Music and Blues

Eat, sleep and breathe: Alabama Shakes

The bluesy foursome's guitarist Heath Fogg talks us through his tour habits

27 Mar 2012

What time is breakfast? 1pm. Tea or coffee? Coffee, though [lead singer, pictured…

Celtic Connections 2012 line-up announced

Glasgow traditional music festival features 2100 artists and 300 events over 18 days in 20 venues

26 Oct 2011

This year's festival will include 2100 artists, 300 events, 20 venues all over 18 days. Being that winter is in the offing, you now wake up in the morning for work and its dark, you then head home from work and its dark. One thing that will surely…

Wilko Johnson - The Caves, Edinburgh, Thu 15 Sep 2011

A winner set from the ex Blockheads guitarist turned bluesman

22 Sep 2011

Canvey Island rocking bluesman Wilko Johnson kicked off his nationwide tour from the other end of the UK with a stonking set that compared favourably to the Essex man’s glory days as lead guitarist for Dr Feelgood in the 1970s and Ian Dury and the…

Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lock Pickers – Luck (Re:Peater)

20 May 2011

Hallelujah! The ghost of Uncle John & Whitelock, Glasgow's seriously demented purveyors of their self-styled horror r n' b, is reborn and delivered here in the still possessed shape of Jabob Yates (nee Lovatt), former howler of that parish. Lovatt and…

Lone Pigeon - Time Capsule 001-010: A Selection

A collection of the Fife musician's finest tracks from the last decade

21 Mar 2011

(Domino) You don’t see him for years and then he pops up with this. Get ready to (re)introduce yourself to Gordon Anderson, aka Fife’s maverick songwriting talent Lone Pigeon, a man who counts The Beta Band, the Aliens and the Fence Collective among…

Ali McGregor – Jazz Cigarette

A sexy soulful rendition of songs that inspire

30 Jul 2010

It’s a fine woman who can wrap her vocal chords round Ella, Billie and, er, Britney, with suitable pizzazz. This is sexy soulfulness at its finest, with a harp thrown in. Having warmed up with stints in La Clique and Variety-Nite, here she keeps it real…

Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival 2010 begins

China Moses, Niki King and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble among highlights

22 Jul 2010

The ten-day fest kicks off again, and among our recommendations, we would include China Moses, an American singer based in Paris, with a soul background and a near obsession for the troubled diva, Dinah Washington; Niki King, Scotland’s own smoky-voiced…

Porgy and Bess takes centre stage at Edinburgh International Festival

Opéra de Lyon's production of Gershwins' crossover classic

16 Jul 2010

As operas go, it’s fair to say that Porgy and Bess blew in like a hurricane. When George and Ira Gershwin’s self-styled ‘American folk opera’ featuring a libretto by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward appeared on the New York stage in 1935, its cast of…

Music festivals 2010: Festivals timeline

28 May 2010

From Rock Ness to Roskilde, Glastonbury to Glasgow Jazz Festival, we list the best of the many great fests happening throughout the summer. Which one(s) will you choose?

Three Blind Wolves - The Sound of the Storm

14 Apr 2010

(Instinctive Raccoon) Three Blind Wolves, see how they run? That’s right, they run like lovesick delinquents through decades of vintage Scottish rock – by way of country, blues and folk – and come out sounding downright affable. The new and…