Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson

Hat Fitz - Slide Guitar and Vocals, and Cara Robinson - Vocals, percussion and flute, are swnging back through Ireland over the next couple of weeks. Catch em if you can. Saw em a month ago at the White Horse Sessions in Lahinch. Great gig with people dancing from the get go - but then they know how to party at Kenny's Bar!

I love this little video of them. There are prettier ones to watch but the sound is so evocative on this!



here is their schedule

Jul 28 Fiddlers Green Festival Rostrevor Co. Down NI
Jul 29 The Listening Post Ulster Uni. Coleraine NI
Jul 30 The Barge River Lagan, Belfast, NI
Jul 31 Voodoo Lounge Letterkenny, Donegal, Irl
Aug 01 Shandon Hotel Dunfanaghy, Donegal, Irl
Aug 02 Grey Hound Bar Kilkee, Co. Clare, Ireland
Aug 03 Kenny's Bar Lahinch Co. Clare Ireland
Aug 04 Crane Lane Theatre Cork, Ireland

Aug 5-7 Mannifest Isle of Man

Aug 09 Mick Murphy's Ballymore Eustace Ireland
Aug 10 Whelan's Bar Wexford St, Dublin Ireland
Aug 11 The Cobblestone Pub Smithfield, Dublin Ireland
Aug 12 7 Hills Blues Festival Armagh Co. Down NI Red Neds 10-12 pm
Aug 13 7 Hills Blues Festival Armagh Co. Down NI Gas Lamp 6-8 pm
Aug 14 AmericanRoots Belfast, NI

then they are back to the uk - check out their tour page:
http://www.hatfitz.net/gigs2011.htm
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Pokey LaFarge in Kilkenny

I took the new car off through the Silvermines to Kilkenny last week to see Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three. A two hour drive but having seen them in Belfast last September I wasn't going to miss them when they where coming this close. Cleere's Pub in Parliament Street has a great reputation for live music, with Johnny Holden keeping it ship shape.

Pokey and the boys were coming up to the end of a '40 shows in 40 nights' tour of the UK and Ireland so I thought they might be flagging a bit but it was quite the reverse and they were teasing the audience at times saying that we were getting tired! After swinging their way through their 31 song setlist they started taking requests and ended up playing for 3 hours! About half of those songs came from their two albums, "Riverboat Soul", and the just released "Middle Of Everywhere", plus a few songs from Pokey's solo albums "Marmalade" and "Beat, Move and Shake" and a great bunch of covers as varied as the St Louis Blues or Bob Wills' The Devil Ain't Lazy. We also got both sides of the 7" vinyl they recorded with Jack White last year, Chittlin Cooking time in Cheatham County, plus a short quiz on what chittlins were (although the audience had a few novel ideas of their own!)

All in all it was a fantastic night, and if you missed them they'll be back in the spring of 2012, and they have a few gigs in the UK in September 2011

Feels So Good


You can hear the new album at NPR's First Listen this week, and it's released in the States this week.

Buy it from the band if you can or order it from http://www.pokeylafarge.net/

Way down south in Louisville

I'm hearing some great things about last night's show in Louisville, KY.

The Old Crow Medicine Show and The Felice Brothers sharing the billing and (at times the stage) can guarantee some crazy times
and some high energy performances. Here's the perennial crowd pleaser, Wagon Wheel with most of both bands on stage. Stormin' it Up to the rafters. Can't you just hear it tearing off into Tell It To Me at the end. Wow.





"Way down south in Louisville
They showed me to the door
They hadn't seen a railroad bum
Since 1924
Its a rich folk's town
They don't need me 'round"

runs the verse from Trouble That I'm In by the Old Crows. Maybe so but the door they're being shown now is the way in.

Old Crow Medicine Show - Trouble That I'm In from Live
The Felice Brothers - Trouble Been Hard from Adventures of The Felice Brothers
The Carolina Chocolate Drops - Short Life Of Trouble from Dona Got A Ramblin' Mind

The Chocolate Drops were supporting the Old Crows at The Ryman in Nashville over the weekend.
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