Following their well-received debut single (’Why Do You?’) which has picked up extensive radio play and attracted the attention of devotees of both classic rock and folk, Parkbridge are set to release a second single from their forthcoming album.
‘Changing My Number’ is released on all the main digital platforms on 29th September 2023.
Robert Carter, guitarist and vocalist, explains:“One wet Saturday morning during the Covid Lockdowns I was in the kitchen with the intention of preparing breakfast. My phone is usually set to ‘do not disturb’ before ten o’clock at the weekends and this was no exception. I think the phone scamming industry must know this because before ten thirty, and before I’d had a chance to set the table, I had received three calls, one claiming I owed the inland revenue for tax evasion, one for energy efficiency and the other was just an abusive twit. Jody heard me shouting in despair and when she enquired as to the cause of my angst I simply replied, I’m ‘Changing My Number’. Within an hour and with breakfast still nowhere in sight I’d drafted the words, structure and melody to the song. A few tweaks later and it was ready for a public appearance.”
Coming together through a shared love of classic rock, folk rock and blues, bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention and Free, Parkbridge is a four-piece from Greater Manchester. Formed in 2022, all four members had cut their teeth playing in local bands for many years. But after some informal jam sessions working on songs that had been written by vocalist and guitarist, Robert Carter, Parkbridge rapidly evolved into the fully-fledged band it is today. After a series of well-received live gigs, work soon began on putting together the band’s debut album.
Parkbridge is: Robert Carter (guitar, vocals), Sean Dyer (lead guitar), Ian Turford (bass) and Dave Johnson (drums). The name comes from the area of Park Bridge on the outskirts of Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, where the band was originally formed. The area of Park Bridge was founded during the industrial revolution and for nearly two hundred years the village was home to the famous Park Bridge Ironworks. This local foundry provided essential components for a number of the world’s great engineering projects, giving the band not only its name but the inspiration for the title of its debut album, too.
“If you ever go to Paris, in the museum at the Eiffel Tower there is an inscription that says “Rivets made by the Park Bridge Iron Foundry, Ashton-under-Lyne” and so Rivets For The Eiffel Tower became the obvious name for our first album,” says frontman and vocalist/guitarist, Robert Carter.
Rivets For The Eiffel Tower is produced by Buzz Hawkins at Hawkins Studios 215 in Mossley. The album is a collection of eight original tracks – a mix of acoustic, rock, folk-rock and blues.
Commenting on the album, Robert Carter adds:“I have long had an ambition to release an album of music containing songs that I’ve written. Thanks to the guys in Parkbridge, that dream is about to become a reality. All three are great musicians and it’s a privilege for me to work with them. There’s a couple of songs of what you would call folk rock. There’s a couple that are classic rock in style. There’s a couple that could be classed as indie rock and there’s a couple of blues songs. We’re probably a little different to most of the newish rock bands you hear these days. We try and be melodic. We try and tell a story in the lyrics. We try and offer something different. So if you’re into that classic rock sound with style, have a listen and tell us what you think!”
The single ‘Changing My Number’ is released on 29th September 2023 via all the main digital platforms.
Rivets For The Eiffel Tower will go on general release in October 2023 with a limited-edition CD available from 18th August.
UK-based Leonardo Giuliani is a guitarist and singer-songwriter whose music embraces elements of rock, blues, country and folk. Featuring thirteen original songs, Rogue, which came out back in February, is Giuliani’s debut album.
His sound is primarily influenced by artists and bands from the late ‘60s and ‘70s, “from acoustic singer-songwriters to electric jam bands, all of whom played something different every night and made every performance unique,” he tells us. In 2019 he had the honour of being invited to sit in with one of his blues heroes, Buddy Guy, playing at his Legends club in Chicago.
It’s clear from the album’s opening tracks that this an artist who has spent considerable time soaking up a rich array of blues influences and he’s an impressive guitarist with some nifty blues licks. As Giuliani himself stresses, however, it’s not the only string to his bow and the Americana and golden-era singer-songwriter influences shine through, too, particularly on tracks like the sublime ‘A Thousand Miles Away From Home’.
Recorded at Forward Studios in Rome and The Switchyard Studio in Nashville, Rogue is produced by four-time Grammy award winner producer, Tom Hambridge, whose empathetic production helps give the album and impeccably authentic blues/Americana feel. Hambridge also contributes drums to the album, alongside Phil Palmer on rhythm guitar, Mick Brill on bass and Peter De Girolamo who provides some deliciously soulful keyboards.
Encompassing folk, rock, glam, prog and much more besides – probably no-one better captures the diverse range of artists I try to cover at Darren’s Music Blog than Joshua Burnell.
I reviewed his last album, Flowers Where The Horses Sleep, noting that “for all the quirky left-field musical influences, these freshly-composed songs still manage to retain a strong folk sensibility.” This time, however, Burnell has thrown away the genre rule-book entirely. Glass Knight is a stunningly impressive album and I was privileged to witness him formally launch it at this year’s Cropredy where I described it as “Hunky Dory-era Bowie meets folk rock meets prog”.
Burnell effortlessly plays around with all of these musical strands to come up with something that’s unique, original and utterly compelling. And, importantly – whatever the genre – it’s jam-packed full of damned good, instantly hummable tunes. He’s a wonderfully inventive songwriter and a talented multi-instrumentalist and, once again, demonstrates an instinctive ear for a catchy melody and a poetic turn of phrase.
A concept-album of sorts, with a central character appearing across its ten tracks, Glass Knight encompasses everything from ecological destruction and sci-fi apocalypse to a reworking of an ancient folk tale. From the epic ‘Where Planets Collide’ which introduces the album’s central character, to the delicately poignant ‘Out Of These Worlds, to the retro glammy-sounding ‘Last Rain’ to the impossibly catchy ‘Don’t Lose Your Faith’ to the Ziggy-esque swagger of ‘Lucy’ this is an album I just cannot stop playing. In Glass Knight Joshua Burnell has turned out a bona fide twenty-first century masterpiece.
“Vibrant, inventive and joyful” is how I summed up The Light Of The Moon, the second album from Gnoss, when it was released back in 2021. Now they are back with a follow-up, Stretching Skyward. Always vibrant and joyful, the inventiveness, too, certainly continues on this, their third album. Containing all original material, save for a cover of Gillian Welch’s ‘Hard Times’, the album fizzes with virtuoso musicianship, enticing melodies and rich sound textures. And in ‘Hamnavoe’ the second track on the album that celebrates Orkney’s Viking heritage and mythology (written, like the other original songs on the album, by vocalist Aidan Moodie), they have turned out a genuine, bona fide folk anthem.
Aidan Moodie:“Each track is centred around a story that has change at its heart. Those stories gave us pause to look at the change that’s taken place in our own lives over the past few years. We wanted to reflect this idea within the sounds we used to construct the album.”
Once more with the established line-up of Aidan Moodie, Graham Rorie, Connor Sinclair and Craig Baxter, this album again features Braebach’s James Lindsey on electric and double bass. In keeping with the theme of change though, the band embrace less traditional sounds, too, including synths, electronic samples and state-of-the-art production techniques.
A stunning album from a band demonstrating they are still very much at the top of their game and passionate about their rightful place at the cutting edge of Scottish folk.
Both highly sought-after musicians on the Scottish traditional scene, harpist, Rachel Hair, and guitarist, Ron Jappy, first came together to record as a duo back in 2019 with the album Sparks. Élan is the pair’s long-awaited follow-up comprising Hair’s original compositions alongside a number of traditional tunes and a handful by other contemporary writers.
Rachel Hair:“Élan is more closely related to who we are as musicians and people, than my previous releases. There are nods to my Highland background, with tunes from the Captain Simon Fraser collection, tunes I’ve written to do with Ullapool and Lochbroom, as well as pipe tunes. There are also sets of Irish tunes as a nod to the Glasgow-Irish music scene, and from the Isle of Man where my husband is from.”
A delightful album, the distinctive combination of acoustic guitar and harp brings a fresh perspective to traditional Celtic music and the duo’s treatment of tunes, both new and old, is invigorating and rather moreish. An album I’ll definitely want to return to.
Gavin Marwick & Wendy Stewart – Quarterdays: Whitsun
Whitsun is the second release in a series of EPs released by fiddle-player, Gavin Marwick, under the banner of the Quarterdays series of EPs being released across 2023. On this release, featuring new contemporary tunes composed by Marwick in a traditional style, he is joined by the renowned Galloway harpist, Wendy Stewart, with whom he also works in the alternative/folk string quintet, the Galloway Agreement.
Gavin Marwick & Wendy Stewart:“This second EP is a voyage of discovery into the lore and history of Whitsun. It’s a celebration of May and the beginning of the summer – the beasts are now all out in the fields, the primroses are still blooming – and in religious/spiritual terms it is mixed in with Pentecost and Beltane, holy wells and weddings. There are balmy warm days yet still the chance of bitter cold.”
While I’m late coming to this, the beautiful melodies and gentle interplay between Gavin Marwick’s fiddle and Wendy Stewart’s harp perfectly capture the atmosphere of a warm late-spring and come next May I’ll definitely be celebrating my favourite time of the year with a few spins of the Quarterdays: Whitsun EP.
An album of traditional songs and tunes from the Galloway area of south-west Scotland, singer and fiddler, Jo Miller, is joined by several musicians with close connections to the area. Miller is well-known for her work in community-based traditional music, formal education, and academic research. This recording draws on her research in the uplands of the Glenkens where she grew up, interviewing local residents and investigating historical sources.
Jo Miller:“I’m delighted to be sharing these songs and tunes which all have a personal association for me. You will also hear the spoken word, birdsong and singing for dancing – an aural landscape which not only evokes the former life of the Glenkens and its people, but also points toward its lively music culture in the present.”
Both poignant and entertaining, not to mention being a wonderful piece of living social history (with the performances on the album seeking to recreate the intimate atmosphere of performances at rural schools, individual homes and small schoolhouses where these songs were traditionally performed), A’ The Wat To Galloway is a wonderful celebration of the music and cultural life of this particular corner of Scotland.
With a blend of traditional Scottish and Irish folk, fused from a melting pot of gypsy melodies, bluegrass, Spanish, and Balkan influences (and much more besides!) Dallahan are Jack Badcock (guitar), Ciaran Ryan (banjo and mandolin), Andrew Waite (accordion and Benedict Morris (fiddle). Formed a decade ago, Speak of the Devil is the band’s fourth album.
Jack Badcock:“We believe it’s the band’s most accomplished and assured album to date. It’s been a while in the melting pot because each member of the band was incredibly busy with commitments as Covid eased off and the music world opened up again – not least Ciaran who was still working at a job he picked up during the pandemic as a fine dining chef!”
Featuring ten tracks of original material (four songs and six tunes) Speak of the Devil showcases a band that exudes confidence and creativity and is never afraid to be that bit different. The plethora of different influences and traditions that the band pull into their music, from the nifty banjo-playing to the jazz-like licks to the Spanish and Latin-American themes in the song lyrics, means that this album will appeal far beyond the confines of traditional folk, with much to enjoy here for devotees of bluegrass, world music and more.
Following an enforced two-year break due to Covid, going to last year’s Cropredyfestival almost felt like a novelty. This year, though, it very much felt like being part of an annual fixture once more, the two-year gap now but a distant memory. With various combinations of friends and family over the years, I’ve been going to Fairport Convention’s annual bash in rural Oxfordshire since 2010 so it’s been part of my summer for a good chunk of my life now.
Day One – Thursday
As usual, Fairport Convention opened the festival with a short acoustic set, Dave Mattacks now returning to the band he’s been in and out of since 1969 in order to take the place of Gerry Conway (who departed last year). As is now traditional, the band opened with Chris Leslie’s ‘Festival Bell’ timed to coincide with the ringing of the church bells over in the village (although even after all these years I’ve never actually managed to hear the ringing from the festival arena).
Chris Leslie up on the big screen for Fairport’s acoustic set (Photo: Simon Putman)
It was then straight into a blistering set from Merry Hell. The Wigan-based folk rockers have been frequent performers at the ‘Festival Fringe’ in the village of Cropredy but until now had never actually performed on the main stage. Formed back in 2010 out of the ashes of ‘folk-punk’ band, the Tansads, they’ve now put out six studio albums and released a double-disc best-of compilation earlier this year, a number of the songs from which they performed as part of their Cropredy set here. The band certainly know how to turn out a rousing anthem and many of the songs have a theme of communal togetherness (‘We Are Different We Are One’, ‘Lean On Me Love’, ‘Come On England’, ‘We Need Each Other Now’). More recently there’s been an additional (and very welcome) focus on environmental themes, represented today by ‘Leave It In The Ground’ and Greta Thunberg tribute, ‘Sister Atlas’. I suspect many Cropredy-goers will already have been very familiar with the band but they are sure to have won over many new fans this weekend.
Merry Hell’s John Kettle (Photo: Simon Putman)
Damian Wilson & Adam Wakeman were an entertaining duo, largely performing the latter’s songs rather than material from the more proggy or heavy metal-oriented parts of Wakeman’s past CV. However, by far the standout moment for me was their rendition of Bowie’s ‘Life on Mars’ which Wakeman’s father so memorably played piano on. Maybe it was just that I’d reached that time of the evening where I just wanted a succession of sing-along-to-every-word rock covers. Which was very fortunate indeed as soon it would be time for Toyah and Robert…
Fresh from the success of their Sunday lunchtime YouTube performances which became an unexpected lockdown hit, Toyah Wilcox and Robert Fripp made a surprise guest appearance last year as part of Trevor Horn’s set. This year they are back in their own right. Who could have guessed that an ’80s pop icon and her prog-rock-royalty husband would make such a fantastically entertaining duo. Blasting out one rock classic after another (‘Paranoid’, ‘Kashmir’, ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’, Sharped Dressed Man’…) as well as Toyah’s own ‘I Wanna Be Free’ and ‘It’s A Mystery’ it was utterly, utterly joyful.
Welcome to Cropredy festival (Photo: Simon Putman)
From being a young teenage heavy metal fan my musical tastes have certainly broadened over the years to incorporate so many additional genres: from folk to blues to country to prog to reggae to punk and much. much more besides. Would Nile Rodgers & Chic be a step too far, however? When the disco craze was in full swing at the end of the ’70s I absolutely loathed the music with a passion but I tried my hardest to approach the Thursday night headline slot with an open mind. What can I say? Engaging showmanship, consummate musicianship and hugely talented vocalists but to my ears it turned out to be little more than a compendium of some of the most irritating hit songs of my entire lifetime. I didn’t get it back then and it looks like I’m never going get it now. It was nice to see others clearly enjoying it, however.
Day Two – Friday
The Joshua Burnell Band kicked off Friday’s music on the main stage. While I’d never seen Joshua or his band live before, I’d previously reviewed his extremely impressive Flowers Where The Horses Sleepalbum back in 2020. He’s since recorded another album, Glass Knight, which he was actually releasing this very weekend at Cropredy. It’s a stunningly good set, best described as Hunky Dory-era Bowie meets folk rock meets prog, and the band are extremely well-received by the Cropredy crowd. The decision to time the release of the new album to coincide with their Cropredy slot was a smart one as they are bound to have shifted a sizeable number of copies based on that performance.
Joshua Burnell and bandmates (Photo: Simon Putman)
Next up was Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri. I’d already made arrangements to spend Friday afternoon at Cream Of The Crop, the boutique festival that takes place on an adjacent field (but where ticket-holders for the main festival are very much welcomed). It meant I wouldn’t have time to see much of Kiki Dee but I was rather hoping she’d do ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ very early on before I headed over to the other festival – and I’m pleased to say she did! Her musical partner explained that since he began working with Kiki Dee he was never going to attempt to pass himself off as Elton John, so that most famous pop-rock duet has been reinvented as a tender, laid-back solo ballad with some neat guitar work from Carmelo Luggeri.
Over at Cream of the Crop I was looking forward to seeing Parkbridge, but as a small festival with a couple of a hundred attendees maximum at any one time it has also proved to be the perfect location for catching up with old friends, a succession of whom I bump into before Parkbridge come on stage. Hailing (unsurprisingly) from Park Bridge in Greater Manchester, the band combine a love of folk rock, 70s-era classic rock and blues to come up with their own unique formula. Seasoned musicians all, the band have their debut album coming out in October, which would provide the bulk of their set today, albeit with a couple of well-chosen covers thrown in, too, courtesy of the Stray Cats and Free.
Parkbridge on stage at Cream of the Crop (Photo: Simon Putman)
We made it back to the main stage well in time for Strawbs, for what would be the last ever public performance by Dave Cousins, following medical advice. I must confess that the only Strawbs album I ever listen to with any regularity is the one they recorded with Sandy Denny before she joined Fairport but it was an emotional experience witnessing Cousins making his swansong performance. He was visibly moved by the warm response he got from the crowd. Just as I was secretly hoping all the way through, they even threw in ‘Part Of The Union’, too. It’s not one of Cousins’ own songs but it was definitely a defining Cropredy moment this year as we all bellowed out the words to that famous pop-folk novelty workers’ anthem of the early ’70s.
Dave Cousins gives an emotional final performance (Photo: Simon Putman)
The crowd-singalongs did not stop with ‘Part Of The Union’ because before too long we were on to a rip-roaring set from Fisherman’s Friends. I’ve seen the film, bought their top-selling ‘major label’ album and even saw them live when they came to Hastings a few years ago. I always knew they’d be a stonking festival band though and they did not disappoint. With raucous sing-alongs, tongue-in-cheek banter and shanties galore, for sheer unadulterated fun it actually turned out to be one of my highlights of the entire weekend.
Jon Cleave of Fisherman’s Friends (Photo: Simon Putman)
A combination of age, beer, cider and waking up at the crack of dawn this year due to our tent being right next to the busy railway line meant we decided to call it an early night and give 10cc a miss. Plus I didn’t want to miss out on a certain midnight rendezvous with Fairport the following evening. If I was going to be a party pooper better it be for ‘I’m Not In Love’ than ‘Meet On The Ledge’.
Day Three – Saturday
If Friday afternoon was all about bunking off from the main festival to spend time at Cream of the Crop, Saturday afternoon was all about spending time in Cropredy village. It’s an adorably picturesque Oxfordshire village, steeped in history – both of the English Civil War variety and of the folk rock variety, with a number of Fairport members having lived there (or in neighbouring villages) over the decades; an iconic shot for the band’s Nine album being taken outside one of the village pubs and, of course, the annual festival taking place following the band’s self-proclaimed ‘farewell concert’ here in 1979.
Welcome to Cropredy village (Photo: Simon Putman)
This year there was an extra special reason to be visiting the village, however, and that same pub The Brasenose. The late Sandy Denny’s daughter, Georgia, was hosting an exhibition at the pub, celebrating Sandy’s life. Featuring dresses and jewellery worn by Sandy, together with other personal effects and notebooks of song lyrics, it’s a lovingly put-together tribute to one of England’s greatest ever singer-songwriters. I also had the opportunity of to meet and chat with Georgia who kindly signed my exhibition programme.
Souvenir book from the Sandy Denny Exhibition (Photo: Darren Johnson)
The village of Cropredy really throws itself into the festival weekend and local residents make the most of thousands of people descending on them for a few days each year. The village hall, village school and sundry other buildings are repurposed as temporary dining establishments and every spare bit of space seems to have a pop-up stall of one sort or another. I got waylaid at the CD stall where the stallholder cheerfully told me that he was now selling everything off for a pound. It was good stuff, too. I ended up coming away with 40 CDs. Passing by half an hour or so later I could hear I’d even been enlisted as part of his sales pitch: “It’s all quality stuff. See that bloke over there in the orange shirt. He’s just spent forty quid here. ”
Forty more CDs for the collection (Photo: Simon Putman)
After depositing my second-hand CDs back at the campsite I was back at the main festival in time for Solstice. They were one of the bands that materialised as part of the prog renaissance in the early 80s, along with Marillion, Pallas, Twelfth Night and Pendragon who were all on the bill for the 1983 Reading Festival which I attended as a 17year-old. I can’t remember whether I saw Solstice then or not but I certainly remember walking around with the band’s name on the back of my festival t-shirt for a couple of years afterwards. At least I will know for sure that I saw them this time. Probably the most out-there and proggiest band of the weekend, at first I thought it was all a tad self-indulgent but after starting on another four-pint jug of cider I began to think it was all rather glorious. I would definitely go and see them again.
Stocking up on cider (photo: Kevin Smith)
The Young ‘uns I’d seen many times before and was confident the Cropredy crowd would immediately warm to them – which they did. When the trio first started out it was very much with a focus on traditional songs but as the songwriting of Sean Cooney developed, the Young ‘Uns carved out a niche for themselves singing songs about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Whether the stories are historical or contemporary (from the Spanish Civil War to the London Bridge terror attacks to one young woman’s uniquely heartfelt approach to suicide prevention) they sing with gusto, passion and strong regional accents. It’s always a delight to see them and they end their triumphant set with a suitably folked-up cover of ‘Sit Down’ by James. Fantastic stuff.
Gilbert O’Sullivan I remember from my childhood as my step-mum played his albums a lot when I was a young kid. In other circumstances I would have happily stayed, being both familiar with many of his big hits and mildly curious about what he’s been up to in the intervening decades. But it was time for a break from the cider, some chill-time at the tent and a strong cup of tea – ready to be rested and reinvigorated for the festival’s perennial headliners themselves.
Dusk over Cropredy festival (Photo: Simon Putman)
As Fairport Convention were not celebrating any major milestones at Cropredy this year (albeit that 2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of both the Rosie and the Nine albums) we didn’t get any reunited line-ups of surviving former members or albums played in full – although Fairport founder member Ashley Hutchings was one of the guests invited on stage this year and, of course, long-time member Dave Mattacks is now back playing with the band following the departure of Gerry Conway. As such, Fairport’s set perhaps lacked some of the dramatic “pinch me” moments of previous Cropredy appearances. But it was still a very fine two-and-a-half-hour set with a plethora of classic Fairport songs from the band’s early days and a heavy sprinkling of songs from their most recent studio album, Shuffle & Go. Indeed, there were perhaps rather too many of the latter since it is now three years old and the band have made far better albums in the past decade or so in my view, such as the truly excellent Festival Bell.
Fairport Convention’s Dave Pegg up on the big screen (Photo: Simon Putman)
No matter, it was an enjoyable set with guest appearances from the aforementioned Ashley Hutchings along with Vikki Clayton, Becky Mills (who is one of the very best interpreters of Sandy Denny material around today in my view) and Hannah Saunders & Ben Savage. At least having a fairly minimal number of guests this year and no logistics to juggle with that come through performing an entire album in full, it meant they could avoid cutting the set short this year – unlike last year where ‘Matty Groves’ had to be unceremoniously dumped to make sure they still had time for ‘Meet On The Ledge’. Once again, an emotional and triumphant end to a highly enjoyable weekend. It all came round again.
Lead single: ‘Why Do You’ released 18th August 2023
Coming together through a shared love of classic rock, folk rock and blues, bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention and Free, Parkbridge is a four-piece from Greater Manchester. Formed in 2022, all four members had cut their teeth playing in local bands for many years. But after some informal jam sessions working on songs that had been written by vocalist and guitarist, Robert Carter, Parkbridge rapidly evolved into the fully-fledged band it is today. After a series of well-received live gigs, work soon began on putting together the band’s debut album.
Parkbridge is: Robert Carter (guitar, vocals), Sean Dyer (lead guitar), Ian Turford (bass) and Dave Johnson (drums). The name comes from the area of Park Bridge on the outskirts of Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, where the band was originally formed. The area of Park Bridge was founded during the industrial revolution and for nearly two hundred years the village was home to the famous Park Bridge Ironworks. This local foundry provided essential components for a number of the world’s great engineering projects, giving the band not only its name but the inspiration for the title of its debut album, too.
“If you ever go to Paris, in the museum at the Eiffel Tower there is an inscription that says “Rivets made by the Park Bridge Iron Foundry, Ashton-under-Lyne” and so Rivets For The Eiffel Tower became the obvious name for our first album,” says frontman and vocalist/guitarist, Robert Carter.
A single from the album, ‘Why Do You’ is released on 18th August.
Commenting on the single, Robert Carter says:“It’s about obsession, angst and in a way about dishonest love. Things aren’t always as wonderful as they first seem and control becomes more important than the relationship. It isn’t about anybody in particular, more about witnessed experiences and observations and it nicely showcases the musicianship in the band.”
The album itself is a collection of eight original tracks – a mix of acoustic, rock, folk-rock and blues.
Commenting on the album, Robert Carter adds:“I have long had an ambition to release an album of music containing songs that I’ve written. Thanks to the guys in Parkbridge, that dream is about to become a reality. All three are great musicians and it’s a privilege for me to work with them. There’s a couple of songs of what you would call folk rock. There’s a couple that are classic rock in style. There’s a couple that could be classed as indie rock and there’s a couple of blues songs. We’re probably a little different to most of the newish rock bands you hear these days. We try and be melodic. We try and tell a story in the lyrics. We try and offer something different. So if you’re into that classic rock sound with style, have a listen and tell us what you think!”
Rivets For The Eiffel Tower is produced by Buzz Hawkins at Hawkins Studios 215 in Mossley.
Rivets For The Eiffel Tower will go on general release on 6th October 2023 with a limited-edition CD available from 18th August. The album is available via: www.parkbridgemusic.com
Upcoming live dates:
Cream of the Crop Festival, Cropredy Oxfordshire – Friday 11th August, 2.30pm
Colne Blues Festival at The Venue, Friday 25th August, 7.00pm
Tameside Beer Festival, Hyde Town Hall, Friday 22nd September, 6.00pm
Launch event: Tapsters Bar, Old Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, Friday 18th August, 7pm
Lucas Pasley is an old-time fiddler/banjo-player and singer-songwriter from Sparta, North Carolina in the heart of the southern Appalachian mountains. Pasley has spent most of his musical life performing traditional Appalachian music and formed the band, Gap Civil, in 2018 with a motto to “honour and innovate” traditional mountain music. In recent years, however, he has also moved into singer-songwriter territory.
Ponies Back Home is his second solo album and follows Souls Living On, released in 2020.
Still very much rooted in traditional Appalachian music, Pasley is heavily influenced by his grandmother’s songwriting, while also bringing in wider country influences together with his own sense of originality. The result is an album packed full of appealing melodies, heartfelt lyrics and authentic playing.
A number of additional guest vocalists, together with a stellar line-up of musicians complementing Pasley on vocals, guitar and fiddle, makes for a strong album. Ponies Back Home will certainly appeal to those with a love for the Appalachian traditions but there’s plenty here to tempt anyone who enjoys some fine Country/Americana-flavoured singer-songwriting.
Coming together through a shared love of classic rock, folk rock and blues – bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention and Free – Parkbridge is a four-piece from Greater Manchester. The band’s debut album Rivets For The Eiffel Tower comes out in the Autumn. I catch up with lead singer, lyricist and guitarist, Robert Carter.
Firstly, what got you into performing?
It was really my cousin, Steve. He was in bands from being a teenager. He’s five years older than me and I used to go round to his house and he’d be playing the piano and he’d try and teach me how to play ‘Chopsticks’. His fingers would just go up and down the keys and I was just so impressed. And then as he got older he started being in bands. And then when I started writing songs, he was the first person that I contacted to see if he was interested in playing around with them. In the early ‘80s we got together once a week for about a year and wrote songs together. In those days it was usually his music and my lyrics. But then we both had young kids and we kind of let it drift. He’s in Whitby now but we still get together at least once a year. And we just get the guitars out and start playing. It’s great fun.
What prompted you to start writing? You said you started off writing songs with your cousin.
It was probably about 1980 when I was 20 years old. Believe it or not there was a Paul Gambaccini series about various bands and he did one on the Doors. He was talking about how Jim Morrisson had written a load of poetry and he took them to Ray Manzarek, who was obviously an accomplished musician, and Ray Manzarek said something along the lines of, “These are the greatest lyrics I’ve ever seen. Let’s form a band and make a million dollars.” And I thought it was going to be that easy. So just find a really great musician – my cousin – and we’ll make a million dollars. But it didn’t quite work like that!
So you’re still waiting for the million dollars?
Yes, although that doesn’t go quite as far these days, does it? But it did 40 years ago!
And now you’re the singer and guitarist with Parkbridge. Tell us how this project first came about.
There’s an area of Ashton-under-Lyne called Park Bridge – two words. And it’s a famous old area that I’ll come back to in a minute. But it’s got an institute which is basically like a co-operative pub and about three years ago they had what they called an acoustic night. So I trundled up with my guitar and played a few songs and our bass player, Ian Turford, was in another band at the time. Their band played a few songs and Ian then said to me, “Let’s get together and do something.” But Ian works full time and he’s playing in bands almost every night of the week. And he’s married and he’s got grand-kids and kids and all that stuff. So fitting it in was difficult. And then a couple of years later, I was introduced to Sean Dyer by one of the members who said, “You play guitar. You play guitar. Talk to each other!” So, we started chatting and even though he’s considerably younger than me, he has very similar music tastes. We talked about Paul Kossoff and Free. We talked about Peter Green and David Gilmour and Led Zeppelin. And then we started talking about folk and Fairport and Cropredy Convention and he said, ‘Oh, I’ve just got into Fairport.” And he likes a bit of Bert Jansch and Richard Thompson and the more we talked, the more we kind of clicked. I just invited him round. I said, “I’ll play you some of the songs I’ve written and see what you think.”
So we did and it worked out quite well. He started noodling – that’s a technical term for playing arpeggios and licks! – around the songs I was singing to him. So I said, “We’ve got to do this again.” So we met again the next week, did the same songs and played around with them and I said, “Do you know Ian?” – who also lived in Park Bridge at the time and he said, “Yes, of course I do – great bass player.” And I said, “Well, he and I have been talking about doing something and we’ve just never got around to it.” So, I phoned him up and the next week when we got together, Ian came, too, just with his acoustic bass. And we sat in my kitchen and started just formulating arrangements for the songs that I’d written. Ian then got us a gig supporting another band he was in and it went really well. But his band had a drummer. And Sean and I were watching this second band and we said, “Oh, we need a drummer don’t we?” Anyway, a couple of months later a drummer that Ian had played with, Dave Johnson, had his drums set up at the back of the hall in a rehearsal room. So we went and met Dave and it all started to click together. We said let’s work on some original songs, let’s play around with some covers just to get the feel and get tight as a band and that’s kind of it. So by about May last year, we’d become the four-piece that we are today.
As a band you’re upfront about bringing that mix of rock, blues and folk influences into your music. Was that a conscious decision or did that just evolve from those first few jam sessions together?
I think it’s evolved. When Sean and I first got together we were talking about folk and folk rock – in an acoustic environment. And then there was one particular song called ‘Hired To Kill’ which is on the first album, and I said, “This isn’t working.” When I wrote the song, I wrote it as a rock song and it needed a riff. So Sean started playing around with an electric riff and we bounced it around and it evolved into a rock song. As did another one called ‘Alright Jack’ which is the opening track on the album. And, again, once we put an electric riff to it, it just took on a whole new dimension. But we’ve not done that with everything. The album is a mix of rock, acoustic rock, folk rock and blues. A couple of songs I wrote were definitely written as blues songs in the twelve-bar format. So it’s evolved really. It started out as a folk rock duo and has now become either a folky blues-rock band or a bluesy folk-rock band.
What are your favourite artists and who has been a big influence on you?
After I graduated from the pop-rock bands of the early ‘70s like Slade and Sweet, I was at a neighbours. They were all a few years older than me. And one day one of the guys put on Led Zeppelin 2 and it changed my life! I heard Led Zeppelin as an 11 or 12-year-old and I just thought wow! So then I started to discover new things and started listening to the Alan Freeman show was on the radio on a Saturday afternoon. So the bands that I really got into: Led Zeppelin I’ve mentioned, of course. I love Free, Family, Pink Floyd. The heavier stuff, like Black Sabbath. I got into Uriah Heep as well. It was all of those kind of bands. A friend had Wishbone Ash’s Argus which is a sublime album. So it was really what we now call classic rock that influenced me. But, I always had a soft spot for Fairport Convention. And I got into Fairport, as many people did, because of Sandy Denny doing the duet with Robert Plant on ‘The Battle of Evermore’. And I thought, “I’ve got to hear more of her.” So I went and discovered Fairport and I’ve been a Fairport fan ever since. I go to their Cropredy festival every year – as you do! I’m also a big Neil Young fan. And the Byrds. And I just love Bob Dylan, as a song-writer, and against popular perception, I do also actually like Bob Dylan’s singing voice, too. I think he pus his songs across really, really well.
You must be excited to have the band’s debut album coming out – Rivets For The Eiffel Tower. Firstly, tell us where that title comes from.
I mentioned Park Bridge earlier. Park Bridge was formed as a village during the industrial revolution. There was a big iron foundry in Park Bridge and a mill. If you ever go to Paris, in the museum at the Eiffel Tower there is an inscription that says “Rivets made by the Park Bridge Iron Foundry, Ashton-under-Lyne.” And so Rivets For The Eiffel Tower became the obvious name for our first album. They also, we believe, made the rivets for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, too – so there might be a second album title there. And as third album’s often sink – ours won’t of course – they also made the rivets for the Titanic but we don’t talk about that one too much!
So what can people can expect from the album?
They’re all original songs. There are eight songs on the album. There’s a couple of what you would call folk rock. There’s a couple that are classic rock in style. There’s a couple that could be classed as indie rock and there’s a couple of blues songs. And they are all words written by me and music and arrangements by the band. And if you’re into the kind of bands that we’ve been talking about, maybe you’ll like what you hear. I have to say that I’m working with three fantastic musicians. Sean’s two big influences are David Gilmour and Peter Green and I think that comes out in the album. Ian, the bass-player, loves a bit of Black Sabbath and you can hear a bit of Geezer Butler’s influence in there. He plays a melodic bass quite regularly, not just a thump-thump bass, and Ian’s style kind of captures that. And Dave is quite eclectic. He loves a bit of John Bonham but he loves quite a few modern drummers as well. And they’re all great musicians and it’s a privilege for me to work with them. We’re probably a little different to most of the newish rock bands you hear these days. We try and be melodic. We try and tell a story in the lyrics. We try and offer something different. So if you’re into that classic rock sound with style, have a listen and tell us what you think!
You also present your own music show on Real Rock Radio. Can you also say a bit about that?
It started last year at the Tameside Beer Festival. Immediately after Parkbridge played, Tony Charles, the managing director of Real Rock Radio did a set of classic rock songs and we got chatting and he said, “I could really do with someone on the station who could do country rock.” And I said, “What about folk rock and acoustic rock, with a little bit of country rock thrown in?” He said, “I love it!” So I now present every Friday at 7 O’clock ‘The Acoustic & Folk Rock Show’ on Real Rock Radio. It’s repeated on Tuesdays at 2pm for those people who have better things to do on a Friday. And it’s great fun. It’s a lot more work than I expected but it’s introduced me to a lot of bands that I wasn’t aware of. And on this week’s show I’ve actually sneaked in ‘Why Do You?’ from our album but don’t tell anyone!
Rivets For The Eiffel Tower by Parkbridge goes on general release on 6th October with a limited-edition CD available from 18th August 2023.
Awakening is the third album from Glasgow-based folk aces, Ímar – their first in five years. Featuring Mohsen Amini (concertina), Tomas Callister (fiddle), Adam Rhodes (bouzouki), Ryan Murphy (pipes, flute and whistle) and Adam Brown (bodhran, guitar), the album (featuring cover art of the 9th century king from which the band takes its name) offers up ten tracks of mainly original tunes.
Mohsen Amini:“The idea behind this album was to take it back to where we came in with all the vibes of our debut album, Afterlight. As the band progressed, the music became more produced. We loved it but we never had more enjoyment that those original days at the inception of Ímar.”
Fresh, exhilarating and inventive, Awakening sees Ímar take us on a breathtaking ride through a stunning new collection of tunes that both showcase their virtuosity while giving every impression of a band having a huge load of fun during the making of it.
Westward The Light are Charlie Grey, Sally Simpson, Owen Sinclair and Joseph Peach. Formed in 2018, the band have won acclaim on the folk scene for their innovative arrangements of Scottish traditional tunes on fiddle, viola, piano and guitar. Flow Country, named after the region of rolling peatland between Caithness and Sutherland, is their second album.
Joseph Peach:“Flow Country is a record on which the tune takes precedence. There are no gimmicks, there’s jus straight up traditional music which we feel really captures the essence of our Scottish culture and heritage.”
A lovely collection of tunes that instantly transport the listener to the rugged landscapes and long-cherished musical heritage of the north of Scotland and which showcase some stunning interactions between these highly-skilled instrumentalists, Flow Country leaves its mark from the very first listen.
Still only in his mid-20s, melodeon-player and composer, James Kerry, has been a noted presence on the UK folk scene, playing at festivals such as Warwick Folk Festival and Broadstairs Folk Week and establishing a reputation for passionate, rhythmic playing rooted in the folk dance tradition. Source is Kerry’s first solo project and features mainly traditional English tunes with a handful of original compositions and a couple of contemporary pieces by other writers thrown in as well.
“Source is a true representation of James’ style and passions and reflects his huge respect for traditional music and his desire to pass it on,” we are told in the album sleeve-notes.
A fine showcase for James Kerry’s skilful playing, supporters of traditional English dance tunes will simply love this album – which also boasts a stunning line-up supporting musicians in Tom Kitching, James Delarre and Danny Tonks.
Neil Pearlman is best known for his ground-breaking approach to the piano in Celtic music. In that capacity he tours regularly with Kevin Henderson, Katie McNally, The Pine Tree Flyers, and as a solo pianist, while playing more irregularly with a wide variety of side projects featuring top Celtic, Americana and Jazz musicians. His latest project, Refractions, is a collection of traditional Scottish and Gaelic tunes, arranged especially for solo performance on the piano.
Neil Pearlman: “The choice to focus on traditional Scottish melodies is my way of paying respect to my roots. Traditional Scottish tunes are some of the very first music I ever heard or played, so going into that repertoire and having a conversation with it as the artist I am today was a powerful experience, and a good way to explore both who I am now and where I come from.”
Some of the tunes on Refractions are familiar, others less so, but what Pearlman does throughout the whole album is find the inherent beauty in each individual tune and present them in an entirely new light. It makes for a poignant and highly intimate album with some exceptional playing.
And finally, while there’s been a heavy focus on instrumental albums in this latest round-up, the ever industrious Irish-born, Dorset-based singer songwriter Owen Moore also has a new album out, another compilation – this one with an Irish theme.
Owen Moore:“My new album is called Songs From The Shamrock Bar and is an anthology of recordings that have all appeared on previous Owen Moore albums and singles over the past ten years or so. All of the songs have a link of some sort with Ireland, which is where I was born (70 plus years ago) and many of them take a nostalgic look at days gone by.”
Always entertaining, with a penchant for engaging storytelling, catchy melodies and gentle guitar picking, Owen Moore’s own brand of Americana-infused singer-songwriting with that special touch of Celtic magic is very much on display here.
“Simply calling Aaron a guitarist and songwriter is a little like calling Warhol a painter. It misses the mark by miles.” Tim Carroll – FolkWords
“This album really is a proper immersive experience, way beyond good songwriting and performance.” Paul Jackson – Fatea
‘Gotta Believe’ is the latest single from guitarist and singer songwriter, Jake Aaron. Featuring a guest appearance from renowned jazz fusion guitarist, John Etheridge (of Soft Machine, Hawkwind, solo acclaim and many collaborations), it’s one of the harder rocking tracks from Jake Aaron’s newly-released album, Always Seeking . The album was released on digital formats on 17th May 2023 and is also available on CD from 7th June.
Talking about ‘Gotta Believe’ single Jake says: “I’m partial to some heavy rock now and again, so I enjoyed writing this track. In the studio, John Etheridge put aside his boutique Jazz amp which he’d used for a jazzier track on the album, and plugged his guitar into the studio’s Marshall. The solo sounds like molten lava dripping off the fretboard, lovely stuff. Kate Kurdyak, who also sings “Lupe’s Theme” on the album, is singing backing vocals. Before we recorded it I mentioned to the musicians, who are all very fine Jazz players, that they didn’t have to play this one if they didn’t want. The drummer Marc Parnell replied “jazz players are fine playing rock, it’s rock players who won’t play jazz!”
The album itself, Always Seeking, is a collection of fourteen tracks – a mix of acoustic, rock, blues, saloon piano and a Western cinematic theme. There are some characters along the way – Parnell (‘Parnell’s Last Stand’), a young wolf Lupe (‘Lupe’s Theme’) and an old dog who’s lost his way (‘Leave the Light On’).
Commenting on the album, Jake says:“I’d say it was alt-Americana rather than straight Americana. I grew up listening to bands like The Jam, Ian Dury and The Specials rather than American country – so there are other influences in there”
On the album, Jake is again joined by the excellent team of musicians from his first album, Fag Ash and Beer. These being: Steve Lodder on keyboards, Davide Mantovani on bass, Marc Parnell on drums and Steve Waterman on trumpet. “Some of the best players in the UK,” as the BBC’s Linley Hamilton noted. There are also guest appearances from the phenomenal John Etheridge on lead guitar (‘Gotta Believe’, ‘Four Coaches’ and ‘The Revenant’); and the wonderful Kate Kurdyak of Canadian noir-pop band Vox Rea (‘Lupe’s Theme’ and ‘Gotta Believe’).
The album will be available in a limited-run CD format from 7th June – with artwork by the fantastic Anthony MacBain (Grand Theft Auto).
ABOUT JAKE AARON:
A British guitarist and songwriter who has “moved among both folk and jazz circles” (‘Cosmic Jazz’ – Feb 2023) Jake’s first EP of acoustic pieces was released in 2015 to positive reviews from folk and indie reviewers. His 2018 single ‘Give Me Your Horse’ was a bigger, jazzier number which had airplay on both folk stations as well as jazz, including the BBC’s Jazz Nights. He released his first album in 2019 Fag Ash and Beer, a collection of songs, longer lyrical offerings and instrumentals which was nominated for Debut Album of The Year by Fatea Magazine. He has released a handful of mainly acoustic singles since then.
ALBUM RELEASE NOTES:
ARTIST: Jake Aaron
TITLE: Always Seeking
CATALOGUE NO: JA10
LABEL: Jake Aaron Records
RELEASE DATE: 17th May 2023 (Digital), 7th June 2023 (CD)
FORMAT Digital: / CD
FILE UNDER: Folk / Blues / Rock / Jazz
AVAILABLE: Online / CD
DIRECT FROM: iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify, jakeaaron.com
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