AMA-UK Review, BBC Introducing, Artist Bracelet, Compilations

Am all recovered from a great couple of days at the AMA-UK Conference and Awards and my review about my inspiring time there is in the Columns section of the site. Also been playing this sweet song from winning of Best International Album, Sam Outlaw and ‘Country Love Song.’

 

Very exciting that ‘Remember Me’ from ‘Another Place and Time’ is featuring on this weekend’s BBC Introducing! Lovely to have their support.

https://soundcloud.com/lisaredford/remember-me

Here’s the clip from the show, thanks to Joe Se!

Another one of my songs from the EP ‘Music and the Mountains’ is on this lovely Americana compilation, The House Concert 8th Birthday Collection from Medicine Show Records and available on BandCamp.

Huge thanks to Basement Tapes for creating this beautiful bracelet for me! Made from my used Taylor guitar strings it’s one of their stunning Artist bracelets. It’s available to order via their website and I’ve been proudly wearing it every since!

Another compilation that I’m proud to feature on, charity release ‘A World of Hope’ from Postcards for Peace will be officially released on March 10th. You can also order it now here.

 

 

 

Ryan Adams at Rough Trade, AMA UK Conference and Awards

It’s been really cool to start the year enjoying some exceptional music. I was lucky to be among an intimate crowd getting to see Ryan Adams preview brand new material from his upcoming album ‘Prisoner’ at Rough Trade East. His new songs are amazing and I love single ‘To Be Without You’ so much I’ve recorded an acoustic cover of it:

Also in my music columnist role I’ve had a fun couple of days enjoying the AMA UK Conference and Awards. Met so many wonderful people all celebrating Americana music. The conference had some great panels and a fascinating conversation between Bob Harris and wonderful songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter.

 

BBC Look East, Art of the Song Interview, Song of the Day, Merry Christmas!

Some shots from a great time Breeze and I had filming for BBC Look East. Cool to see some close ups of my Baby Taylor! Thanks so much to the BBC for putting together such a lovely festive video for our performance.

The performance is now on iPlayer and YouTube:

Thanks so much to Art of the Song for making ‘When Christmas Comes Around’ ‘Song of the Day’. I was also just interviewed for their excellent podcast following on from One Republic’s Ryan Tedder.  Talking music, songwriting & more in detail here. Thanks for listening xx

My article on ways to do a cover song creatively is in the new winter edition of Songwriting Magazine. Tons of features and interviews including the excellent Billy Bragg and the art of the protest song. Plus The Lumineers, Katie Melua, Tom Chaplin, Wild Beasts, punk and more. Something to cool to read over the festive period, you can order it here

Thanks so much to all the radio shows for supporting the festive single and to everyone for getting it, really means such a lot xx

Merry Christmas to you all and a music filled 2017!! 

New Christmas Single Out Today! Reviews, Columns, Videos

I’ve been working hard lately recording my new acoustic Christmas single myself and it’s out today! ‘When Christmas Comes Around’ is all about spending time with loved ones over the festive period and is available at my Bandcamp.

And here’s a little video:

“If this song isn’t perfect for a cold night in, then nothing is.” Thanks so much to Belles and Gals for featuring the song and also Foz at BBC Radio Suffolk for already giving it some airplay.

Talking of Belles and Gals, who have given me so much support this year. I’m thrilled and surprised to be nominated for Best UK EP at the Belles and Gals Awards. Really lovely for my hard work to be recognised and supported:

“Lisa’s music is a beautiful blend of the sweetest style of country and the purest sound of folk music”. Thanks so much to Building Our Own Nashville for this amazing review of the EP.

I’ve also been continuing to write my music columns and here’s my latest column for All Things Norfolk

As mentioned last time, I’m honoured to have a track on beautiful charity compilation Postcards For Peace among many wonderful artists including Linda Thompson, Kris DreverPeggy Seeger Boo Hewerdine Hothouse Flowers. Also features ‘Courage’ (piano version) the debut single I wrote for Breeze Redwine. It is officially released next February but you can buy it now from the PFP website and all money will go directly back into the charity. Would make a great Christmas present! So wonderful it managed to raise the funds needed.
26 songs of war and peace, of hope and of love, of living life to the full, of not giving up and of having the courage to face adversity..

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and thanks so much for all the support, it really means a lot and keeps me creating music! xxx

BBC Introducing, Folk East

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August has been a busy month. Was at BBC Introducing with Breeze as she was interviewed about all her exciting achievements in LA and . We had a great time on the show and the guys made Breeze feel very welcome. Listen again to the interview here

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I also had a lovely time playing VW Whitenoise festival and Folk East where I was joined by Noel Dashwood. It’s such a lovely festival with so much creativity going on and some much to do. Thanks to the SoapBox stage for having me and I’ve uploaded many videos to my YouTube channel.

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Thanks also to Penny Black Music for an amazing review of the EP. Read it in full here

Awards in Hollywood, Courage Best Original Song, Festivals and Radio Play!

Breeze and Lisa Awards

Some exciting news ~ my incredibly talented student Breeze  has just returned from LA where she won many awards at the World Championships of Performing Arts, an international performing arts talent competition in Hollywood!

Among her many awards, Breeze won 4 Gold, 2 Silver and Overall Champion twice.  She also won an Industry Award, meaning she is most likely to make it in the music industry.

I’m also really proud that ‘Courage’ her recent debut single that I wrote, won Best Original Song.  As a songwriter, to gain recognition for your songs is the biggest thrill. Courage was also recently played on BBC Introducing so it’s all really exciting that the song is continuing to receive recognition.

I’ve also been continuing to promote ‘Another Place and Time’ which has earned more lovely reviews including from Songwriting Magazine, Outline Magazine and the respected roots singer/songwriter magazine R2 who have described it as ‘classy songwriting and a heartfelt vocal delivery.’

I recently released the second single from it called ‘Remember Me’ which has had airplay on various folk, Americana and country shows including Baylen Leonard’s The Front Porch on Amazing Radio. Here’s an acoustic unplugged version in a very cool music room:

One of my columns, writing to a brief, is also included in the excellent summer issue of Songwriting Magazine which also includes features on The Lumineers, Nerina Pallot, Scott Matthew and tons of tips for musicians.


songwritingmag contents

Festival season is in full swing and I started my festival appearances by playing again at Dubs in the Hall festival in the beautiful surroundings of Holt Hall. There’s always a lovely family atmosphere there.

Another festival with a wonderful atmosphere is Latitude which was excellent as always and so much fun on a particularly sultry day and evening. Among the many exciting and eclectic bands I saw, the highlight was seeing one of my favourite bands New Order headline on the Sunday night, my legs were very tired afterwards from dancing!

In tribute I’ve done an acoustic cover of ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’

Upcoming festival appearances include another VW festival, White Noise near Thetford where I’ll be closing the Woodland stage on Sunday 7th August. White Noise is the first VM and music festival established in Norfolk over 13 years ago and is a truly independent festival that celebrates diverse live music and provides many free creative activities for children.

On August 21st I’ll then be playing on the Soapbox Stage at Folk East which is held at the picturesque Suffolk estate of Glemhall Hall.  Described by The Guardian as “one of the best world music, roots and folk festivals in the UK, for 2016” Folk East is in its fifth year and among its usual exceptional headliners in the world of folk and roots is Eliza Carthy who I supported at OPEN last year. I’m really excited to be performing on The SoapBox Stage for the first time as the stage, run by creative producer Amy Wragg, an independent Music & Spoken Word promoter, is renowned for showcasing a mix of new and established artists.

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EP Release! Amazing Response to ‘Courage’ Music Video, New Column, Great Reviews

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It’s EP release week! ‘Another Place and Time’ is out this Friday on iTunes and I’ve been so happy with all the airplay and lovely reviews coming in.

You can order a digital version and also some limited edition signed copies at the store page here and also at my BandCamp page

And the excellent folk and acoustic Fish Records are also selling a few signed copies.

“Devilishly subtle melodies, allied to lyrics that will pull gently at those heartstrings…Guaranteed to be a winner” thanks to Fatea Magazine for this wonderful review.

“Lisa Redford has an amazing ability to portray a certain vulnerability, yet a complete confidence in her vocals.” Thanks so much Belles and Gals for this amazing review.

“a showcase of Lisa’s wonderful voice combined with simple yet beautiful Americana melodies.” Another lovely review of the EP. Huge thanks to Your Life in a Song

As well as all the promotion for the EP, the official music video for ‘Courage’, the single I’ve written by Breeze Redwine, has only been posted a short time and it’s had an amazing response! It’s available on iTunes and here’s the powerful video with a strong message. Reading all the comments, I’m so happy it has resonated with so many people.

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Also, my latest music column for the Evening News was in shops this week. As well as details about my EP and Breeze’ single, I’m previewing some great gigs and Record Store Day.

 

 

New EP ‘Another Place and Time’ Released With Proper Distribution April 8th!

Lisa Redford EP Cover

Very excited to announce that my brand new EP ‘Another Place and Time’ will be released through Proper Distribution on April 8th! There are details about it in my new music column published in today’s Evening News. Can’t wait to share it with you all!

march 2016

It’s been a very busy week as I’ve also been preparing the release of my student Breeze’s debut single which is called ‘Courage’ written by me. That is also going to be released through Proper Distribution, so impressed were they by the track, on April 1st.

Earlier this week I was asked to step in as special guest for rising folk star Kelly Oliver who was performing at the Bicycle Shop. Sadly her support Marina Florance had to pull out due to illness. It was nice to perform to an appreciative audience and lovely to meet the very talented Kelly:

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I also managed to find a little bit of time to record a live cover of one of my favourite songs, ‘All the Luck in the World’ by Neal Casal who has been a huge inspiration to my songwriting. I really love the lyrics and melody and hope you enjoy!

Interviewed for BBC Project, New Music Column and Video

feb 2016 column

It’s only February but already there has been lots going on! Here’s some words from my latest music column for the Evening News. Last week I was interviewed for a great upcoming music project. BBC4 will soon be broadcasting the People’s History of Pop, a four-part interactive series where music fans share their special memories of favourite artists and venues and in particular their treasured pop and rock memorabilia. All BBC Local Radio stations are also broadcasting their own tie-in programmes and I chatted to BBC Radio Norfolk about my own collection of memorabilia and the memories associated with them.

The programme will be broadcast on BBC Radio Norfolk on Sunday 7th of February at 12 midday. After that it will be available on the iPlayer for 30 days after transmission.

There’s also a BBC website about the project here:

As many of you know I’ve been a big fan of Americana music for a long time, artists such as Ryan Adams, Wilco, Lucinda Williams and many more have inspired my own sound and albums and I’ve shared the stage with many respected artists in the genre. My upcoming acoustic release also very much embraces it with a rootsy sound and lots of dobro, ukulele and harmonies. New live video:

‘Music and the Mountains’ Live at OPEN

Americana music incorporates elements of various American styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass and blues and its been flourishing in recent years here in the UK. Now, excitingly it is to have its own official chart. BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris, who is also hosting his very own festival this May, the Under the Apple Tree Roots festival which will showcase and celebrate a number of Americana artists, said of the new chart: “I am so pleased to see the founding of a new Americana chart. It is important and appropriate that the popularity of this wonderful, vibrant and creative genre is acknowledged in this way.” The Official Americana Albums Chart will feature the top 40 best selling Americana albums of the previous week. It will be published weekly on OfficialCharts.com, Fridays, 5.45pm, and will appear on the AMA UK site at 6pm each Friday. The AMA UK also hosted their own conference, showcases and awards show this week in London.

I’ve previously mentioned my incredibly talented award winning vocal student Breeze and she has just recorded one of my original songs ‘Courage’. I’m really enjoying writing songs for others and it’s really heartfelt and anthemic with a universal theme. It was recorded at The Mill Studio near Diss who are responsible for producing releases by many local bands as well as international signed recording artists. Jonny Cole, who runs the studio, has done a great job working on the song and it will be available online soon. Breeze is also preparing to represent Great Britain at an international singing contest, travelling to Long Beach, California to take part in the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCPA) which attracts contestants from 60 countries. If you want to support her on this amazing journey and opportunity, please read more here

 

Recording! Clips from the studio. Latest Columns, New Christmas Song Video

It’s been a really productive time this past month as I’ve been in the studio recording some songs which I can’t wait to share with you! I’ve recorded a few songs with Jose McGill who is the singer and guitarist of renowned band The Vagaband and he has been adding some lovely subtle instrumentation. Noel Dashwood, who recently performed with me at OPEN when we supported Eliza Carthy, has also contributed his wonderful dobro as well as ukulele, harmonies and harmonica. The mixes are already sounded great and I’ve posted some little video clips from the studio on my Instagram 

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NovemberAlso I’ve been writing my music column for the Evening News.  All my music activities plus previewing great gigs and live music.

december

It’s that time again! My Christmas single ‘St Benedict’s Christmas Fair’ is available on iTunes and Bandcamp ~ here’s a new live video, performing the song unplugged.

xmas single 2014