Northeast Music Guide

THE BONNEVILLES CONFIRM UK & EIRE TOUR FOR MAY & JUNE  Newcastle Tickets THE BONNEVILLES have announced a series of UK & Ireland shows for this spring. The Bonnevilles are shaking Northern Ireland in a way it hasn't felt since Van Morrison & Them obliterated Club Rado in 1964 and Stiff Little Fingers blew apart The Trident in 1977! The Bonnevilles don't so much play punk blues as use it as a springboard to create a completely new genre. And now they release their 4th studio album Dirty Photographs with LA based Alive Natural Sound Records. The Lurgan duo take Mississippi Hill Blues and Punk Rock and mix their own unique dark Northern Irish Punk Blues stew which drew the attention of the fore mentioned Alive Natural Sound which saw them release the award nominated “Arrow Pierce My Heart” on the label in 2016.  The Bonnevilles formed in 2009 and quickly released their debut, and now, legendary album Good Suits & Fightin’ Boots on Mot...

Eric Bibb Friday 13th April 2018  7.30 pm Bibb’s music has been called “classy and consistent”, “uplifting” and “inspiring.” There is a spiritual aspect indelibly etched into its core.  Grounded in the folk/blues tradition, the Bibb sound is unique, no matter which direction he chooses. Never trend-led, never dictated to by commercial concerns, not chasing chart positions or volume sales. Eric follows his heart and it hasn’t steered him wrong yet, propelling the blues into a new century. Migration Blues  In a fifty year career, Eric has performed for Nelson Mandela, for the King of Sweden and other international dignitaries. He plays an average of 150 shows a year and has toured in circa 25 countries. Bibb has released 38 albums – his debut was “Ain’t It Grand” in 1972 – and he has been a part of many collaborations on record and on stage. To label Eric Bibb as a bluesman is not telling the full story. Is he a folk artist? Soul man? A gospel guy? Ye...

http://www.daintees.co.uk/video In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of Boat to Bolivia – yes 30 years - 2016 has already seen Martin playing in peoples living rooms on the sold out ‘Dansette Tour’. Well November and December sees perhaps the biggest and best Daintees tour for years. Fifteen dates across the country, and culminating in a headline spot at The Great British Folk Festival, playing the Boat To Bolivia album in its entirety, along with a few other classic Daintees tunes to boot. This is simply one tour not to be missed. Tickets are already on sale, and can be found at the links below: www.daintees.co.uk http://www.gigsandtours.com/ Interview On the eve of the tour, I had a chat with Martin about the making of Boat To Bolivia. Q: Can you remember the moment when you first knew you were going to be recording your debut album? What did it feel like? A: Yes but it was way back in 1980, I would head from Washington Tyne & Wear to Hall Farm...

King King Coming to Gateshead The multi-award winning blues outfit  King King  return to the UK for an 18-date  Feb/March 2015  concert tour. King King play  Gateshead Sage  on  Thursday March 19 th . Tickets can be purchased online via  www.thegigcartel.com  or from the official box office on  0844 478 0898 . Support on the tour is from Laurence Jones. The UK tour follows last year’s release of King King’s critically acclaimed second studio album, " Standing in the Shadows ". Get Ready To Rock describes King King as, "one of the most explosive rock/blues bands on the planet." King King are the proud winners of the "Best Band" category at the British Blues Awards for the past three years (2012, 2013, 2014).  What’s more, the band scooped several more awards at the  2014 British Blues Awards  including  "Band of the Year" ,  "Album of the Year" ,  "Male Vocal of the Year" ,  "Bass Pl...

Award-winning British songwriter,  Ian  Siegal , is set to release “ One Night  In  Amsterdam ”, his first full-band live album on CD and vinyl on  March 9 th .  Released by  Nugene  Records , the new album dovetails  Siegal’s  nationwide March UK tour which kicks off at the  Chester Live Rooms  on  March 17 th .  Fans can pre-order the limited edition vinyl version of the album  here . While  Siegal’s  2014 album  Man & Guitar  showcased the award-winning British songwriter as a solo acoustic troubadour,  One Night  In  Amsterdam  flicks the power switch, marking Siegal’s  first live album with a full-throttle electric band. Chalk up another first for the man that  Mojo   called, “One of the most innovative, gifted and engaging blues performers on the planet today.” Siegal  is able  to draw on an astonishing eight-album catalogue that ...

Rubric :The Game Pre-order from Amazon, Itunes pre-order coming soon. Launch gig at The Ivy House, Worcester Terrace, Sunderland on the 1st November, support from The John Doe Experiment, and Alex Saxon & Jack Foster. This is going to be a great gig, I was in rehearsals with Rubric recently and they blew me away with their musical skills, clever but very cool. Rubric is an original blues/jazz fusion band formed in the North of England in 2011. They describe themselves as a "musical democracy" consisting of Chris Binding on vocals and guitar, Andrew Bell on guitar, Rob Caroll on bass and Helen Whitford on drums. The entire band have had a hand in creating the songs on The Game. Influences from prog rock, metal, jazz, blues and classical all play a part in The Game. The band's members collaborate to create music that is technical but not self-indulgent and with a fun generic slant. The title track is an ode to the infinite game between the sexes, ...

Nine Below Zero Back in the Northeast With Original Drummer Coming to Gateshead Old Town Hall on the 7th November London blues-influenced band Nine Below Zero, are celebrating 35 years in the business, with their biggest UK tour in decades and have reformed their classic line-up. And for fans of the band, it will be a chance to hear tracks from their two critically-acclaimed A&M studio albums from the 1980s, Don’t Point Your Finger and The Third Degree, both with extra discs, which have been re-released through Universal. The band’s original drummer Mickey ‘Stix’ Burkey has re-joined NBZ for the tour. Apart from a one-off appearance at their 30 th anniversary show, he had not played with the band since they broke up in 1982. He also wrote many of the songs with frontman Dennis Greaves. Nine Below Zero built an almost obsessive following in the early 1980 with their take on American blues, while maintaining the energy of punk in their live performanc...

Blues Rockers Return to The Toon I last saw Nine Below Zero last May at the Cluny and their onstage performance blew me away. So the opportunity to see them again was not to be passed up. This gig was a little different, with a selection of songs the lads recorded with tonight's guest Ben Water's as well as a few Nine Below Zero standards. Another change, as well as the addition of a boogie woogie piano from Ben was some sax from Ben's son Tom. At only 13 Tom is an accomplished blues saxophonist and impressed the crowd no end. This was an outstanding performance which had me smiling all the way though, while trying to handle my camera, a beer and dance at the same time. Nine Below Zero are blues-rock experts with every one of them an exemplary musician. After 4 decades in the game Nine Below Zero still show their love for the genre and clearly enjoy their live work. This is what makes every gig a corker. This crowd left very happy. If you missed th...