shown through breath-taking and immersive multimedia – but what adventures lie ahead and who will he meet along the way?

Meet the Hatter takes us on a journey through a spectacular world that celebrates the importance of play, whilst exploring how developing self-belief can open up opportunities we’ve only ever dreamed of.

Rochdale theatre set for dramatic new look

6 LIFTING THE CURTAIN:

By Steve Cooke

Great news for our borough’s theatre goers and fans of live performance with the news that Rochdale’s Curtain Theatre will be getting a new look, after plans for improvements to the exterior of the building have been revealed.

The historic 180 seat theatre that has just celebrated its centenary, will soon benefit from a re-painted facade inspired by the theatre’s signature red, along with new signage and exterior lighting to improve its appearance and visibility as part of wider investment in the area delivered by Rochdale Development Agency.

As well as giving the theatre, which was established in 1925, a more prominent and theatrical appearance, the investment aims to encourage new audiences and improve the appearance of Milkstone Road.

Designs showing what the theatre will look like after work is complete have been produced by architects ‘IF_DO’, who have worked with the volunteer team at the theatre during a series of engagement workshops to develop designs that celebrate its rich theatrical history, while looking to its future

The busy area, close to Rochdale town centre, is benefitting from a series of other improvements and activities, delivered by Rochdale Development Agency and Culture Co-op aimed at celebrating the people, businesses and identity around Milkstone Road. The work is part of the ‘Made in Milkstone’ programme announced last year, supported by Rochdale Borough Council’s Community Regeneration Partnership funding.

Councillor Sue Smith, (right) cabinet member for communities and co-operation at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “I’m pleased to see this progress, helping improve Milkstone Road and putting culture at the heart of regeneration. The work will be in keeping with the theatre and its history, playing on the idea of lifting the curtain through careful use of the theatre’s signature red.

“The design also incorporates new signage and better opportunities to promote their fantastic shows to new audiences. We want to ensure the benefits of investments to Rochdale Station Square extend to the wider neighbourhood too, so it’s a great time to improve another one of our much-loved cultural venues.”

Danny Groves, business director from the Curtain Theatre welcomed the support. He said: “Having a façade like this on the outside, will send a really strong message to people in the town that this is a special place and we’re very keen to welcome new visitors. There’s great energy inside the theatre too and we’re looking forward to the work commencing.”

Sarah Castle, director of architects ‘IF_DO’, added: “We’re delighted to be supporting the transformation of this much-loved community asset. It’s been great to learn about the history of the theatre and the people who keep it running, working with the volunteer team to shape an exterior that better reflects the energy they bring to their productions.

“It’s been a joy to collaborate with such committed, creative people and to translate that energy into a bright new façade, bold signage and lighting that will give the theatre a more visible, welcoming presence on the street, helping to keep the theatre at the centre of local cultural life.”

As part of Rochdale’s year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture, the programme is seeing a range of cultural activities being rolled out in the community, alongside major investment at Heywood Civic, and Touchstones. You can find out more about the Curtain Theatre including their latest productions at www.curtaintheatrerochdale.uk.

Improvements to the Curtain Theatre as part of ‘Made in Milkstone’ is funded as part of Rochdale Borough Council’s Community Regeneration Partnership package from the UK Government, alongside council funding.

Rochdale Development Agency plays a central role in driving regeneration and cultural investment across the borough and the improvements to the Curtain Theatre are an example of that work in action. Through the ‘Made in Milkstone’ programme, they are co-ordinating enhancements that strengthen local identity, support community‑led venues and uplifting neighbourhoods.

Its involvement in the theatre’s façade transformation alongside wider public realm improvements and cultural activity is how the agency uses place-based investment to boost visibility for grassroots cultural organisations, attract new audiences and ensure regeneration around Rochdale Station Square benefits the surrounding community.

classical music

7 THE ROTH GUITAR TRIO

a Toad Lane Concert perforemed in February 2026

Review By Dr Joe Dawson

This captivating Toad Lane Concert at St Mary in the Baum was the 1,171st since taking over from Rochdale council in 2001.

The Roth Guitar Duo, formed by Emily Smith and Sam Rodwell in 2014 at the Royal Northern College of Music, has become firmly established in the UK classical guitar scene. Their diverse and engaging programmes of Renaissance pieces to new and unpublished works have captivated audiences across the UK, including multiple invitations to Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. Their debut album Canonica has also received high praise. They aim to push the boundaries of the guitar duo format, such as with commissions from celebrated composers, they have gained a reputation as innovative and forward-thinking. This was evident in today’s wonderful recital.

Valseana by the Brazilian Sergio Assad set a peaceful mood immediately. Their guitars did not need amplification in St Mary in the Baum’s generous acoustic– their skilful technique made every nuance crystal clear. This was true of the rest of the programme: a charming eloquent three movement work, Serenade in A major Op 96 by the Classical composer Carulli.

Etude Fantasque by the influential and prolific guitar composer Ida Presti, who died prematurely in 1967, was indeed ‘fantastic’ with modern colours; plus, the elegant Fuga Elegiaca by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, which he wrote in her memory.

No 5 Andaluza and No 2 Oriental from Spanish Dances by Granados were originally for piano but became well known transcribed for other instruments and worked superbly with the duo.

Niel Gow’s Lament for the Death of his Second Wife, a traditional C18 Scottish fiddler’s plaintive tune arranged by Dan Jones, lent itself beautifully to the duo’s treatment. In sharp contrast the finale, a traditional Congolese Banaha involved re-tuned strings and mesmerising rhythms arranged by Gary Ryan, the celebrated Head of Strings at the Royal College of Music.

Captivating indeed and fully deserving the accolade of their mentor Craig Ogden as “two of the UK’s brightest young stars of the guitar.”

The Queen’s Award-winning Toad Lane Concerts every Wednesday at 12.30pm at the Grade 1 listed church of St Mary in the Baum, Toad Lane, Rochdale, OL16 1DZ.

Entrance fee is £6. Contact 01706 648872 for further information.

SIDETRACKS & DETOURS

UK FOLK MUSIC: live events

a round up of news from Folk Expo and Sound Roots

8 Attend the Folk Album of the Year Award Gala

Taking place on Tuesday 17 March, in the grand setting of the newly refurbished Rochdale Town Hall, the Folk Album of the Year Award Gala will feature live performances from the nominated artists and culminate in the unveiling of the inaugural winner.

LIVE FOLK. Traditional and Contemporary Folk Festivals

9 Following the Album Of The Year 2025 Festival at Rochdale Town Hall, The Manchester Folk Festival is spread over three days and all across the city´s NORTHERN QUARTER, with a stellar line up.

10 ANNOUNCING THE ‘JERSEY FOLK FESTIVAL’!

SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER AT L’AUBERGE – THE FARM HOUSE IN ST JOHN

A Folk festival featuring music, dance and storytelling rooted in Island life will be taking place this month.

ArtHouse Jersey is hosting the Jersey Folk Festival at L’Auberge in St John on Saturday 15 November.

The free daytime programme runs from 1pm to 5.30pm, featuring artists including Sula, Parish 13, Rick Jones, Colin Lever (right) and The Jersey Lillies, with informal “folk-in-the-round” sessions upstairs in the Ship’s Bar.

From 6pm to 10.30pm, a ticketed evening event costing £15 will feature Jo Thorpe and Tom Oxenham, the Shindig Céilí Band, and the Gonzo Gypsy Goodtime Band.

Producer Robyn Cabaret said that the festival “is about more than music – it is about celebrating the ways people come together through song, dance, and storytelling”.

On Saturday 15 November we’re so excited to be presenting the Jersey Folk Festival; a celebration of live music, storytelling and Island spirit transforming L’Auberge – The Farm House in St. John into a hive of community celebration. Taking place all day and evening the festival is curated by the ArtHouse Jersey in collaboration with Colin Lever, Jo Thorpe and Tom Oxenham and offers a full day of performances, activities, and folk-inspired revelry, bringing together musicians, dancers, and audiences from across the Island. Expect everything between soulful ballads and punk folk to traditional Jèrriais tunes.

Music from Colin Lever @colinlever Colin & Ross, Gonzo Gyspy Goodtime Gypsy Band, The Jersey Lillies, Jo Thorpe @jo.thorpe.3 & Tom Oxenham @tom.oxenham_and_jo.thorpe Parish 13 @parish_13_jersey Rick Jones @rick_jones_music_jersey Shindig Céilí Band @shindig_ceili_band and Sula.

The daytime is free to attend and the evening version costs just £15. Both can be reserved via Eventbrite.

Food and drink will be available throughout the day from L’Auberge’s renowned kitchen, serving lunch between 12-2pm and dinner between 6-8pm, with advance table bookings recommended via Randalls online or by calling 861697.

Tickets for the evening event are £15 and available via Eventbrite. The daytime programme is free to attend, no booking required.

Producer for ArtHouse Jersey, Robyn Cabaret, said “For ArtHouse Jersey, Jersey Folk Festival is about more than music. It is about celebrating the ways people come together through song, dance, and storytelling. Jersey’s folk scene is shaped by many influences, from local voices to traditions brought here over generations, and this event reflects that mix. It’s a chance to celebrate community in all its diversity, to welcome new audiences, and to share the simple joy of live music made together. We’re thrilled to stage a day where seasoned singers, first-time dancers, and families just soaking it all in can all make memories together. It’s exactly the kind of lived, public culture we exist to support.”

Event Details:

Where: L’Auberge – The Farm House, St. John

When: Saturday 15 November 2025

Daytime: 1pm-5.30pm (Free)

Evening: 6pm-10.30pm (£15 tickets via Eventbrite)

Food and drink will be available throughout the day from L’Auberge’s renowned kitchen, serving lunch between 12-2pm and dinner between 6-8pm, with advance table bookings recommended via Randalls online or by calling 861697.

Tickets for the evening event are £15 and available via Eventbrite. The daytime programme is free to attend, no booking required.

Producer for ArtHouse Jersey, Robyn Cabaret, said “For ArtHouse Jersey, Jersey Folk Festival is about more than music. It is about celebrating the ways people come together through song, dance, and storytelling. Jersey’s folk scene is shaped by many influences, from local voices to traditions brought here over generations, and this event reflects that mix. It’s a chance to celebrate community in all its diversity, to welcome new audiences, and to share the simple joy of live music made together. We’re thrilled to stage a day where seasoned singers, first-time dancers, and families just soaking it all in can all make memories together. It’s exactly the kind of lived, public culture we exist to support.”

FOLK MUSIC UK CHARTS

11 THE OFFICIAL FOLK ALBUMS CHART SHOW

collated by Sound Roots and Expo Folk

the Official Folk Album Chart, produced by Sound Roots, featuring the Top 40 best-selling and most-streamed folk albums released during the January reporting period by British and Irish artists. Listen back to the Official Folk Albums Chart Show, presented by Folk on Foot, via their YouTube channel for the full rundown of new entries.

This month’s album chart sees multiple Folk Album of the Year Award nominees climbing the rankings: Joshua Burnside’s Teeth of Time jumps from No. 25 to No. 14, Poor Creature’s All Smiles Tonightmoves from No. 20 to No. 18 and Spafford Campbell’s Tomorrow Held re-enters at No. 35.

The latest new entries to the Top 40 and their entry positions are:

• No. 1 – Nathan Evans and The Saint PHNX Band’s Angels’ Share (Universal) – The result of eighteen months of “touring, drinking whisky, becoming fathers and being best friends,” Angels’ Share made Stevie Jukes (Saint PHNX) truly realise “how powerful embracing our Scottish identity could be” on this chart-topping collaborative debut.
• No. 38 – Eliza Marshall’s Eternal Birth (One World) – The award-winning flautist channels over two decades of international collaboration into a bold, genre-defying record that celebrates life’s cycles and continuity from conception to death, through nature, ancestry and renewal.

***Charting artists, to receive chart graphics to celebrate your success please contact info@englishfolkexpo.com.The Official Folk Albums Chart is compiled by The Official Chart Company and produced by Sound Roots. The Official Folk Albums Chart Show is presented by Folk On Foot with the support of Sound Roots.

CLASSICAL MUSIC

12 offering an insight into a promising music career.

EDELYN SPINA

speaks to Music In Portsmouth

and Norman Warwick takes notes

At 7.30pm on  Saturday 28 February,  Havant Symphony Orchestra presenmted “Echoes of the Isles” at Warblington School, Havant.

A week or so before the concert, violinist Edelyn Spina (right) spoke to Music in Portsmouth about her ambitions for her career as a violinist and multi instrumentalist I wonder what she knows about the 42^nd annual Canary Islands International Classical Musical Festival that we have been reporting on in our last couple of editions of Sidetracks & Detours.

She gave an interview to Music In Portsmouth who carry so much positivity in their on-lines to promote the classical music that be heard in the region and I am happy to repeat that articles here as she
tells quite a story about the current steps of her  musical journey, and also reveals her passions and ambitions for the music she loves.

I began learning the violin when one fell out of a cupboard in my primary school! This chance encounter at age seven led me to play violin, later picking up the clarinet at aged thirteen and viola aged fourteen. I started the clarinet when West Sussex Music Service offered a free instrument learning programme for seven to twelve year olds and, although I was a year too old, I applied tactically requesting clarinet, flute or cello –

As I already played violin, I had an advantage and quickly took grade three, five and eight receiving distinctions in all. I am particularly proud of receiving 136/150 in my grade eight despite taking it only a year after my grade five. Around this time, I also took my grade seven and eight violin receiving higher distinctions in both, closely followed by distinction in ARSM diploma on clarinet, that was a busy year!

I am looking to study clarinet, first study, and violin, second study, at conservatoire. I am currently deciding between Guildhall with a scholarship and RCM.

I love string quartet music, a current favourite being Smetana’s first quartet, particularly movement two. I also love orchestral works, the top four symphonies that I have played are, in no particular order, Mahler 1, Sibelius 2, Dvorak 8 and Prokofiev 5.

A chamber piece I would like to play is the Bernard Herrmann clarinet quintet. Having spoken to clarinettist Julian Bliss, who has recorded it, I discovered the reason I could not find copies was because no one has published it, which is going to make things tricky. I am hoping Julian Bliss will publish it soon, as he mentioned he might. Bernard Herrmann is known for his film music, particularly Psycho, and this chamber piece was his final composition before his death.

In HSO I initially played viola, later moving to first violin and, in Southeast-Hampshire Youth Orchestra (SHYO) I was principal second violin and am now principal clarinet. I was fortunate to be able to play Weber’s concertino as a soloist, which I enjoyed thoroughly.

A recent HSO highlight would be Sibelius 1 as a first violin, especially the end of the third movement attacca into the fourth. I truly appreciated the full length of my bow in that piece! I love playing Eb clarinet in orchestras as we often play with the violins and it feels closer to home as it were!

Aside from HSO I have played with the National Scouting and Guiding Symphony Orchestra in Brumell Hall and with members of The Duchess of Edinburgh’s String Orchestra and Royal Marines in Horse Guards Chapel, National Youth Wind Orchestra, English Schools Orchestra in Cadogan Hall and the National Klezmer Youth Orchestra. My favourite was playing principal clarinet with ESO for Mahler 1 or playing a solo with NYWO.

I have enjoyed workshops with Julian Bliss on RAF National Clarinet Day and a master class with Emma Johnson.

Locally, I have led and co-lead the West Sussex Youth Orchestra and dep on Eb clarinet with Worthing Philharmonic. I also started a string quartet, The Martlet Quartet, after attending Young Grittleton string quartet camp. We have played for various events, and our next concert is for the West Sussex Headteacher Conference. I also hope that I will one day have the chance to play a violin concerto or part of one!

My family are not particularly musical, my dad played accordion and guitar, and my mum completed her grade three saxophone. In primary and early high school, I considered becoming an architect, interior designer and later, a luthier, but I am now firmly set on music as a career.

In my spare time I like to design and build theatre set designs for my A-Level, occasionally I try various arts and crafts, take photographs of architecture and read books written from 1850 – 1950. I am a former member of the National Youth Parliament and army cadets.

I am now looking forward to a couple of concerts I will be taking part in soon: one with with the Havant Symphony Orchestra and another  with the Southeast-Hampshire Youth Orchestra (SHYO).

I particularly enjoyed a recent recital given by SHYO concert on 25 January 2026), because I was principal clarinet in it and played Beethoven 6, which I had never played before and it’s got a very good clarinet part. It’s quite difficult, so it’s nice to have something to work towards. And then I will be playing Gladiators and Phantom of the Opera. I’ve actually played Phantom of the Opera with Havant before, but I’m now playing it on a different part because I was first violin and now the clarinet. So it’d be quite fun to play the same thing, but on a different side of the orchestra.

The Youth Orchestra does very well to get pieces ready very quickly because we only have two rehearsals. We have two all day ones, and then the concert on the same day as the 2^nd rehearsal day.

And then the upcoming Havant concert (on 28 February 2026) is entitled Echoes of the Isles, where there’s a piece by Maurice Johnson, which I’ve never heard before (and not many members of the orchestra have either). It was played at the Proms quite a while ago, but it’s actually really lovely. It’s called Welsh Rhapsodie and it’s got some really pretty violin parts and lovely woodwind solos.

I’ve got into Royal College of Guildhall on the clarinet, but I play both instruments quite a lot at the moment. And I want to do violin as second study. I’m pretty equal on both.

I’m using this year to do other performances with quite a lot with lots of orchestras. I did quite a lot of playing in 2025 because I needed to build up my track record for my conservatoire application. I was fortunate to play  a concertino by Weber with the Youth Orchestra. And I’m doing some string quartet work.

As I mentioned earlier, I love to play the Eb clarinet and I´d like to think that in a few years time I might be successful with that instrument. it would be amazing to begin auditions for orchestral jobs, whether for ballets or operas or on-stage orchestras, as an Eb clarinet player ! 

Something I really, really enjoy playing, which is an unpopular opinion, is the Eb clarinet. It’s called all kinds of horrible things, like a squeal stick and more. However, maybe because I’m a violinist, I recognise that the range of the Eb clarinet means that it often plays with the violins, and I hear the violin and the Eb clarinet as bedfellows because of the relative range of each instrument: the Eb clarinet has the sort of the role of the clarinet in a solo instrument and to do the similar sound of a clarinet, but it can go so much higher. So when you need a clarinet sound to play with the violins, that’s what it does. And the lowest note of the Eb clarinet is open G just as the violin. So it’s very similar range actually.

It is great to hear a young musician in the early times of her career so in love with her music and its instrument.

Since coming to live here on the island of Lanzarote ten years ago I have reported on nine Canary Island  International Claasical Music Festivals. They are, quite literally I think, a tour de force: the logistics of touring hundreds of musicians from full orchestras to soloists around the eight islands with hundreds of instruments, ranging in size from piano to piccolo, must be a tour manager´s nightmare ! Because of their well defined itineraries, though, I have attended concerts played outside on a temporary stage on a beach under the moon and stars, and have even enjoyed several concerts in the huge undersea caves of Jameos Del Agua. Check out our overall review of this year´s tour by reading our festival report published on 1^st February and you will find other similar reviews in our easy to navigate archives of over 2.000 editions of my regular blog.

I would love to think I might take a seat in the next decade or so, and hear a girl from the UK playing the Eb clarinet with any one of the orchestras. If so, I´d love to talk to her about what successes she might be hoping to enjoy in the twenty thirties and forties !

We don´t get back to England these days. At our age four hour flights to British motorways don´t sound too appealing. Nevertheless you will be able to read a review of the concert on the Music In Portsmouth web site. We have been told by our UK writiers, Iain and Margaret that classical music is well represented on the busy arts-map of the region and you can find all the details at Music in Portsmouth.!!

COUNTRY MUSIC

13 LUCIE TIGER: roaring through country music

noted by Norman Warwick

Her official web site tell us that Lucie Tiger has been based in Muscle Shoals AL since 2023,and has been making her mark in the heartland of American music.

“Lucie Tiger is showing the world what independent country artists can achieve on their own terms” (CountryTown). 

In November 2025, Lucie Tiger won Country Vocalist of the Year at the 11th Annual Josie Music Awards, held at the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, and she celebrated her 8th single on the Music Row Country Breakout Chart with Harvest Moon – an unprecedented achievement for an independent Australian artist. 

To date, Lucie Tiger has had two Top 20 singles, three Top 40 singles and two Top 20 albums in Australia. All bar one of Lucie Tiger’s singles that have charted were self-penned and among her most notable are Found My Home (#50) and Everybody Knows Your Name (#53). 

Her 2025 single, Harvest Moon garnered her first review – a good one! – from Robert K. Oermann, legendary country music author and critic. In the same year, Lucie Tiger was the only country music artist to receive an Australian APRA AMCOS ‘Women In Music’ award. 

A prolific songwriter, Lucie Tiger won Country Blues Song Of The Year for Gasoline at the 2021 Tamworth Country Songwriters Awards and she has garnered numerous top 5 songwriting accolades. Lucie Tiger has played countless songwriters rounds in Muscle Shoals, Nashville, and further afield. 

With her band, Lucie Tiger has played many notable venues including Whiskey Jam—where she opened for Tyler Farr—and played the opening night at the W.C. Handy Festival two years running. 

Lucie Tiger was listed in the Top 25 New Music Critiques in Music Connection Magazine (2024), and her music has been described as “crowd-pleasing blend of classic 1970s Southern rock (drawing influence from bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers) and contemporary country grit, flavored with Crossroads blues” (Country Music News International).

Follow her journey, because this is one highway you’ll never want to get off.

LUCIE TIGER Wins Award Then Trades Murder Ballad for Cowboy Love Song

Early in this new year American Songwriter reporte that ´Fresh from winning Country Vocalist of the Year at the Josie Music Awards 2025, Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, Lucie Tiger pivots from her murder ballad to serenading cowboys with her latest single, Love Me Cowboy. Based in Muscle Shoals, Lucie Tiger is making her mark in the heartland of America, having achieved her eighth single on the Music Row Country Breakout Chart. Known as one of the hardest working artists around town, Lucie Tiger is showing what an independent country music artist can achieve on their own terms. With her band, she’s played festivals and legendary venues like Whiskey Jam in Nashville and Hernando’s Hideaway in Memphis, all while songwriting and recording her next album.  Since arriving in the US, Tiger has also kept up her tradition of hosting a regular series of songwriter showcase events that champion female songwriters a tradition that she initiated in Sydney during the Covid pandemic.  Lucie Tiger’s latest single is a tongue-in-cheek plea to be swept off her feet by a cowboy. Co-written with Mark Narmore, Stephanie C. Brown and Maddye Trew, this romping, fun track shows off Lucie Tiger’s sassy side.

AMERICANA MUSIC

14 LUCINDA WILLIAMS

MAKING AMENDS AND MORE Manchester UK Bridgewater Hall

a review by Peter Pearson

It´s been over 30 years since I last went to a Lucinda Williams concert. Both Norman Warwick and I attended her Manchester Apollo concert in the early 90’s, following which we, and I think many other attendees, vowed never again. The reasons are well documented elsewhere within the pages of this blog.

However time is a great healer and in the last 10 years or so I was prepared to forgive if not forget. The problem is that in more recent UK tours she has either missed out on this area or has been booked at, at least to me, some singularly unattractive venues, most notably The Ritz Ballroom in Manchester and Holmfirth Hippodrome. So, when I saw she was playing the Bridgewater Hall on this tour and having been mightily impressed with her recorded output since that infamous gig and convinced by other factors that the years had mellowed her, I eagerly booked a ticket.

She is now 73 and suffered a stroke in 2020 which has seriously impeded her mobility, needing assistance to walk on stage and inability to play guitar but her voice is in fine form, maybe even better than before the stroke. Her affinity with her audience is now such that non attendees to that 90’s gig would not believe what Norman and I witnessed.

On this tour she is promoting her new album World’s Gone Wrong, playing a string of European venues, including the annual Glasgow folk roots and music festival, Celtic Connections. The album is a raging indictment of Trump’s America. When she was recently asked when she started putting the album together, this was her response:

“If you mean when did I start getting p—- off. A long time ago. But this album, a year or two ago, when I realised that several songs I was writing were dealing with the day-to-day chaos and insanity that we’re going through in the US. It was so juicy that it was too tempting not to write about it. I’ve been doing a lot of interviews and a number of people have said I’m brave singing these songs and that I would annoy a lot of people, I’d not thought about that until they started bringing it up and I’m wondering now if I should be worried. But we have this guy in the White House who wants to be king, he wants to have a monarchy – we’ve already dealt with that in the Revolutionary War but now here it comes again. He thinks he can snap his fingers and just get rid of things”.

The essence of the album is contained in the lyrics to the opening title cut. It’s about a middle class couple who are struggling to get by and make sense of today´s world. In attempt to forget their troubles they finally seek solace in music.

Recognising the somewhat bleakness of the album, she says

I didn’t write these songs so people feel like they have to crawl under a blanket and hide. They are supposed to help people have hope. Life goes on she says. We create and we keep creating-music, books, the stage. You gotta keep moving ahead. I’m an optimist, I hope that comes through in the songs when all’s said and done. I think people initially see them as being dark but then they see a silver lining. You can see there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. If you really listen closely most of the songs have a positive message in there.

That is the theme throughout the concert. It was not a depressing couple of hours-rather a joyful evening of music and story telling.

I never thought I would say this-but her stage presence is now endearing and captivating. With a capacity crowd and stellar band she delivered a twenty song set. Six of which were from the new album.

There was plenty of interaction with her audience. In introducing the band members she mused that maybe the band should have a name, Lucinda Williams and ? suggestions warmly welcomed.

Many of the songs were prefaced by a story about their origins. Introducing the song, Sing Unburied Sing, from the new album she explained that it was inspired by the Southern gothic ghost story Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, which focuses on a poor Black family in Mississippi facing racism, addiction, and trauma.

Interspersed with the new songs were her fans favourites from her staple repertoire. Car Wheels On A Gravel Road never sounded better. Pineola got an airing as did many more. Sadly for me, however, Lake Charles was not in the set.

The evening rounded off with a three song encore culminating in standing crowd participation in Neil Young’s rousing rocker, Keep on Rocking In The Free World, followed by her heartfelt thanks to the audience for attending.

PETER PEARSON Sidetracks & Detours Americana Correspondent

In one word, Lucinda´s gig was brilliant. I hope you have heard her new album, …if not you might like to prepare your speakers,….its loud !

Thanks Norm for the heads up on the album Circle And Square by Eric Brace and Thomm Jutz and although, yes, I have heard the album, it is good to learn from you that you heard it on a recent Bob Harris country show on BBC Radio 2. I had meant to mention it to you as I know that since I first introduced you to their music, youhave become a firm fan a firm fan. Howeveer, Brace & Jutz don’t seem to be promoting the album very much. I can only assume its because of their other individual commitments. Thomm Jutz produces a lot of other artists´ albums and collaborates with quite a few on record projects.However, I´m sure the plug from Whispering Bob can only improve the sales.

Eric Brace’s tribute to Peter Cooper, Nothing Hurts, hit me right in the gut. The album has a pdf of the lyrics and story behind the songs.

I´ll be off to the Transatlantic Sessions at Aviva Studios next week, and I´m very much looking forward to an Eric Bibb Concert in March.and I guess he´ll playing several tracks from his brand new album Mississippi Blues. I´m sure you know that, but if not start searching Spotify.

Peter

15 when singer writer Josh Ritter went

DOWN SIDETRACKS AND DETOURS FOLLOWING JOSH RITTER AND BOB WEIR

by Norman Warwick

My forty five year old son is an accomplished guitarist and banjo player, but having lived in Seoul  for twenty five years he has found it difficult to source relevant material to serve his love of bluegrass and acoustic music. And the recent whirlwind of K pop music reduced even those few recordings he could find of his own favourite genre of Americana.

For the last twenty five years Andrew and we, his parents, have lived Oceans Apart (as Gary Hall might say). So, over the last quarter century Andrew and I have swapped information to create a massive Venn diagram illustrating a huge shady area populated by singers, songwriters and musicians who now exist in both of our music collections. Andrew and his mum  bridge that gap between where we live here on Lanzarote to where Andrew lives in South Kore with his wife and daughter on a weekly three hour Microsoft Team video call. That includes about half an hour that allows Andrew and I to discuss for ten minutes the league placings of our favourite teams of Manchester United and Bolton Wanderers, and twenty minutes to update our musical awareness. It thrills me that he has picked up the artists who first led me to Americana music, such as Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Emmylou Harris and just occasionally one of us will throw a curve ball into the conversation: Bela Fleck, Lulu Maro and most recently, Bob Weir, who sadly died in the early part of this New Year.

I had been aware of his name only as a one-time member of The Grateful Dead, but when I mentioned his passing to Andrew, my son was already ´mourning´ a man he considered to be wonderful and somewhat overlooked music.

I read several obituaries that eulogised Bob Weir´s playing, verifying Andrew´s rating of the man, but it has taken a few weeks for the wonderfully reliable Paste On line magazine to clarify Bob Weir´s high status, in a piece written by ne  of my favourite songwriters, Josh Ritter

He opened his article by saying of Bob Weir, “his eyes and eyebrows were intense, but within them were great reserves of curiosity and empathy. He seemed like a man who was used to, but still uncomfortable with, being the brightest light in any room.”

It had been several years since Josh had hung out with Bob Weir down in Nashville. It was the day of the solar eclipse, and at the exact moment that his plane touched down on the runway, the sky faded to blackness. A dark star event. How proper. They hung out a bit, tried to record a little music, and then said, “So long, see ya on down the trail.” Bob had perfected the art of saying goodbye without it meaning forever.

Josh Ritter (left) met Weir through Josh Kaufman, his musical collaborator and great friend. Kaufman had gotten the opportunity to get to know Weir through a project they had just been working on. Bob told Kaufman about his desire to make a record of songs that reminded him of the Wyoming campfires of his youth.

Kaufman and Ritter were talking over the phone between separate flights to different gigs when he told Ritter about Weir’s dream. Josh Ritter had to put his bags down. He didn’t know all that much about the Grateful Dead, but he knew a lot about campfire songs, and he knew Weir’s craggy, beautiful, world-worn voice. And he knew that it was he who was going to help write these songs. He just knew it.

He didn’t grow up with the Grateful Dead. For all the Deadheads out there, he’ll confess that the first tune he associated with them was Touch of Grey, and he knows this excludes him from any inner sanctum within the pantheon of Dead fans. But he grew up in northern Idaho, riding the school bus for an hour and a half, listening to classic rock stations coming in from Spokane on a pair of radio headphones that he got for his birthday. He wasn’t positioned to delve into Dick’s Picks.

In addition, there was something frightening about the Dead. First off, there was the name. Secondly, there were unfounded rumours that the Grateful Dead were into drugs. Their art frequently included skeletons and, only mildly less alarming to an Idaho kid, dancing bears. Well, the bears were pretty cute, but the world of the Dead was sprawling, and where to begin?

Ritter had no experience with the alchemical musical explorations the band would embark on every night. He had no idea that their sojourn through America and American history had already profoundly shaped the world that he would soon step into. He was just a kid who loved songs, but this was a universe of music that he had little experience with.

Fortunately for Josh Ritter, none of that came into his mind at all the moment Kaufman talked to him.  

“Let me try,” he begged him. “Please, please, please.”

He already knew a song he wanted to send. At the hotel that night, he recorded a version of  Only a River on his phone and sent it off to Kaufman. He’d written it two decades before, an early song. In it, an older man is telling his memories to a younger one, hallowing the permanence and impermanence of love and returning always to the memory of a riverbed at times long past.

Going back over the song took Josh Ritter back to his own childhood days on the Snake River in Idaho, and when he finished recording Only a River, he quickly wrote another one called One More River to Cross. Next morning, he sent them off to Kaufman, who took them to Weir, and from that moment on, they were trekking.

Ritter had never written much with anyone else—a few verses here and there, a couple failed co-writing experiments. These were proof enough to him that he was a lone wolf when it came to composing songs. It wasn’t that he didn’t like other people’s ideas; it was just that he had always known what a song needed, and this tended to preclude the good ideas of others.

But working with Bob turned out to be an education for Josh Ritter more than anyone else. Bob Weir (right) didn’t just take his songs and sing them; Bob took them into that head of his and rolled them slowly together. Ritter still maintains the image of stirring deep blue paint into a bucket of white paint. The darker paint swirls and marbles the white, never fully combining, trailing its gossamer strands wherever it goes. That’s how Bob treated those songs.

After a few months, Ritter got a recording from Kaufman. It was Only a River, sung slow and noble, Bob’s voice was full of pathos and warmth and wisdom-giving. It was much slower than Josh had originally imagined it, and Bob had given the band room to run. It was a surreal experience. Here was Bob Weir, an older man singing a song that Josh had written when he was 19 or 20. Here was a voice who had actually lived what the song was about, who actually sang the song like he was haunted by the very same memories Josh had only imagined.

Josh realized at that moment that he didn’t want to actually meet Bob yet. The voice that was coming through the speakers was the man he wanted to write about. This was not the Bob Weir that once slept in the Great Pyramid. Instead, his song-writer saw a man out on the trail, riding through the timothy grass and sagebrush, singing under his breath and mostly to himself. Josh could hear him wondering about what had happened to a lost love named Rose, hear him humming as he and his closest companion made their way through empty ghost towns. The young man could see his elder looking down on the herd from a nearby bluff with a storm rolling in over the mesas.

This wasn’t Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead that Josh was writing for. It was Bob Weir the cowboy who had never found that other life. Here was a man set up against a huge sky, thrown into relief by the elements, his voice a chalice full of joy, awe, regret, and hope. At times, the lightning behind him would strike, and all that Josh could see was his rangy silhouette.

He sent a lot of songs to Bob and Kaufman. Writing them wasn’t an easy-hard operation. Josh wrote in a whirl, unlocking his own memories, imagining new ones, listening to all that good old cowboy music that he’d been storing up love for over the years. When he was done with a song, he’d record it quickly, understanding that Bob and Kaufman would take the track and do their amazing swirly work to turn his early versions into Bob’s vision.

Rarely did the song he sent come back the same. Bob adjusted the phrasing, changed some place names, invested the song with himself and his world-famous rhythms and patience. He gave the band room to develop the melodies, room to take ownership and joy in their own additions to each piece.

In the end, Bob recorded nine of the songs Josh sent him. To Josh it seemed almost absurd that Bob would do him such an honour. he kept wondering when the other shoe would drop, when some other more suitable songwriter would take the helm—John Perry Barlow or Izzo, a Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings. But he just kept getting recordings back, and even when the ideas and songs perplexed him, they were beautiful and convincing and enveloping.

When Weir sang, he forgot that he’d written many of the lyrics, in the same way that one forgets an actor on screen is acting. How did he do it, Josh marvelled. How did this old guy keep his mind so open that he was willing to work with some random guy almost four decades younger than he was?.

Josh finally went to meet Bob when he was recording songs for the record in upstate New York with members of The National and some other acquaintances. He was nervous, obviously, but he didn’t have to be. Bob had just come back from town where he’d bought a sledgehammer that he was swinging around out in the yard. He wasn’t swinging it at anybody, Josh remembers, but they´d never met so he didn’t bother Bob until he seemed done.

The man was exactly as Josh had imagined him to be out there on his horse all those months Josh had been working. He was quiet, and his eyes and eyebrows were intense, but within them were great reserves of curiosity and empathy. He seemed like a man who was used to, but still uncomfortable with, being the brightest light in any room. He was also cordial in an old-fashioned way that made me think of a courtly knight.

Josh Kaufman once told Ritter that he thought the Dead were important because they had taught a generation of people what it meant to be music lovers. He said that young kids were just discovering their own independence and they got to see America by travelling to see the band.

lyrics by Josh Ritter

Listening back to Blue Mountain, as Ritter has been doing lately, he realized that Bob had taught him a great deal. He taught Josh to keep an open mind to the joy of artistic creation, to the anticipation of beautiful music and new friends and experiences. He also taught Josh that a song could be anyone’s, could be turned into anyone’s prized possession and steer-stone, no matter how it was written or who wrote it.

Josh didn’t spend much time physically with Bob Weir, but over the year that he was writing songs for Blue Mountain, he feels he got to know a side of Weir very well. In that record, the two rode from heaven to Wyoming and back, writing songs as they travelled the trail, driving a herd towards Laramie. They listened to coyotes and wolves and wild dogs. They heard the sky torn asunder by storms. they talked about old loves and wondered about new ones—wondered about new ones, still down the trail.

It was a beautiful trip, and Josh Ritter would  do it all over again. And who knows, maybe someday,  somewhere in another place they will.

As Josh himself says: Thanks, Bob. See ya on down the trail. Goodnight, all you cowboys, your plains spun and rough, but the angels appeared one time to those such as us.

L

live jazz

16 JAZZ AT PROGRESS Friday 20 February 2026

BEN CROSLAND´S ALL STAR BAND play the RAY DAVIES SONG BOOK

news from Jim Wade at Jazz in Reading

When  Ben Crosland takes his “all-star” band to perform arrangements of the music of Ray Davies, the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the rock band The Kinks they invariably convince any doubters in the audience who fear the concept could not possibly work

Those who had had previously dismissed the idea of a jazz interpretation of the music of Ray Davies as a stretch too far should, think again. Davies is indisputably one of this country’s greatest songwriters, with quintessentially English themes and cultural references, nostalgia and social satire reflected in his lyrics. The songs of the Kinks have become like a modern folk music, a part of the British national consciousness.

But this act has no vocals, so how can this work? The melodies and hooks from The Kinks’ songs, best remembered from Ray and Dave Davies’ wistful vocals, are a gift for interpretation in the jazz idiom.

As Ben himself explains it, he was inspired by listening to Ray perform a swinging version of an old Kinks’ number on acoustic guitar before he (Ben) was commissioned by Marsden Jazz Festival to write a set of jazz arrangements of Davies’ iconic songs. The result was not just a success, it was a triumph. 

Many of Ray Davies’ best known songs feature throughout the set, including other, perhaps, lesser-known ones.  It took just a matter of minutes into ‘Dedicated Follower Of Fashion’ before invariably  capacity audiences are treated to the guitar/sax pyrotechnics courtesy of Theo Travis (TT) and John Etheridge (JE). Roars of approval from the crowd and applause were frequent throughout the gig as the Soft Machine partnership sparred and complemented one another on several numbers.

The gentler paced bossa version of ‘Set Me Free’ gives Steve Lodder (SL) more prominence and space as he delivers the first of many sparkling solos on acoustic piano.

He never fails to impress as he switches from piano to keyboards and occasionally playing both at the same time.  TT swaps his tenor sax for soprano for ‘See My Friend’ and beguiles audiences with his virtuosity and versatility once again, before JE contributes some lithe and slippery guitar lines towards the close while the rhythm section add texture to the group sound. 

SL moves back to keys for a languid, spacey interpretation of “Tired of Waiting for You”; BC describes the song as having a “down-home groovy feel”. Featuring JE’s tremolo guitar sound, BC contributes a liquid, melodic electric bass feature before JE’s gently soaring guitar solo.

Nic France (NF) introduces an appropriately joyous shuffle through ‘Ev’rybody’s Gonna be Happy’ with JE’s agreeably distorted guitar trading blistering solos with TT on soprano sax before SL takes over on suitably buoyant piano with BC and NF adding a skipping, jaunty rhythm.

As with all of the numbers heard during the performance, the melody of the original song remains intact. ‘Days’ is a fine example of this in BC’s arrangements and the audience will clearly  hear Davies’ lyrics in their head. A relaxed, warm arrangement brings out the gentle nostalgia of the song with lyrical solos coming from SL on acoustic piano and TT on fluent tenor sax. 

The first set ends with ‘Till the End of the Day’ which is given a funky, soul-jazz feel here: led by SL’s Hammond-like keys, with solos coming from TT on earthy tenor sax and JE on guitar, with BC and NF working together to create a powerfully swinging groove. 

By the interval, audiences are usually already nominating the gig as the best of the year.

BEN CROSLAND AND THE ALL STAR JAZZ BAND

The second half often opens with ‘A Well-Respected Man’ given a straight-ahead swing arrangement with TT leading the way on tenor sax and NF exuberant on his first extended solo of the evening. 

BC invites the audience to sing along to ‘Sunny Afternoon’. What?! Surely not! But it is fine.  The reggae beat works well in conjunction with TT’s tenor sax as he emphasises the hook with squalls of guitar from JE concluding with a virtuosic guitar break towards the end.  Despite this, the whole piece has a delightfully relaxed feel. 

The catchy rhythm of ‘All Day and All of the Night’ is delivered superbly by BC and NF with the latter’s crisp drum grooves propelling the famous riff which is delivered in tandem by JE and TT. The rousing riff eventually becomes the jumping off point for a barnstorming solo by JE that reflects his jazz, rock and blues influences.

SL then stretches out on electric piano before the quintet coalesce once more on the high-octane finale.  ‘Apeman’ has a Caribbean feel, a calypso style treatment with SL doubling up on acoustic piano and keys, which combined with JE’s synthesised guitar created the sound of steel drums. TT then strikes out with another expansive soprano sax exploration before the song draws to a close.

The announcement of ‘Waterloo Sunset’ is invariably met with coos of delight. SL introduces the number with deep, ominous chords on acoustic piano before JE and TT pick up on the theme and BC states the timeless melody.

The final number is introduced by the familiar riff of ‘You Really Got Me’ played in by SL on keys, producing a spirited soul jazz organ sound supported by BC on electric bass and JE on electric guitar before erupting into two solos, the first from TT on soprano sax followed by JE on blues-rock guitar as SL’s Hammond swirls and churns around him.

There’s always an engaging drum solo from NF before the band return to play us out.  Such an incendiary performance over two sets is worthy of calls for an encore and the band often oblige with the B side ‘Sittin’ on My Sofa’ from the pens of both Davies brothers.  The fast, shuffling beat acts as the jumping off point for powerful and incisive solos once again from TT on soprano sax and JE on guitar. 

It will take a lot to beat such a breathtaking performance as this superb tribute to the timeless quality of Davies’ songwriting.  It will almost certainly be n early cointender for gig of the year ! The primary source for this This article was sourced at Fleece Jazz, (on line)

our next scheduled publication

Sunday 8th March 2026

SIDETRACKS & DETOURS

featuring

STORIES WE COULD TELL

including

J P EKINS, classical piano & JUDITH CHOI CASTRO, CLASSICAL violin

ROLAND BARTHES, literary theorist

THE EVERLY BROTHERS

Sunday 5th April 2026

SIDETRACKS & DETOURS chapter 2

featuring

SONGWRITERS & INVISIBLE ANGELS

featuring

BILL MORRISEY & GARY HALL

by

Peter Pearson & Norman Warwick

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