Vote Music

13/12/2019 The Blue Yellows at Tom’s Tap and Brew.

It was with exceptionally heavy hearts that we gathered in the lovely environs of Tom’s Tap and Brew following the devastating win for the right wing Conservatives; a win for bigotry, for lack of empathy for those in most need and for monetising everything that moves including basic public services, and cutting those that don’t make a direct profit, no matter how important.

Yes, it looks like the nasty party are bedded in for years to come.

It was heartening to know that Jacqui and Sean who run the place feel the same way.

It was a nice crowd, noisy  but appreciative, the gang played really well, we drank some of the most gorgeous beers imaginable and met up with some great friends.

Thank you all,
spirits - lifted (for now).
J X

Brewing up some new tunes.

Friday, April 6th 2018 (*updated 08/04/18 to include link to live review)

Last night I was out with The Blue Yellows playing long set with new songs. As we have, of late, been focusing on recording, we were under-rehearsed in terms of live performances of new songs and in some cases, any rehearsal at all of some of the longer-standing tunes in the set. Nevertheless, although our set may not have been technically perfect, we were definitely 'in the zone' as far as artistic expression, emotion and spirit are concerned, playing an absolute blinder from what I could tell. The lovely crowd packed into the bijou but gorgeous (with equally gorgeous beers and gins) Offbeat Brewery.
I dedicated a couple of songs to my good friend Alex an amazing tour de force of a character. She and her lovely doggie died in a horrible boat fire earlier in the year.
Thanks to everyone who made it along, you gave us a great night, and lovely to see so many old faces, and enthusiastic new ones!

*Marina is Red also wrote a review of this gig at https://www.marinaisred.com/2018/04/08/gig-review-the-blue-yellows/

Awesome gig of @TheBlueYellows last night at the Offbeat Brewery #Firstyfriday pic.twitter.com/gOUPyLXvPf

— Manu Arteaga (@arteagamusic) April 7, 2018 

Official Video ad'

Setlist - spot the new tunes?

On the Offbeat, Off the Rails.

Many thanks to Tim Lee for this photo.

The creative Crewe people at, well creativecrewe.co.uk put on a fab festival, The Big Event Festival, in the huge hanger-like former railway 'shed' that is now Crewe Heritage Center.
It was lovely that so many old friends turned up, not that I had much time to spend with them in my pre-gig tension or post-gig emotional exhaustion.
I did get to enjoy some fabulous artists before our set however including the jangly rockers with Beatlesque vocal harmonies The Continental Phase.
Good friends and brilliant songwriters Tim Lee and Dayve Dean both performed lots of as-yet unreleased material and it was great to hear their fine vocals in a place with such a huge, natural reverb.
You can also read Tim's experience of the occasion HERE (a blog-post within a blog-post I tell you, it's all here).
Raven's Way had a kind of post-folky retro thing going on and did an incredibly moving version of 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes', a wonderful Sandy Denny song. They were minus a (poorly) fiddle player but all sounded great, especially my fellow finger-picker guitarist Pete but then, I am biased.

A typical thing happened with me during our Blue Yellows set, and I should know better by now. A couple of songs in and I had lost so much of my vocal ability that I felt as if I was singing through a narrow straw, so wasn't able to go for the songs in the way that I wanted to, yet a few songs later and I had recovered... proof of lack of vocal warm-ups (again!). MUST DO. The gang did me proud, as always though, I'm very lucky to have you, thanks guys (and girl).

The Continental Phase opened the day.

Dayve Dean arrived in time to play a great set.

Me with drummist Dave, who'd had the
Purple Yellows treatment.

A very appreciative crowd, thanks all, and to all the friends I hardly got to speak to at all.
The Blitz team did a superlative job on the sound as we have come to expect and the Offbeat Beers were very nice indeed, I look forward to more of them when I have a few more pennies.

Tim Lee with great new songs.
(Sorry about my rubbish photo, Tim).