Ovalteeny

Number 5 in this years Top 10 are Lake Street Dive, a quartet from NE USA, they are not country, in fact it's hard to pigeon hole their music, other than it's bliddy good, this is the title track from this years album, Rachel Price, is lead singer and she's not half bad....

Number 4 in my Top 10 od 2014, the reformation of Nickel Creek, check them out on this little 20 minute live Radio Show :-

the mayfair, with the revolving stage

Brett, I like Elbow, but that's the first I'd heard/watched Alt-J, I like that too, helluva video, do you think he really got hit by proper arrows ?

Number 3 in my Top 10 is another country album. New, modern, rocking, country from a man who has released 2 albums in 2 years and set Nashville talking ; Sturgill Simpson http://youtu.be/_70HJMikcBo

Sorry I meant to put a link to their web-site :-- http://stevenseagulls.com

Malcolm, Well, I'd never had guessed that they were Finnish. There are 2 other videos on their web-site. Just shows that there is a decent music scene up there in Scandanavia. Ignoring Abba, they now have (from my ignorant perspective) First Aid Kit and now Steve 'n' Seagulls.

Brett, Fist Aid Kit's latest album STAY GOLD has come 20th. in an "end of year" readers poll from an Americana Web Magazine called No Depression, check out the list via this link :http://nodepression.com/article/nd-readers-poll-results-top-50-albums-2014 I had not really heard of them before, but I'll give them a listen, now

Malcolm, never heard of Steve 'n' Seagulls but I like what I see and hear on the video. Much better than the stuff I've seen and heard from Hayseed Dixie. Thank you for posting this, I'm now off to see what else I can find by them and discover some info regards where they are from etc.

I like it, nothing wrong with girls playing guitars, check out the Wynnona song :- Girls with Guitars, what's the world coming to. Girls with Guitars, daddy's little angel. Girls with Guitars, there ought to a song about Girls with Guitars Get your money for nothing and your guys for free I'll try and find a video with this on

Maggie/915, yes we try and go to the Sage's Americana Weekend, which is usually very good, with a mixture of established artists and newer, up and coming ones. We missed this year, for various reasons, but previously we've seen some terrific acts, not all from USA either, some pretty good English Scottish & Irish musicians. We try and support the Sage throughout the year. We've already got tickets for early February for the "Transatliantic Sessions" live Tour the again in April for 3 terrific American ladies, Sarah Jaroz, Sarah Watkins & Aoife O'Donovan, on the stage together. Any one of them is capable of being the next Allison Krauss, so catching them together is a bit special.

My number one was Texas Country but my number 2 is anything but country, check out Mike Farris, a voice that's a bit Al Green, a bit Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave fame), the sort of Gospel that made Ray Charles / Aretha Franklin & Sam Cooke famous back in the 1950's

These days Maggie/915 you don't necessarily have to buy albums. There are so many digital alternatives.

Closing down loop-holes in the "black economy" always has it's negative side. I blame Thatcher too.

Okay, lets see if anyone is interested in what my Top 10 sounds /looks like. I'll start to paste one link link per day, starting off with Kelly & Bruce, who have both had long solo careers, but they have been married for quite a few years and this album is their 2nd. joint effort in 2 years :-

Wilko's a top man + Daltry's a unique performer

Here we go with my Top 10 for this year :- 1. Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison - Our Year 2. Mike Farris - Shine for All the People 3. Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music 4. Nickel Creek - A Dotted Line 5. Lake Street Dive - Bad Self Portraits 6. Old Crow Medicine Show - Remedy 7. Rodney Crowell - Tarpaper Sky 8. Jason Eady - Daylight And Dark 9. Jesse Winchester - A Reasonable Amount of Trouble 10. Paul Thorn - Too Blessed to Be Stressed

Agreed about steering the next generations toward good music. I remember taking my 2 kids to Wembley Arena to see Lyle Lovett & Mary Chapin Carpenter, then another time to Shepherds Bush Empire to see John Hiatt. Although I did also let them take me to see the Spice Girls and then Robbie Williams on 2 other occasions. Spice Girls were as I expected (never to return again) but Robbie put on a hell of a show (albeit he is very big-headed and full of himself). Another time I tool my daughter (who was only 5 at the time) to see The Poozies at the Stables in Milton Keynes (and Kate Rusby was depping for one of the other girls) and my Harriet had a good 10 minute chat with Kate at half-time about music lessons & fiddles etc. After taking Harriet to see Allison Krauss she is now (although only 24 years old) well into Americana, especially girl fiddle or banjo players and goes to gigs herself to see such performers as Sarah Joaroz, Sarah Watkins and Aoife O'Donovan (probably lost you there, with those 3 names, but check them out, they can't half play).

Most of Bonnie's band have been with her for years & years. The only exception at the City Hall was the keyboard man, whose name escapes me now, but he'd played with everyone in LA from the Beach Boys to Jackson Browne and boy was he good. Bonnie always has had very good keyboard guys (including at least 2 English lads - ex Faces & Rolling Stone, Ian McLagan (RIP just the other week) and the monster-man from New Awlins (via his Kentish birthplace) Jon Cleary. By the by, Ian McLagan co-wrote most of Rod Stewarts early classics and I've seen him with his own band (from Austin, Texas) a few times and he certainly put on a terrific show.

God visited a woman and told her she must give up smoking, drinking and sex if she wants to get into heaven. The woman said she would try her best. God visited the woman a week later to see how she was getting on.. "Not bad" said the woman, "I've given up smoking and drinking but then I bent over the lounge suite and my boyfriend caught sight of my long slender legs, he pulled up my skirt, pulled my knickers to one side and made love to me right then and there." "They don't like that in heaven", said God........ The woman replied: " And they're not too happy about it in IKEA either!"

Where was this Candlelight Club? Apart from the WMC's (CIU Affiliated), the only club in Ashington I went to was The Cellar

Willy J, Joe Bonamassa has generally been a little too heavy blues for me, but I have his latest album and like that. No doubting his talent with the guitar though, top man. Most of the acts I have seen over the past 50 years have been in southern / London venues (and USA). However, I did get back to the City Hall 2 summers ago to see Bonnie Raitt, who with her usual band of top class musicians was as good as, if not better, than the previous 6 or 7 times I've see her. I usually go mostly to the Sage these days. One highlight of this Bonnie Raitt gig was the support act, who I had heard of but not heard anything by. He was an Irish lad called Foy Vance and he was terrific. Check out his album "Joy of Nothing".

I'm half way through Bill Kells at the moment book and it's fascinating.

My first gig at The City Hall was May 1964 with Rolling Stones, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers, Julie Grant, Keith Powell & The Valets. Then, later the same month Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, The Animals, The Swinging Blue Jeans, King Size Taylor & the Dominos, The Other Two + The Nashville Teens 50 years later and I'm still going to gigs and enjoying live music, you can't beat it.

My Dad used to put all his bets on, in the Terrier, always signing his betting slip with SKID.