Roots in May
The Schmoozenbergs – Mouse Well, don’t ever tell me you don’t get a bit of everything in this monthly roots review. Based in Bristol, UK, The Schmoozenbergs started life as the living room guitar twiddling of old friends Sam Stennett and Tom Brydon-Smith. Double bassist Ron Phelan joined in 2015, and violinist Gina Griffin joined…
Roots in April
Topette!! – Live at the Jam Jar Topette!! celebrate 10 years together, with the release of their fourth album. With their UK base in Bristol, and their French home in Burgundy, it’s apparently a rare treat when Topette!! get together to play. Julien Cartonnet is a powerhouse on both bagpipes and banjo. Fiddler James Delarre’s innate melodic and harmonic sensibilities…
Mandoki Soulmates Return With A Memory Of Our Future
It has been announced that Mandoki Soulmates, the international and inter-generational supergroup consisting of rock and fusion notables working with founder and mastermind Leslie Mandoki, proudly announce the new album, A Memory Of Our Future, which will be released worldwide on 10th May via Sony Music’s label InsideOutMusic. Pre-Order A Memory Of Our Future here:…
Roots in March
Alice Di Micele – Interpretations 1 Singer/songwriter/guitarist Alice Di Micele (pronounced Dee-Miss-Ellie) has released 16 albums of almost all original music since 1988. She has spent the last 35 years touring, singing, writing, playing, and learning. During lockdown she started learning songs that she had always loved but had never had time to work on and arrange.…
Recent Yes Announcements
Hot on the heels of their hugely successful ‘Classic Tales Of Yes’ American Tour, Progressive Rock legends, Yes, are poised to hit the road in the UK once more on a 9-date trek across the country starting on 23rd May at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and ending in London on 4th June at the…
CD Review – Steve Hackett – The Circus And The Nightwhale
This is an incredible thirtieth solo album release from Steve Hackett, and quite a release it is too. Managing to combine a myriad of disparate styles and atmospheres into a coherent and intelligent whole, it draws on Steve’s own experiences as it tells a semi-autobiographical rite-of-passage tale centred on a young character named Travla. The…
Roots in February
Martyn Joseph – This is What I Want to Say Martyn Joseph has a forty year journey of writing, recording and performingsongs. What does the songwriter of hundreds of songs want to say? ‘My last album, 1960, was about looking back and taking stock, the kind of reflection many or us found ourselves in during…
Steve Hackett Releases Wherever You Are
Guitarist Steve Hackett is set to release his new studio album ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ on 16th February 2024, via InsideOut Music. A rite-of-passage concept album with a young character called Travla at the centre of it, ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’s’ 13 tracks have an autobiographical angle for the musician who says about…
Roots in January
Heather Lynne Horton – Get Me to a Nunnery The album, recorded in Chicago across 2022 and 2023, features Horton on guitar and haunting violin; her husband Michael McDermott on guitar, keyboards, piano, and bass; Will Kimbrough on baritone guitar; John Deaderick on piano, keyboards, and organ; Matt Thompson on electric bass and upright bass and Steven Gillis, who also mixed four of the…
Yes Tour Europe 2024
Following their recent acclaimed tour in the USA, progressive legends Yes have announced European dates for The Classic Tales of Yes Tour 2024. Tickets go on sale on Friday 8th December at 10am GMT/11.00am CET https://www.yesworld.com/live/ Buy UK tickets from https://bookingsdirect.seetickets.com/tour/yes/ The Classic Tales of YES Tour 2024 will include many iconic tracks from the…
Steve Hackett Releases First Single From His New Album
Steve Hackett has released the first single from the coming album The Circus And The Nightwhale. The albums opening track is chosen as the lead single, ‘People of the Smoke’, and you can watch the video now here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_iujNWzPL0 Steve says of the track: “People of the Smoke spins us all back in time to…
Roots in December
Tamsin Elliott & Tarek Elzhary – So Far We Have Come Before Tamsin began her solo album FREY (2022), she spent several months in Egypt exploring Arabic music, during which she met Tarek on the Cairo live scene. Post-Covid Tarek visited the UK to make the collaborative album they had dreamed of creating together. Most…
New Steve Hackett Album In February 2024
Legendary rock guitarist Steve Hackett will release his new studio album ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ on 16th February 2024, via InsideOut Music. A rite-of-passage concept album with a young character called Travla at the centre of it, ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’s’ 13 tracks have an autobiographical angle for the musician who says about…
Steve Hackett – Cardiff Venue Change 2024
Due to the ongoing closure of Cardiff St David’s Hall until 2025, following RAAC checks, Steve Hackett’s performance on Thursday 10th October 2024, will now take place on Friday 11th October 2024 at Cardiff Utilita Arena. Tickets will be automatically transferred to the new venue and date and customers notified of their new seats shortly…
Box Set Review – John Wetton – An Extraordinary Life
Undoubtedly, the best way to mark the passing of someone is to celebrate their achievements. This is the first in a planned series of box sets that will commemorate the life and music of one of the UK`s most extraordinary and prolific musicians, John Wetton, which will be released on 24th November 2023. The An…
Roots in November
Track Dogs – Blind Summits & Hidden Dips Take two Irishmen, an Englishman and an American and what do you get? An astonishingly great blend of music . No joke! Garrett Wall, singer, guitar, uke and Irish, Dave Mooney bass and vocals and Irish, Howard Brown, trumpet, vocals and English, Robby K Jones, cajon, banjo,…
Jethro Tull Release Wolf Unchained Video
Jethro Tull released their twenty-third studio album, ‘RökFlöte’, back in April, and the band are currently out on tour in North America. For this run of shows, the band will be introducing the track ‘Wolf Unchained’ into the setlist, a track based on Fenrir, a wolf from Norse mythology. To celebrate, a brand new video…
Keith Emerson Boxset Released
The Keith Emerson box set, Variations, has now been released. Captured over twenty CDs, this is a comprehensive and fairly definitive consideration of the great musicians work. To mark the occasion, Keith’s son Aaron, in conjunction with Spirit of Unicorn Music, has released a video of the Emerson, Lake & Palmer song Lucky Man, performed…
Steve Hackett Announces Vinyl Releases
Prog Rock legend guitarist Steve Hackett is to continue his reissue series with the first ever vinyl editions of his 2003 album ‘To Watch The Storms’ & the 2006 album ‘Wild Orchids’. Both are released on the 8th December as Gatefold 180g 2LP’s on black and coloured editions, and have been mastered specially for the…
Alternative Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull released their twenty-third studio album, ‘RökFlöte’, back in April, and the band are currently out on tour in North America. To coincide with this, the alternative stereo mixes of the album by Bruce Soord, known to many of you from The Pineapple Thief, have now been made available on digital services worldwide, and…
Roots in OCTOBER
Gabriel Moreno – Wound in the Night Someone described Gabriel as an offshoot of Leonard Cohen and Neil Diamond. Listen to the title track and you’ll get it. In many ways, this is not a usual entry for my feature album of the month, but it is utterly beguiling. The role of a troubadour favouring…
Steve Hackett Announces Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo Tour
Steve Hackett maintains his incredible live work schedule by announcing new dates for next year, under the Steve Hackett – Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo banner. The tour takes in 15 dates across the UK culminating with a visit to London’s Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday 23rd October. To mark the 50th anniversary of…
Steve Hackett Releases Can-Utility And The Coastliners
Steve Hackett has now released his latest live album Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton. It features Steve and his magnificent band in full throw on the English south coast. Here’s a link to a video of ‘Can Utility and the Coastliners’ A review of the album is available to read here:…
John Lodge Announces New Album
John Lodge, legendary bass player, songwriter and vocalist of The Moody Blues has announced that following the phenomenal response to his USA July ‘Day of Future Passed’ tour, and the fans’ reaction to the studio recording of this album, ‘Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn’ will now be released in the UK on 22nd…
Celestial Songs By DBA Is Out Now
The fifth Downes Braide Association (DBA) album ‘Celestial Songs’ is out now. DBA has also launched a video for ‘Look What You Do’ from the album. DBA are Geoff Downes world-renowned musician (keyboards) and multi award-winning songwriter Chris Braide (vocals). The album is available in 3 formats: CD, 2LP and Box Set. Watch the video…
Roots in September
Otherish – How Lucky we are Being Us and Each Other “The music of Otherish is for beautiful, caustic, charming, confused, fragile, frank, free-ranging, hope-filled, ignorant, naïve panic-stricken, slippery, vain, wily human animals everywhere. “ so says poet and writer Andrew Keanie. I’ve reviewed this band before, and this is more sly-yet-loving lip-service to…
CD Review – Steve Hackett – Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton
Since setting out on his Genesis Revisited venture, about a decade ago now more or less, there’s no doubt that Steve Hackett’s profile has risen more than a little. Promoters and venues warm to the Genesis heavy setlists, although the guitarist has always ensured that highlights from his solo career are performed too. If you’re…
CD Review – Downes Braide Association (DBA) – Celestial Songs
Geoff Downes and Chris Braide return with their fifth studio album, Celestial Songs, a collection of songs reflecting on life and death, time, love, nostalgia, and spirituality. That is not to say that the album is in anyway overly serious or depressing. Unlike the pastoral-prog of the duo’s previous release, the bucolic Halcyon Hymns, there…
Mandoki Soulmates’ release new single and video
Mandoki Soulmates’ new single, Devil’s Encyclopedia, is an exciting sneak peek into their new album for 2024, as well as the ongoing Thirty Year Anniversary Tour (dates below). László “Leslie” Mándoki is a German-Hungarian musician who became known as a member of the music group Dschinghis Khan. He continued his career as a solo artist and became…
DBA Announce The Release Of A Second Single From Forthcoming Album
Downes Braide Association (DBA) announce the release of the second single and video Keep On Moving from their forthcoming new album Celestial Songs, which will be released on 8th September. Celestial Songs will be the fifth DBA studio collaboration for keyboardist Geoff Downes and multi award-winning songwriter/vocalist Chris Braide. The album will be released in…
John Wetton – First In A Series Of Box Sets Announced
On 24th November the first in a series of box sets commemorating the life and music of one of the UK`s most extraordinary and prolific musicians, John Wetton, will be released. The An Extraordinary Life box set contains 8 newly remastered CDs, featuring the six solo albums Wetton released between 1980 and 2011. Each album…
Roots in August
Pedair – Mae’na Olau (There’s a Light) Five years on from their first gig comes their first album. An album inspired by the current state of the world, the resilience of nature, the folk traditions of Wales and the simple virtues of friendship and hope. Pedair are Siân James, Gwyneth Glyn, Meinir Gwilym and Gwenan…
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Spirit of Progressive Rock 