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.’
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Very exciting that ‘Remember Me’ from ‘Another Place and Time’ is featuring on this weekend’s BBC Introducing! Lovely to have their support.
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.
For a limited time you can order my entire digital back catalogue, including three albums & new EP ‘Another Place and Time’ at a reduced price, 35% off! more info is at my Bandcamp page, thanks so much for all the support and orders. Thanks also to Belles and Gals for this lovely feature about my digital sale
And to Stephpar for featuring my recent single ‘Remember Me’ on his Song a Day blog here
Compilation
I am honoured to be included on a wonderful compilation put together by Postcards for Peace, an amazing charity aiming to help eliminate discrimination. It will feature my song ‘Live Your Life’ (live video below) and the single I wrote for Breeze Redwine ‘Courage’ (exclusive piano version) plus a whole host of amazing artists including Lau, Boo Hewerdine, Linda Thompson and Kris Drever. More info and how to help here.
Radio Airplay and Country Belles Interview
Thanks so much to Country Belles for a lovely interview recently. I talked about the new EP, love of songwriting, country music and more. Here it is to listen again in full.
Thanks also so much to Leader’s American Pie for playing ‘Music and the
Mountains’ on a recent excellent #BritishAmericana playlist with some amazing artists.
Videos
“Stylistically drawing upon Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris and Neil Young, her song ‘Dragonfly’ was without doubt the star of the show.” Thanks so much to Grapevine Live for this lovely live review of my set at FolkEast
I’ve uploaded more live videos from my lovely time playing Folk East and here’s a little highlights video from playing some lovely summer festivals.
‘Live Your Life’
Clip of a favourite Neil Young song ‘Comes a Time’
I’ve also been busy writing my music columns, previewing and reviewing lots of great gigs and festivals. My September and October columns featured Folk East, Boo Hewerdine, Beth Orton, Hatful of Rain, Uke East festival and Sound and Vision.
Also my article on great duets is in the Autumn issue of Songwriting Magazine. Tons of cool interviews and features including Dolly Parton, John Newman, The Divine Comedy, Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ and more.
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
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.
Thanks also to Penny Black Music for an amazing review of the EP. Read it in full here
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:
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.
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!
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:
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!
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:
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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
Happy September! My latest column is in the Evening News and as well as talking about my new video ‘Time to Grow’, there’s lots of cool gigs coming up including one of my favourite songwriters Boo Hewerdine coming to the Octagon Chapel in Norwich and Uke East, a ukulele festival at Norwich Arts Centre. Being a ukulele lover I’m looking forward to that.
I also talked about some great music workshops and masterclasses that I recently attended for Musical Keys at Create Norwich and also Take Note Summer School at The Garage. Really inspiring stuff!
Thanks so much for the kind words about my new video. ‘Time to Grow’ is now also on YouTube so really appreciate any watches and shares.
Festival season is now in full swing and thankfully we’ve mostly had some beautiful summer weather to accompany it.
Last Saturday I played at Dubs in the Hall Festival. Aimed predominately at owners and lovers of Volkswagen Campers, it has a friendly, laid-back atmosphere and the sultry weather we had certainly contributed to a really relaxing feel. The festival is located in the beautiful setting of Holt Hall in North Norfolk and with an eclectic mix of live music, from reggae, rockabilly, rock, indie, folk and acoustic plus DJ sets, there was something for everyone.
Here’s a little video I’ve put together from my fun and very warm day there:
Sunday was another great event with a visit to the Norwich Lanes Summer Fayre. Now in its 11th year, the fayre is bigger than before and it’s easy to see why it’s become such a popular day in the city’s arts calendar. Huge crowds soaked up the buzzing atmosphere and there was an array of lovely vintage and craft stalls, street food, live music, art, DJ’s, performances and fairground attractions along the various areas of the historic busy streets.
The Summer Fayre really showcases the vibrant arts scene here in the city and my friend, local film maker and photographer Claudia Taveira has captured some lovely shots of the day as shown here. Check out her WordPress Photography blog Claudia Taveira Photography Blog
Also this past month I’ve been in the studio. I really love the process of recording and have recorded a lot of material in the area including my first album ‘Slipstream’. I’ve also recorded and collaborated with some amazing musicians in New York City and Nashville which is always inspiring and really broadened my musical horizons. This time I was recording the guitar part to create an instrumental to one of my acoustic songs ‘Here Alone’ as one of my incredibly talented vocal students Breeze Redwine wanted to record a version. The biggest thrill as a songwriter is when an artist covers one of your songs and Breeze has done a beautiful soulful version.
I recorded in The Mill Studio (photo above) which is based near Diss. Established for over 10 years, it’s responsible for producing releases by local bands and international signed recording artists. The setting is really lovely and peaceful, away from the city and owner Johnny Cole says the studio’s goal is to provide a relaxed and enjoyable approach to recording, whilst aiming to achieve the best results. Check out the studio here at The Mill Studio
Lately I’ve recorded and performed songs by Mumford and Sons, James Bay and Years and Years. Acoustic versions and free downloads are on my SoundCloud
Performing James Bay’s lovely song ‘Let It Go’ in the garden on a sunny day:
In my regular music column for Norwich Evening News in print today I’m remembering my fun week at BBC Radio 1’s Academy including the songwriting masterclass and BBC Introducing gigs which included sets by Port Isla and Montagues and Capulets. I’m discussing the rewards of teaching music and Access to Music and also previewing some great upcoming gigs including Good Lovelies at Southwold Arts Festival and Danny And The Champions Of The World at Norwich Waterfront.
Under dramatic Norfolk skies, here are some more stills from the upcoming music video that Claudia Taveira Photography is working on. Check out her impressive photography blog on WordPress
Free Downloads on SoundCloud
Original acoustic song ‘Here Alone’ which features Nashville producer David Henry:
New cover, trying a live acoustic version of ‘Believe’ Mumford and Sons. Like the emotion and dynamics of this tune:
Photos from a fun and inspiring time at Radio 1′s Academy. Had a great afternoon at a songwriting masterclass with Ella Eyre and also met Greg James. Here’s a little blog post about it.
The latest issue of Songwriting Magazine is out now. Includes my regular column, this time advice for musicians on face-to-face networking:
A couple of stills from this week’s music video shoot. Wandering through golden fields in Norfolk. Thanks to Claudia Taveira Photography
I was also recently interviewed at C2C Festival by Just Zoe who writes an excellent country music blog, take a look here: Best British Country Music
And huge thanks to other big supporters of UK country music W21 Music who recently made me their Artist of the Week!
Vocal Coach, Guitar Lessons
I love sharing the experience and skills I’ve gained as a performer and if anyone in the area is interested in singing lessons or beginner guitar lessons, please contact me for more information via Facebook at www.facebook.com/lisaredfordmusic or via my e-mail
