Gigs

Live music from across the region...

Urban Folk Quartet

Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Fri 21 October

The Urban Folk Quartet are like no other folk band. With Birmingham’s vibrant and diverse music scene having a significant influence on their work, they dabble in all kinds of sounds, from funk grooves and Middle Eastern melodies to afrobeat and north Indian rhythms. They tug their collective forelock in the direction of more traditional folk music too, describing their sound as ‘fiddle-led’ and drawing ‘heavily on celtic dance forms and traditional song’.

The Magpies

Temperance, Leamington Spa, Mon 24 October

Showcasing a unique blend of transatlantic folk music, talented three-piece The Magpies comprises award-winning guitarist, banjo player & singer Bella Gaffney, clawhammer banjo player & singer Kate Griffin and acclaimed fiddle player & tunesmith Holly Brandon. The trio’s debut album, Tidings released in June 2020 to considerable critical acclaim - features material deeply rooted in the traditions of their native Yorkshire and draws on their experiences as women living in the 21st century.

Gigs

Seasick Steve

hmv Empire, Coventry, Tues 4 October

Seasick Steve is this month hosting a special album-launch show to celebrate the release of Only On Vinyl. No CD. No digital. No Spotify or iTunes. Just standard black and limited-edition blue vinyl. You won’t find it anywhere else. Commenting on the release, the blues musician best known for playing on personalised guitars said: “I just wanted it to be like it used to. Wanna buy a record? Go to the record store! It’s an amazing thing to do. Just go, look around, feel the vibe. Then you pick out a record. Then you got something real in your hands, instead of in some cloud. It’s really yours. For real. I swear.”

Hayseed Dixie

The Assembly, Leamington Spa, Thurs 13 October

Hayseed Dixie was formed one summer’s day in 2000 when John Wheeler and now exmember Mike Daly ‘drank roughly enough whiskey to float a battleship from the Florida Coast over to Portugal and back’. They then decided to play around in John’s studio. Although the band, which has endured multiple line-up changes since their inception, produced some pretty unforgettable and comically crude songs, including I’m Keeping Your Poop In A Jar and She Was Skinny When I Met Her, Hayseed Dixie are probably best known for their rollicking rockgrass covers.

Tarragon

The Tin Music & Arts, Coventry, Fri 7 October

Tarragon is the brainchild of Callum Pickard, who’s self-funded his music project by working as a Deliveroo cyclist in his home town of Coventry. His debut record, I’ve Just Seen A Scene - released in June deals with the emotional growing pains and frustrations that come with maturing into young adulthood.

The Unthanks

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Sun 16 October

The Unthanks have been described as “a take on tradition that flips so effortlessly between jazz, classical, ambient and postrock, it makes any attempt to put a label on them a waste of time”. Tyneside sisters Rachel and Becky visit Coventry this month - alongside their 11piece band - in support of new album Sorrows Away, a record billed as more joyful and uplifting than any previous Unthanks offering.