Music, Blues

Jack White - Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Thu 8 Nov 2012

The White Stripes man's show is by turns both surprising and comfortably predictable

Jack White’s come a long way since the days he could comfortably make a racket as part of a power duo with Meg in the White Stripes. A couple of regular bands have followed in between, and now for his first solo album, Blunderbuss, he’s touring with two…

Porgy and Bess takes centre stage at Edinburgh International Festival

Opéra de Lyon's production of Gershwins' crossover classic

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…

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Meat and Bone

First album in eight years is more of the same down-and-dirty punk-blues

It’s been eight years since the Blues Explosion’s last studio album. In that time the band members have pursued solo projects, with frontman Jon Spencer focusing on his boppin’ rockabilly venture Heavy Trash. Now they’re back 21 years after they first…

Eat, sleep and breathe: Alabama Shakes

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

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

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

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)

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

(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

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

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…

Music festivals 2010: Festivals timeline

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

(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…

Niki King pays tribute to Billie Holliday

Cool Edinburgh jazz vocalist Niki King continues her tribute to one of the true greats of jazz Billie Holliday. ‘The time of prejudice that she worked through, the hardship and awful situations endured growing up; all of this pain and vulnerability…

Natalie Merchant, The Chieftains and Ry Cooder set for Celtic Connection 2010

Celtic Connections launched with a suitable level of expectation this fortnight – and it doesn’t look set to disappoint. Comprising 1500 artists, 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, workshops, free events and late-night sessions, the programme of events will…

Various - Kats Karavan: The History of John Peel on the Radio

There has already been plenty released to celebrate John Peel’s legacy, and now this expansive four-disc set tries to replicate the magic of a quintessential John Peel show. By that we mean throwing the tough techno of Dave Clarke up against the…

James Apollo - The Caves, Edinburgh, Tue 6 Oct

Ecstatic Americana

Some people might say that rock’n’roll isn’t all about having great hair. But these people are fools! James Apollo has a truly spectacular quiff and a rockabilly sound of equally high calibre that both get an awe-inspiring showcasing in the…

Hitlist: Music

Another fortnight of fantastic gigs

Camera Obscura, Oxjam 2009, Phoenix, Biffy Clyro, Julie Fowlis, Grizzly Bear, St. Vincent, Cluthc, Kylsea, Kamchatka

Music In The Digital Age

Technology's impact on the artform

To paraphrase the Creme Egg adverts, when it comes to music, how do you hear yours? Streaming over the internet? Nicking stuff from torrents on the web? A bag full of goodies from Fopp? Crates of obscure vinyl from your local specialist…

The Dead Weather

Jack White's other other band

Jack White appears to be addicted to making music, and after the genius of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs he returns with yet another project as The Dead Weather make their Scottish debut. Expect raw sleazy rock as he joins forces with Alison…

Richard Hawley interview

Chatting with the Sheffield troubadour

‘Someone call 999, Richard Hawley’s been robbed!’ shouted Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner on accepting the Mercury Prize in 2006, indicating the high esteem he had for his fellow Sheffielder, an esteem shared by the likes of Elbow, REM and Jarvis…

T-Model Ford

Authentic blues from the octogenarian

Born James Lewis Carter Ford in Forrest, a small community in Scott County, Mississippi, myth, mystery and awe surround the life of the blues musician better known as T-Model Ford. His exact age, for instance, is unknown even to him, although he is…

Terry Reid and The Fortunate Sons - Winchester Club, Glasgow, 29 Aug

The blues maestro plays Glasgow

Roll’n’roll folklore states that he turned down overtures from Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, but tonight blues maestro Terry Reid joins forces with Glasgow outfit The Fortunate Sons. It seems, however, less of an amalgamation of musical wits than might…

Bob Log III

Delta blues madness at King Tut's

For a unique take on the Delta blues, Bob Log III is your man. He is clad in a crash helmet and cat suit with a telephone wired into his face-plate, leaving his hands free to concentrate on slide guitar while he uses his feet to drum. Expect a bizarre…

Terry Reid & The Fortunate Sons

Looking forward to the man who turned down Led Zeppelin

Nicknamed ‘superlungs’ Terry Reid turned down positions in both Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple and has a long and prestigious history in rock working with the likes of Jackson Browne, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, The Eagles, The Who and The Police through…

Preston Reed

Under the hammer

Guitarist Preston Reed is a dazzling exponent of the guitar technique broadly known as ‘hammering-on’, a percussive method of playing on the neck that looks as impressive as it sounds. You can get a flavour from his CDs, but there is no substitute for…