Album Review | Self Release | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Stars: 5/5 After a brief period of time away from song writing in order to concentrate on a body of work related to her late father, Catherine MacLellan returns with her sixth album to date, a showcase of mature song writing with melodies you … Continue reading Catherine MacLellan – Coyote

Album Review | Linus Entertainment | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Stars: 4/5 Natalie MacMaster’s status as Canada’s ‘Queen of the Fiddle’ is confirmed once again here with her first album release in eight years.  As expected, there’s some inspired playing on the dozen tracks, not only from Natalie’s own dexterous fingers but also from … Continue reading Natalie MacMaster – Sketches

Album Review | Red Sky Records | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Stars: 3/5 Like most compilations that span decades, they usually provide a good place to start if you are not already familiar with a particular artist’s work. In the case of these thirty songs, the listener is formally introduced to the songwriting legacy … Continue reading Johnny Coppin – 30 Songs

Album Review | Bronson | Review by Marc Higgins | Stars: 3/5 Clever Square from Bologna have the dense, grainy sound of American indie rock. The disinterested knowing leer comes through in Giacomo D’Attorre’s vocals on “Are Glasses And Contacts Ruining Your Vision”. There are guitar sounds or bursts  rather than clever solos, long on … Continue reading Clever Square – Clever Square

Album Review | Song Circle Records | Review by Marc Higgins | Stars: 4/5 Franc Cinelli mixes the rich acoustic guitar of the classic folk singer songwriter with some more contemporary textures and beats. “Adventure / Love” has the feel of early Michael Chapman, with the chiming guitar, eastern raga like percussion and at times … Continue reading Franc Cinelli – Night Songs

Album Review | Self Release | Review by Marc Higgins | Stars: 5/5 Catfish Crawl, the eighteenth album from Catfish Keith is the sound of one man and his acoustic guitar, having a superb time playing dexterous, feel good folk blues. A lifetime of digging into Delta music means Catfish Keith approaches the material with … Continue reading Catfish Keith – Catfish Crawl

Album Review | Self Release | Review by Marc Higgins | Stars: 4/5 The Hoth Brothers are a dream band, two distinctive vocalists and players, Bard Erdington V and Boris McCutcheon, Sarah Ferrells Upright Bass and contrasting vocals and Greg Williams, striking percussion. Formed from conversations while pruning trees in the Santa Fe apple orchards … Continue reading Hoth Brothers – Workin’ and Dreamin’

Live Review | CAST Theatre, Doncaster | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Northern Sky Stock Photo To open the first date of his final tour of 2019, Daoiri Farrell arrived in Doncaster on an extremely wet November afternoon, the rain so hostile, that it kept some ticket holders away.  Daoiri managed to get from Dublin … Continue reading Daoiri Farrell

Live Review | The Crescent, York | Review by Allan Wilkinson. There was something of a joyful atmosphere at the popular York venue tonight as the audience made their way into the main concert hall at the Crescent.  It was standing room only as the sold out show began, with the young Nottingham-born singer songwriter … Continue reading Skerryvore/Rachel Croft

Album Review | Reveal Records | Review by Marc Higgins | Stars: 5/5 Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Side man, mover and shaker, Boo Hewerdine is a hard person to pin down. As a songwriter, writing for himself and Eddi Reader, he has penned some of the finest ballads you have ever heard. He was a member … Continue reading Boo Hewerdine – Before