It’s Monday evening. The rain has gone off for a little while and there’s even a trace of blue in the sky over the park from my studio window. Before we pulled down some rather ugly old conifers summer evenings would bring a local bat out of his daytime hang and he’d perform some excellent loops around the small square of grass in front of my window. These days the view is clearer and I’m a little more able to enjoy the late light summer brings.
Today on my weekly shop in my fave supermarket they were peeling away the 2metre distancing signs which had been on the floor of the aisles for the last eighteen months or so. There was an interesting discussion which ensued on twitter when I shared this yesterday, but in all honesty, I couldn’t contain my delight that, at last, we seemed to be moving away from the life we’ve been forced to live.
Last Saturday, again, I was on stage in front of an audience of thousands playing music and embracing the freedom. A couple of hours before we went on stage I made it through the mud to see Nick Lowe making everyone very happy with a set which finished off with ‘I Knew The Bride.’ It was a joy to behold. It’s these moments we’ve waited for, and should I be a little early to my celebration, then forgive me, but allow at least this smile to stay on my lips for a short while. After all, it’s been a long old winter.
Having said all that, I’m having a wonderful night to myself listening to a little Ray Price and thinking about a photograph I saw over the weekend which made me (almost) as happy as doing the gig. It was a shot from the rear of the Opry stage with this week’s star turn performing to a packed house. Connie Smith was back at the Opry. I love Connie. When we first went to Nashville to pick up and record stories for the show it was Connie that took us into RCA Studio B and told us about her first ever recording session back in 1964. Next Saturday Connie will be eighty years old just before she releases her new album. She’s been busy too, recording with her husband, Marty Stuart and co writing for the Wandering Hearts. We will pay our own tribute to this worthy country legend on this week’s show.
We have two hours of records to share and we’ll go from Webb Pierce, who was born 100 years ago this month, to another Pearce…Carly! As well as that you’ll hear Adia Victoria, Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange) and Natalie Hemby. Carly Pearce has been thinking about Loretta so you can probably guess there will be a Loretta Lynn moment in there too. It’s two hours of country music our way and you can hear it all from five past eight this Tuesday evening on BBC Radio Scotland FM or on BBC Sounds at your own choice of place and time. Either way, join me if you can.
