Sublyme in the Windy City.

Photo by Pete Alcock

Soundcheck-selfie by Dave
L-R; Me, Em, Simon, Dave

Although May, and following some exceptionally warm weather, the sunshine belied the freezing cold Northerly winds, exacerbated by the fact that this part of the world is very hilly, windy and has it's own micro climate. 

This was the Lymelight Festival in Stoke On Trent, we arrived early, some using the extra time to catch a local cafe. Both Em and I were a bit under the weather, Em with some stomach pains and me with a sore throat. This didn't effect my singing though at one point, in between verses I thought I felt my throat feel as if it were about to disintegrate or something, but it lasted the set, thankfully, though not the following day!

Harder to deal with was finger dexterity for playing, I don't think I made any mistakes but may have missed out some of the 'notes in between the notes' sounds and the like. The weather also ensured that the crowd was both smaller than you would expect and very wrapped up! I should've worn my extra-warm beany hat, I'd assumed the sun would've managed to make a bigger impact on the temperature.

Nevertheless, a well organised gig and a great sound on stage too. Thank you Lymelight!

Lymelight Festival 2017

Fierce crowds were kept back by the security fencing!

Most of the band seemed more than a little bleary-eyed on arrival in Newcastle Under Lyme, our tiredness probably matched by the dull, drizzley skies which greeted us. We enjoyed the brilliant Kez Liddle's dreamy music before we went on. Finding we had a slightly longer slot at this, the fabulous town-center music and arts extravaganza that is The Lymelight Festival than we had originally been told,  so after a quick chat we added 'Love is the Answer' to the set list.

And... the Sun came out!

We added 'Love is the Answer' to the setlist
after the Radiohead cover.

We were super impressed with dreamy singer songwriter
Kez Liddle.

Music Reigns - The Lymelight Festival 2016.

All the fun of the fair, was there.

May 2nd, 2016.

The third outdoor festival gig I've done this spring and the third one done in torrential rain. Even the Signal One stage covering along the roof and sides of the stage area was not enough to stop serious sprayage from getting onto the stage and also wind-blown rain spraying in. The stage crew did a great continual job of trying to keep it in check but like King Cnut, it was to no avail as pools ever closenned to my pedal board and rain sprayed onto my mic.

Luckily the rain normalized a bit otherwise I think it would've either been called off for safety reasons or stopped anyway due to my sudden death. The love of music surpassed all this wet nonsense however and the music-loving crowds snuggled under umbrellas and bopped in their kagools.
Thanks all at The Lymelight Festival for making this happen! :D

Support slot at the Hayley Strangelove Album Launch night.

The Freebird is where it all happened, here's a bit of the ceiling!

Hayley Strangelove has been a staunch entertainer around the clubs, pubs & festivals around the North West, Midlands and beyond for more than 10 years now, for a long time keeping her adoring friends and fans waiting for her to unleash her outstanding vocal and songwriting talents in CD format. Well finally it is here, Tutti Pelliccia her brilliant debut.

I felt genuinely honoured to support Hayley with a short set of songs (the last one of which the gal herself also joined me on). The night also featured Edd K and Lenny 'Hurricane' Lane  who produced the album and plays on several tracks (Lenny also plays with Bearfoot who I shared a stage with at Middlewich, it's a small world). They were both great.

Highlights; So many on this special night, especially during Hayley's set, including being joined on vocals by her dad (who also appears on the album) and Paul Senior (also of Son of Shinobi & Baxter).

Lowlights; exiting the stage by falling off and hurting a knee, doh!

The long-awaited CD. Buy it!

Photo by Mike Willacy. Mike's daughter
kindly made me a good-luck loom band!

I mentioned to Lenny my struggles with my transducer on
my mini-acoustic, asked him about his and he gave me one!
Top muso, top chap!

June 24th-27th - May Bank Holiday Festivals.

Photo by Dave Myatt, from Monday's Folk N' Ale Festival at The Old Brown Jug.

Saturday Daytime, Crewe Live Festival.
The 1st time The BlueYellows played together since last September and the first time we were all in the same room together in fact since a Pre-Christmas lunch (oh alright piss-up). This was a rehearsal, the first one since a break brought about through the birth of Lovely Casper, Emma's and hubby Pete's new son. I was expecting things to be a bit ropy but we slipped back into it like a duck to a mucky canal. In places we were actually "in the zone" and I forgot all sense of anything sensible, should be good...

Saturday Night, Crewe Live Festival.
Now much as I appreciate being put on for this solo performance, the circumstance here were "a bit ropy", the football was on the TV of the Corner Bar which was the evening's venue and I was to wait for half-time before my shortened set or potentially suffer the wrath of drunk football fans... not fun but "the show must go on" and it was one to put down to experience, you know with the best will in the world of all concerned sometimes you'll have a bit of a crap night, I did get some good feedback through from members of the small audience both then at the gig the following night.

Sunday. Crewe Live Festival gig 2
 An altogether much better experience, not only a listening, attentive audience but lots of friendly familiar faces including Abby and Mat from the superb 1980s style, electro-outfit Human Condition who played later that night. 

Bank Holiday Monday. The Newcastle-Undr-Lyme Jazz and Blues Festival (Subsection The Old Brown Jug Folk N' Foam Festival.
A great day/and night sub-festival organised by Andrew Tranter from the Agit/Folk band currently making waves, Headsticks. Again a lovely, attentive audience, some great acts (including Headsticks themselves) and lovely ale too, only the weather was dodgy at times but... this is a festival in England... onwards and upwards.... Special thanks to Tina Newbury of Simon J. Newbury Photography and Dave Myatt who has been taking great music-scene photos since the 1970s for the photos. Cheers to them and everyone involved in making it a fun weekend.

The Official T-Shirt.

Photo by Dave Myatt.

March 24th - There's only one rule in Song Club...

No Covers!

Song club is a special night, once a month me thinks, in the "other" Newcastle (the Under-Lyme variety in Stoke) featuring original-only tunes performed by the artists who wrote them in the lovely environs of The Old Brown Jug, a real music club with a great history locally. Despite the very snowy weather, a good crowd eventually appeared and helped give us all a good time (save for the one or two obligatory nutters). Anyway, Song Club - Highly Recommended! I debuted a new song, "There She Moves", rusty to say the least and perhaps a draft one version in terms of it's arrangement, but the audience were lovely and forgiving. In addition to those I photographed and commented on below were the emotional and ethereal Rain. I'm sorry I couldn't stay around for the brilliant Giro Junkie but am glad I at least heard the urgent folk-rockers Headsticks soundcheck at least. Look out for them!

Newcastle Under Lyme looking purdy.

The Old Brown Jug, great venue and with some great posters!

United Breaks, very different and very good.

Julia Dowler, Soulful songs aided masterfully by Darren.