Two thousand and twenty three. Has it been a good year? Well…. no pandemics so, that’s something. Musically, I’ve had one of my most interesting and productive years ever. That’s the positive spin, but in truth the highs have been higher, and the lows have been lower. I know somebody who would attribute that to ‘cosmic balance’ but it’s probably just life proceeding as normal. Some people in my life are having it a bit tough at the moment. I appreciate everything
they do, but maybe we all need to be told that a bit more often.
In the spirit of positivity and celebrating the good stuff though, I thought I’d dedicate a blog or two to some of my musical highlights this year. If you’re a part of anything I do musically, you’re already a highlight! but for the sake of not boring your novelty Christmas socks off before Santa has even arrived, I’m going to try and limit my ramblings to a few specific examples.
January 2023
Grant Lee Phillips, live at The Railway Inn, Winchester.
I always list Grant Lee Phillips as one of my favourite songwriters of all time. His songs are poetic, emotional, and often richly descriptive. He also appears to be such a thoroughly good natured bloke, with an amazing voice and a knack for storytelling, it’s very hard not to like him. This video I filmed is of “Fuzzy” the title track of his band, Grant Lee Buffalo’s first album, which Michael Stipe of R.E.M. described as the best album of 1993, hands down. This was a great gig to see, and it certainly shows that no matter what level you perform at, stuff’s going to happen, and you need to laugh it off.
March 2023
In The Stables
I haven’t really talked about the bands that I play in, but this was a special, acoustic lineup for The Alabama Stills we pulled together for our friend’s birthday. Mr & Mrs K. are really well connected musically, and loads of people performed, so it was an honour to be asked to perform as the de facto headline act in their half constructed stable block. The unfinished, silver insulated walls gave our Americana & country set a vaguely 70’s disco feel - never to be repeated! The amount of cake laid on that day is also, probably, never to be repeated.
June 2023
Different Band, Different Farm
REMbrandt R.E.M. Tribute at The Hanger Farm Arts Centre, north of Southampton. It’s a beautiful venue operated by The Minstead Trust, who do great work with people with learning disabilities. It’s always a special night, a far better than average gig, but next year the band is 10 years old and we’re playing a special anniversary gig there. It’s on Sunday June 23rd. Hit me up for tickets ;-)
July 2023
Hotham Park Country Music Afternoon
Back to The Stills again - this time with the full and proper lineup on the bandstand in Hotham Park courtesy of the Rotary Club of Bognor Regis. It’s a glorious two hours of sitting in the sunshine beneath the trees on a summer Sunday afternoon. This year we were supported by UK country radio star Helena Mace, which is somewhat ironic as she has a far bigger following than we do.
‘Record Time’ probably isn’t necessary is it? I’ve given you some great artists to check out, some live venues worthy of your hard earned ticket money… get out there in the new year and support some live music! More 2023 highlights next week……
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