Had a lovely time performing two acoustic sets at Reepham Festival. Such a lovely friendly festival. On Saturday I performed in the Church and was accompanied by Jonathan Threadwell on electric guitar. I wrote about my first time playing at this lovely festival and all my other recent music news in my latest column for All Things Norfolk.
On Sunday I performed at the historic Whitwell station.
Next gig is this special celebration of Breeze Redwine’s debut EP ‘Trust’ which has been earning airplay on BBC Introducing:
Had a wonderful gig this week as part of A Night In Nashville supporting three wonderful Nashville based songwriters Sarah Darling, Jenn Bostic and Michael Logen. I was joined by the brilliant dobro player Noel Dashwood who features on the latest EP. The artists were so warm and inspiring and their version of ‘Jolene’ is a real goosebumps moment.
Thanks to Norwich Music Blog by Richard Shashamané for the lovely photos and great review:
Lisa played a lovely set of Americana flavoured songs with stories of “what might have been” gently and sensitively accompanied by Noel. The storytelling of the songs and Lisa’s pure and emotive voice was a real pleasure to listen to.
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:
A video posted by Lisa Redford (@lisaredfordmusic) on
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
As previewed in my recent columns for Norwich Evening News and All Things Norfolk, I’m really excited to share my brand new music video on Vimeo ‘Time to Grow’ filmed by Claudia Taveira Photography. Claudia has filmed a few lovely videos for me and also some wonderful photos. Check out her amazing photography on her blog here
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
Hey everyone! hope you had a lovely Easter. Been busy doing lots of writing recently. My new music column was in Wednesday’s Evening News. As well as writing about life as a musician, I’m also previewing some great upcoming gigs at Norwich Arts Centre, Waterfront plus there’s info about Record Store Day.
Hope you enjoyed the live videos from C2C. I’ve also added some more videos to my YouTube channel from a recent fun gig at supporting The Dreaming Spires at The Bicycle Shop The band have had some well deserved excellent reviews for their great new album ‘Searching for the Supertruth’ and huge thanks to Joe from the band for joining me on 2 of my songs. It was also so much fun singing on their lovely song ‘We Used to Have Parties’:
‘Carolina Rain’ with Joe from The Dreaming Spires
‘Lost Again’ with Joe from The Dreaming Spires
‘Be Around’ a cappella version live in Greenwich Tunnel!
New Interviews!
Another great part of playing C2C festival was getting to meet some of my fans and do some interviews with them for their blogs and channels. Here’s a fun interview video with French YouTube Channel L Teste:
https://youtu.be/cDdpcbAOjmY
Plus an interview with country music blog Six Shooter Country, chatting about playing the festival and my music inspirations:
Hectic but really fun weekend performing at C2C Country to Country saw lots of great live music and as last year there was such a lovely warm atmosphere and it was amazing to see how busy it was. Thanks so much to everyone who came along to my set at the Saloon and signing to say hi! Hope you enjoyed the special EP. Thanks also to W21 Music and Jeff G Photography for taking some great shots.
I’ve posted quite a few videos from my performance. Following on from last year, here’s another fun little highlights video I’ve put together with a clip of ‘Carolina Rain’ what a weekend!
Here’s also some live videos from my performance, singing ‘Never Was a Yesterday’
