when a BIG STORM COMING fails to materialise

´Living on the edge of civilisation, in one of the northernmost towns in the world, with a little Laplander blood in my veins accounting for my dark hair and brown eyes, I live with warm friendly people who are hungry, still, for information as we were when we grabbed those old records off the boats back in the sixties. So I can look and learn and sing honestly about what I see from my vantage point on top of the world

OLD (AND NEW)  FRIENDS shine like diamonds

It was whilst browsing through one such telephone box library that the English speaking Mr. Brady pulled out a book by Swiss-German speaking but Spanish based Rita Schmid. He somehow managed to discover that she lives here on Lanzarote, and he wrote to her to express how much he loved her poetry and the serendipity surrounding his discovery of it in a phone box out in the  UK fields.

FOLK N´MOZART IN MANCHESTER & JAZZ IN READING

English Folk Expo (EFEx) is a charity and an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation which supports the English folk, roots and acoustic music sector through a variety of projects and initiatives including the annual Manchester Folk Festival and its parallel industry showcase attracting music buyers and programmers from across the world and generating over £2m spend on artist live bookings from each event (source: the hub). It also runs an annual artist mentoring programme, hosts an online platform of resources for fans, artists and industry, collaborates with export organisations across the world on initiatives including Global Music Match and produces The Official Folk Albums Chart with The Official Charts Company.

Julien Baker         STARTING OUT SMALL; GETTING BIGGER.

A more significant and nuanced development is Baker’s growth as a songwriter and vocalist, particularly noticeable on the piano ballads Mark Hogan, Pitchfork
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HARMONY ON A HICKORY WIND

Houston is described as a frontier-rough town with icehouses selling beer by the gallon on payday, pest infestations right out of a horror film, and the kind of freedom mischievous kids dream of, in Chinaberry Sidewalks, Rodney's tribute to his parents and his remarkable youth. Full of the most satisfying kind of nostalgia, it is hardly recognizable as a celebrity memoir. Rather, it's a story of coming-of-age at a particular time, place, and station, crafted as well as the perfect song.

ExpoSept Missile Announces Showcase Nest Collective for EFEx ’22

The Wilderness Yet combines the acclaimed talents of folksinger Rosie Hodgson, traditional fiddler Rowan Piggott, and guitarist-flautist Philippe Barnes. Independently, they have earned audiences’ esteem as consummate musicians; together, they weave an eclectic tapestry of traditional and original songs and tunes; from a cappella three-part harmonies to luscious instrumental arrangements. Their eponymous debut album was released in 2020 to critical acclaim, closely followed by a short EP of commissioned covers called John O Dreams. Lockdown saw them record a winter album / show called Turn The Year Round, featuring secular re-writes of classic carols and carefully arranged seasonal favourites. Their new studio album, What Holds The World Together​, was released on 21st July 2022.

Mark The Name: KARLA HARRIS, jazz vocalist

Karla is a proud graduate of the University of Missouri´St Louis, where she earned a degree in Speech Communications with certification to teach speech and drama.  She was instrumental in the development of The Land of Music, a multi-disciplinary music curriculum for young learners.  In addition to performing, writing and recording, she is an artist-in-residence with the Jazz Studies department at Kennesaw State University, teaching Applied Vocal Jazz to aspiring singers passionate about this uniquely American art form.

LAWLESS JAZZ moves to Reform

It looks like Steve Bewick, might soon have another jazz club venue in his extensive Rochdale hinterland. Steve gives out gig information on his Hot Biscuits jazz radio mix-cloud broadcasts, so I hope Alan Lawless, who has so helped Rochdale Jazz Club relocate to Chadderton Reform Club, will add Steve´s name, if he hasn´t already, to mine here at Sidetrack s and Detours and Steve Cooke´s at all across the arts at The Rochdale Observer and Rochdale Style to ensure he attracts as large an audience as possible for what already sounds like a hot bed of jazz.
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ROCHDALE LIGHT ORCHESTRA presents a Jubilee Concert in a town of music

Graham Marshall founded The Rochdale amateur Light Orchestra in 2008 with the help of some enthusiastic local musicians. They wanted to get together on a regular basis to rehearse and perform music of a generally light-hearted nature from the mediæval to the present times. This they have done, with the obvious exception of lockdown and other necessary quiet times!
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YAIZA CHOIR celebrating its silver anniversary

a neat piece of serendipity that saw the opening a yearly religious celebration align with the marking of a significant anniversary for a choir that plays such a part in the religious events on the island, and much more besides.