You never know what’s around the corner and the last month has most definitely been that! The last Birch & Stock Folk Club was a great success with ‘Garth & Abe’, ‘Thompson, York & Moore’, ‘Hannah Law’, and ‘The Orchard Band’ who all gave a fantastic performance. For me Hannah Law was one of the performers that you just know something great is surely waiting to happen.
Move on less than a handful of weeks and as I’ve said about ‘what’s around the corner’ I was performing in a six piece ‘Hannah Law Band’ playing guitar, fiddle , mandolin and backing vocals to a packed (sold out) audience in St Georges Hall, Bewdley supporting USA rising Country star Hannah Aldridge. What a great night and what wonderful appreciative audience! More gigs coming soon: Rosie Charity Music Festival in Stourport upon Severn on 1st April – Café Bliss, Worcester 15th April & Hopfest in Bewdley on the weekend of 15th/16th June.
Review following the gig by Graham Munn:
“WELL! We don’t know about you, but we think we witnessed something a bit special on Friday Night at Music in the Hall! What a night – three great acts, a tremendous audience and a really memorable occasion. Our thanks to Hannah Law and her tremendous band for kicking things off ….. Hannah, now just 17 and brimming with talent, likes a bit of Laura Marling, opening up with, ‘Alas I Cannot Swim’, with the band slotting tightly into their groove. An excellent, ‘Captain Of The Hour Glass’, followed, but the highlight, was her own, haunting, ‘I’m Yours’, a lovely folk song led by uke and fiddle, make a note, Hannah is worth looking out for in the future”.
The band: Hannah Law, vocal/ukulele – Izzy Sofia, bass, violin – Steve Low, vocal, guitar – Dan Mathews, drums – Keith Jones, vocal, guitar, fiddle, mandolin – Fergus Tranter, bass
The 20th April sees the return of Steve Low to The Birch & Stock Folk Club, also Harry Whale, The Tuttlers and special guest from Malvern, Paul O’Neil from folk/rock band The Roving Crows. Folk club future appearances for 2018 are: Traditional singer Barry Walmsley, The Jacaranda Early Music Consort, singer/songwriter Elisha Green (below right), Karen Swan, ‘Cast Off’ Appalachian Dancers, we’ve got Morris Dancers, we’ve got Scottish Dancers coming, and very pleased to say by popular request ‘The Orchard Band’ + The Hannah Law Band performing a full set at our Christmas show on 14th December (who said variety is dead)!
Our choir ‘Voice Squad’ and my duo with Graeme Harvey fAITH are ready to rock Hartlebury Castle (Worcestershire) on 21st April and tickets are available now by contacting the Castle booking office direct on: 01299 250416. All tickets are £15 and include refreshments. (click on the advert for full details).
In February I tried to meet up with my old band mate Phil Dunn from ‘Orphan’ in Singapore but messages didn’t get through and by the time he picked them up I was back to freezing temperatures in good old blighty! (Never mind, next time eh Phil). On my return while being snowed in I was watching a TV programme on BBC4 ‘Tones, Drones & Arpeggios’ about minimalism in music with particular attention to Steve Reich & Philip Glass which reminded me again of my time in Phil’s band in the early 80’s and what a fabulous songwriter he was, and still is.
Here’s a video re-mix of ‘Different Levels’
(produced also by Phil) and around 2/3 of the way through I play just three notes on the violin with those subtle background changes, it doesn’t need anything more, yet less says so much, what a great song!
That’s all for now, see you hopefully at a Faith, Voice Squad or Hannah Law gig somewhere near you… Keith x
Keith Jones Music 