I met up with my youngest this weekend in London. We hooked up over a couple of days and in between seeing him on Saturday and linking up again on Sunday afternoon he’d been to a gig up in Hackney. Telling me how good it was, he pulled out his phone and showed me the video of the artist from close quarters and how he’d given him a high five, from the front row. I loved all of this. After all how good is it when you discover a new favourite act and you get in early and see them in a gig the size of your living room?
You can lose some of this when you get to play your own gigs and you’ve have had a sneak peak behind the curtain. Like Dorothy, once you’ve seen behind the Wizard of Oz’s curtain it’s hard to reassemble the myth. However in my later years I can recall some special nights seeing artists for the first time and getting excited as ever just to catch them at such close quarters. Sam Outlaw, Sturgill Simpson at The Admiral Bar in Glasgow, Phosphorescent at the Captain’s Rest and Richmond Fontaine in Stereo where an excited punter informed me, ‘you should be playing these guys on the radio.’ I had to point out to him that we were the only people who were – but hey, I enjoyed the night hugely. Then there was Music City seeing Gretchen Peters and other nights in Nashville experiencing Ashley McBryde at Third and Lindsley for the first time, some magical evenings at The Bluebird and a round in a venue I can’t even recall in the company of Liz Rose, Hilary Lindsay and Lori McKenna as the Love Junkies, where they just sang all their brilliant hits. Had I been able to high-five each and every one, I would have. Heck I would have kissed them all…but they’d not thank me, I’m sure.
GILL LANDRY
This week we’ll bring you an intimate session and conversation with another singer songwriter you might well have encountered at an intimate gig in Scotland recently. Former member of Old Crow Medicine Show, Gill Landry will be singing songs and telling stories from his recent album, ‘Skeleton At The Banquet.’ It’s a session we recorded a couple of weeks back and I got a chance to talk to Gill about his recent solo activity as well as his days as a multi instrumentalist with OCMS. Talking of the Medicine Show…
They will be coming in next weekend to Country 2 Country along with a host of other acts. We’ll give you a suitable preview to the coming festival as well as playing some tracks you might expect to hear at The Hydro. We’ll also play you new tracks from Nadia Reid, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and a host of other new things you may well want to see in a wee club, somewhere near you any time soon.
Join me live this Tuesday evening from five past eight on BBC Radio Scotland FM.
Lone Bellow – with 67 other people at Stereo, Glasgow. (I counted)
Angaleena Presley – Salutation Hotel, Perth
Gretchen Peters – Perth North Church
The Skids – Ballinluig Village Hall
Dougie MacLean – Cluny Hall, near Blairgowrie – tickets had sold out but Dougie and Jenny brought two chairs from their house so my wife and I could get in!
Ward Thomas and The Shires at King Tuts.
Angeleena Presley at Nice n Sleazy.
David Starr at The Glad Café.
The Orphan Brigade at The Admiral Bar.
Letitia VanSant at The Performing Arts Centre in Kilbarchan.
Jarrod Dickenson at The Hug And Pint.
Katee Kross in Tge Village Inn, East Kilbride.