The Red Guitar Music inbox feature returns after a brief hiatus with more excellent and varied sounds. In this edition, we’ve music from both sides of the Atlantic. Ace singer/guitarist JD Simo has a new album in the can while another RGM regular Ferris & Sylvester returns with a new EP ready to go and touring plans for 2021. The newcomers this time out are Dan Friese, a singer/songwriter from the USA, and from nearer home (Brighton to be exact) Melanie Howard aka Such Small Hands with an album of melancholy dark pop a decade in the making.

First up from Oregon, USA we’ve singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dan Friese who will release a new single ‘Streetlight’ on August 21st. The track is from his upcoming debut album ‘Jane Songs’ due later this year. Dan has a nice line in languid, folky Americana and ‘Streetlight’ bodes well for the album. We don’t have a link to ‘Streetlight’ at this time but you can visit https://www.danfriese.com/ and snag a free download of his ‘Happiness’ EP from earlier this year to give you a good idea of what Dan is all about.

No stranger to RGM, Ferris & Sylvester will release a new EP ‘I Should Be On A Train’ on October 2nd. The five tracker will be available digitally and on vinyl via LAB records. The title track from the EP is out now and highlights the ease with which the duo incorporates folk and blues influences into their sound as a gentle beginning exploding into a bluesy howl of a chorus. The duo have plans to be back out on the road early in 2021 with headline shows in the UK, USA and Canada. Please visit their website for all the latest tour news: https://www.ferrisandsylvester.com/tour

It only seems like five minutes since singer/guitarist JD Simo released the rather wonderful ‘Off at 11’ (RGM review) but he’s back with his self-titled second album. JD mixed up his genres in fine style on his debut offering and he’s at it again, seamlessly blending the blues, psych-rock and funk. Latest single ‘Love’ gives off a much needed positive message in these troubled times and adds plenty of funky wah-wah guitar lines. ‘Love’ follows on from the delicious sweet soul of first single ‘One Of Those Days’ making for a fine one-two introduction to the new record which is released 21st August via the Crows Feet Records label.

instagram.com/jdsimomusic

Melanie Howard aka Such Small Hands will release her debut album ‘Carousel’ on September 18th via Such Small Records. Melanie has been the bassist in The Wedding Present since 2018 but her solo material treads a path far removed from her day job. ‘Do I Belong Here?’ is a terrific slice of dark pop with gently picked acoustic guitars joined by ethereal vocals and light touch electronica. The result is gorgeously melancholy as Melanie deals with that old adage “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family’ which brings to the fore feelings of detachment and isolation. A highly impressive single from an artist to watch.

https://suchsmallhands.bandcamp.com/

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Oct 20, 2024

Sounds on Sunday featuring new music from Sean McConnell, Steve Hewitt and Cris Jacobs

Oct 20, 2024

A selection of new musical offerings to accompany a relaxed Sunday.

Oct 20, 2024

Sep 4, 2024

Discovering folk music via the official UK Folk Albums Chart

Sep 4, 2024

Growing up, the idea of listening to folk music would have been an almost ludicrous one. As a teen, I was, like many of you, obsessed with rock/pop and, in my case, hard rock. I’d been raised in a house where Elvis and country music ruled the airwaves, so with a typical teenage disregard for my parents, I was always on the lookout for noisier sounds, provided there was still a tune to be heard, extreme metal was out. Folk was almost a four-letter word. Naturally, my tastes evolved over the years. I could not and would not, thankfully, shake Elvis (Mum had done a fine job of ingraining the King into my psyche) while I found my way back to more traditional country music via Americana, or alt-country as it was back then. This brings me to folk music, like Americana, a melting pot of widely differing sounds and styles. You might well be listening to folk music and not know it. So, it seems like a good time to peruse the August 2024 edition of the UK Folk Music Charts in search of some great music.

Sep 4, 2024

Jun 11, 2024

Silver Patron Saints - The Songs Of Jesse Malin due 20.09.24 3xLP | digital

Jun 11, 2024

Silver Patron Saints, a star-studded tribute and benefit album for musician and songwriter Jesse Malin, is set for release 20.09.24 on 3xLP | digital via Glassnote Records. As a taster for the set Bleachers aka Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Lana Del Ray, Kendrick Lamar, Lorde etc) recently released a cover of Jesse’s ‘Prisoners of Paradise’. Jesse suffered a rare spinal stroke in May 2023 that left him paralysed from the waist down. All proceeds for Silver Patron Saints will go to Malin’s Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. More about Jesse Malin, Silver Patron Saints and the impressive range of musicians involved in the record follows:

Jun 11, 2024

Mar 26, 2024

The RGM Inbox March 2024

Mar 26, 2024

Looking for new music? We’re here to help with a quartet of upcoming/recent releases full of melody and thoughtful songwriting. We’ve the welcome return of Ruth Theodore after a long absence, blue-collar tales from Sheffield via Fargo Railroad Co, a Devon songwriter inspired by the Japanese art of Kintsugi in Small Town Jones and melancholic hopefulness courtesy of Alex Coley and Afterlove from Canada.

Mar 26, 2024

Mar 19, 2024

Held By Trees to release expanded 2-disc Solace LP for RSD

Mar 19, 2024

Record Store Day 2024, or RSD as it is known, is on April 20th. Thousands of record collectors will flock to Indie record stores, hunting for the latest limited releases by their favourite bands. I’m pleased to report that Held By Trees will issue their excellent ‘Solace’ album as an expanded 2-disc set for the event limited to just 500 copies and mastered specifically for vinyl by Denis Blackham. More about the release and Held By Trees follows:

Mar 19, 2024

Feb 13, 2024

Status Quo - The Early Years 5CD Box Set (1966-69) due March 15th 2024

Feb 13, 2024

Status Quo broke through commercially in the 1970s, but this was no overnight success story. Long before the denim and the heads down boogie, there was a band formed in 1962 by school friends Francis Rossi and Alan Lancaster, learning their craft for many years before they became the Quo we know. There would be many ups, downs and sartorial as well as musical variations into which ‘The Early Years’ a new 5CD set from BMG, takes a deep dive, including material from pre-Quo acts The Spectres and Traffic Jam as well as the first two albums credited to Status Quo with plentiful bonus tracks including BBC sessions. The full press release and track listing follows:

Feb 13, 2024

Nov 27, 2023

The Americana Music Association UK announces UK Americana Music Week 2024, Monday 22 - Thursday 25 January in Hackney, London

Nov 27, 2023

London’s Hackney will, once again, be the place to be in January 2024 when UK Americana Music Week returns to the borough. 22 - 25 January are the all-important dates, with events and artist showcases in multiple venues culminating in the UK Americana Awards Show. London fans are well served, with many more shows throughout the capitol during January and February. The full press release follows:

Nov 27, 2023

Jul 14, 2023

Artist Showcase: Gabriella Hunzinger

Jul 14, 2023

In the first of an occasional series, Red Guitar Music shines a light on an artist at the beginning of their career. Although not a total newcomer, due to her work in The Paper Waits, Gabriella Hunzinger strikes out as a solo artist with debut single ‘Body Away'. The first offering from a slew of recently recorded material, ‘Body Away’ is a striking creation that feels cinematically widescreen yet, with its acoustic guitar and cello roots, has an earthbound intimacy in keeping with the aims of its creator. As an introduction to Gabriella Hunzinger, inspired at an early age by artists such as Tori Amos, Kate Bush and Beth Gibbons, 'Body Away' is a musical calling card sure to impress. Please read on to discover more about Gabriella Hunzinger and ‘Body Away’, released today, July 14th via Ameno Records.

Jul 14, 2023

Jul 5, 2023

Jesse Malin Injury update and donation links

Jul 5, 2023

I was lucky enough to see Jesse Malin earlier this year on the London date of the tour promoting the 20th anniversary reimagining of his impressive debut album ‘The Fine Art Of Self Destruction’. Jesse and his band delivered a blistering rock n’ roll show. My overriding memory of the show was the love Jesse has for the UK and the fans for him. After the show, Jesse made sure that if you wanted a picture, your album signed, or you just wanted to say hello, he would make that happen. A genuinely nice guy. Needless to say, it was devastating to hear of Jesse’s recent paralysing spinal stroke. More about Jesse and donation links to help with his ongoing medical care follow:

Jul 5, 2023

May 26, 2023

RGM presents The Maple Leaf #29

May 26, 2023

And we’re back! “From whence?” I hear you cry, in your florid way. Back from Canada, of course. We swam all the way, on our backs, our music-loving arms filled with a freshly picked bunch of hot new songs, gifted to us from our creative compadres ‘cross the waves. Imagine that. And we did it all for you.

May 26, 2023

May 23, 2023

Red Guitar Music presents Tara MacLean 'That's Me' Video Exclusive

May 23, 2023

Tara MacLean wrote ‘That’s Me’ in 1994, aged just 21, amidst shadowy times and falling through a succession of harrowing trap doors – all described in her acclaimed memoir ‘Song of the Sparrow’. The memoir is accompanied by ‘Sparrow’ an album of new material and reimagined versions of older songs, including ‘That’s Me’. From a career point of view, ‘That’s Me’ would play an important role, as it was the first song Tara had placed in a film, but from a personal point of view, things are a little more complicated. I’d imagine it’s like looking at your younger self in a mirror and wondering what might have been... Red Guitar Music is very pleased to offer this exclusive presentation of the striking video for ‘That’s Me’ and details of Tara's upcoming UK tour dates:

May 23, 2023

May 12, 2023

The RGM Inbox: May 2023

May 12, 2023

Welcome to our regular deep dive into quality music released by artists operating in a disparate range of genres. The goal of the RGM Inbox is to highlight artists you might not know, sending you, the listener, on a voyage of discovery to find new and exciting talents you might otherwise have missed. In this edition, we’ve a folk duo from NYC, an 80s hitmaker reinventing a classic, a striking Toronto-born singer/songwriter who found her muse in London and a Swiss-Ecuadorian duo who recorded their album in Nashville with The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach.

May 12, 2023