Wednesday, 24 February 2010

Woody Guthrie Folk Club launch this Thursday

Thursday 25th February sees the launch of a brand new venture from Alun Parry, the man behind AFC Liverpool, The Working Class Music Festival, Acoustic Slice, and the Alun Parry Band(!).

Alun tells us...

"The Woody Guthrie Folk Club is a space to explore great old songs and showcase some new ones. It will play in the tradition and spirit of the great Woody Guthrie.

His songs were sometimes fun, sometimes witty, sometimes biting and often had something incisive to say. They were also great songs to dance and stamp your feet to, while others were beautifully reflective.

So that’s pretty much our style too. Folk music that is fun, exciting, a bit dangerous, and will make you sit up and take notice.

Come along and experience it. Even better, bring your voices and instruments and be part of making it happen.

The aim is to quickly make the Woody Guthrie Folk Club Liverpool’s most inspiring, joyous and unmissable night of each month.

The Woody Guthrie Folk Club aims to have verve, life, and lots of smiles – as well as plenty of mischief and rebellion. Much like Woody himself in fact."


Thanks to Alun for letting us all know about this exciting new venture. We've got the rest of the important details for you here.

This new club takes place on the last Thursday of the month in the upstairs room at The Ship & Mitre, one of Liverpool's best real ale pubs. You can find it on Dale Street in the shadow of the flyover.

Doors open at 7.30pm, and this singing starts at 8pm prompt.

£3 entry, or FREE to singers/players.

Full details, including future dates, from www.woodyfolk.co.uk

Facebook group here

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

End of the World this Thursday!


Thursday 25th February sees the launch of the End Of The World Collective at Birkenhead Park Cricket Club. It's going to take place on the last Thursday every month, and is hosted by Hundred Monkeys.

The night features a wide and diverse range of acoustic performers from some of the best acoustic musicians around. This is followed by a jam session, so take along your instrument if you want to join in.

See the poster for more details, including a contact number.

Sunday, 21 February 2010

Liverpool Acoustic Live preview - 26th February

Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight #23
February 2010


1. Stephen Langstaff - Unaware

2. Barry Briercliffe - Time Is Standing Still

3. Ashley Théberge - Tie Up Your Shoes

4. Nigel of Bermondsey - Diamonds In My Hand

bonus track

5. David Ford - Stephen

Download the show for free
(right-click to download)

Or listen online below







(not available for email subscribers)



This month's
Liverpool Acoustic Live takes place on Friday 26th February at the Vew Two Gallery on Mathew Street and features the return of Stephen Langstaff. Since playing at the very first Liverpool Acoustic Live last year Stephen has gone on to become the first unsigned act ever to headline at the Liverpool 02 Academy main stage. This was followed by a support slot for The Lightning Seeds at The Phil, and a support slot for Deacon Blue at Liverpool Arena! However, Stephen hasn't forgotten his unplugged roots and is looking forward to debuting a number of brand new songs in a rare solo acoustic outing.

Stephen is joined on the bill by the return of local musician, and organiser of the Acoustic Live Lounge, Barry Briercliffe. Also playing for us on the night is LIPA graduate Ashley Théberge showing off her French-Canadian roots with her refreshing sound. The final spot is taken by London-based musician Nigel of Bermondsey, former bassist with 1990s Britpop band Gay Dad.

Doors open at 8.00pm with music starting at 8.30pm sharp. The night finishes at 11.15pm

This event is now SOLD OUT and there will be no tickets available on the door.

Tickets for the following Liverpool Acoustic Live on Friday 26th March go on sale from 27th February and can be bought from wegottickets.com - just search for Liverpool Acoustic.


Stephen Langstaff
www.stephenlangstaff.co.uk
myspace.com/stephenlangstaff

Stephen Langstaff has an army of fans, three albums and two EPs of music, festival appearances, 02 Academy tours and several record breaking gigs under his belt, and is rapidly becoming one of the UK’s most prolific singer songwriters. Stephen began writing and performing his work from the tender age of 11 and continued into his teens, never losing the passion to create. It is his raw passion which leads him to craft such evocative and haunting melodies, brimming over with bare emotion.

"This is spirited and rescuing music full of cherish and intimacy". Nerve Magazine

His voice is unique. His soulful style has earned him comparisons with artists such as Jeff Buckley and Tori Amos, who are both favorites of Stephen’s alongside Nirvana, Nina Simone and Tracy Chapman. Having also been a fan of 80’s pop it’s very fitting that he supported The Bangles during their time in Liverpool. His roster of supports also includes The Lightning Seeds, Deacon Blue and Peter, Bjorn and John.

Stephen made his festival debut at The Wicker Man in 2007 and was asked back in 2008. He sold out the 500 capacity Liverpool O2 Academy 2 and went on to become the first unsigned singer songwriter to headline the O2 Academy main room. He headlined there no less than 3 times throughout 2008.

Having played at numerous venues around the UK as a solo performer Stephen now also comes accompanied by a full band. This has developed his songs and his style further in the pursuit of music that captures his vision.








In 2009 Stephen moved up another level with another sold-out 02 Academy show, festival appearances including a debut at the Greenbelt Festival and exciting support shows at the two biggest and most prestigious venues in his hometown, The Philharmonic Hall and The Echo Arena, making an impact with big audiences each time. In Autumn 2009 he did his first tour of the UK as part of the 02 'Academy Live' tour.

Stephen continues to build on his already burgeoning fanbase with gigs, press coverage and radio play around the country as well as good old fashioned word of mouth and who could blame anyone for not being able to keep quiet about Langstaff. This ambitious artist from Liverpool really does seem to be the city’s worst kept secret for 2010.

Stephen's music can be bought from his website.


Barry Briercliffe
myspace.com/barrybriercliffeonline

Barry Briercliffe is a talented acoustic singer-songwriter from Kirkby who has gigged extensively across Merseyside and the Northwest. He takes his influences from the likes of Damien Rice, REM, KT Tunstall, and Pink Floyd. Barry's strong, soulful voice coupled with his great lyrics and quirky use of loop pedal enable him to build up layers of sounds, rhythm and voice that will excite and inspire audiences. His album When All You Need Is Answers is available to buy from his MySpace profile.

Barry recently took over the space left by the demise of Acoustic Slice and now hosts the Acoustic Live Lounge at 3345 Parr Street every Monday evening from 8.30pm.

Barry played at the Liverpool Acoustic Live gig on a hot summer's evening back in June last year and made such a big impression on everyone on the night that we just had to have him back.



Ashley Théberge
ashleytheberge.com
myspace.com/ashleytheberge

Ashley Théberge is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Her quirky, folksy pop music is influenced by her jazz and classical background, honed for years in her hometown of Edmonton, Alberta. She has spent 2007-2009 studying at Sir Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) in Liverpool, England.

Her debut release is entitled Ba Doo Day, which some might say is an odd choice for an album title. The inspiration for this made-up word springs from the indescribable feeling that comes when things start to go right after a series of unfortunate events – like that first glimpse of sunshine after months and months of rain. The album is a catchy collection of delightful melodies and introspective lyrics reminiscent of Joni Mitchell, Fiona Apple and Feist.

Ashley has performed at numerous festivals in the UK including a showcase at the Bedford in London, the Liverpool Sound City Festival and LIPA’s 3rd Degree Festival. The title track ‘Ba Doo Day’ was selected for The Best of the 3rd Degree compilation album and is now available on iTunes. Her track ‘Tie Up Your Shoes’ is featured on the LIPA website as well as on Songlink’s summer 2009 release Solid Gold.

Ashley's debut album 'Ba Doo Day' is now available on iTunes. You can read the review on the Liverpool Acoustic website here.



Nigel of Bermondsey
myspace.com/nigelofbermondsey

Nigel of Bermondsey walks the streets of his beloved Bermondsey, London, finding songs in the most mysterious places. He was commisioned to write a song for the local undertaker, and would love to become artist in residence at Star Cars, the minicab firm.

Nigel was a founding member of infamous glam-rockers Gay Dad ('To Earth With Love' and 'Joy' went Top 10 and Top 20 resepectively), and has worked and toured with, amongst others Tony Visconti, Mansun, Robbie Williams, Ben Folds Five and contributed remixes for Snow Patrol, Christina Aguilera and more recently Elevator Suite for Pure Mint.

The Bermondsey Suite is a collection of 8 short acoustic songs, which can be downloaded for free here.

The song Diamonds In My Hand is about a Bermondsey robber called Ruby Sparks. Ruby used to rob jewelry stores with his girlfriend Lillian as getaway driver. All went well until her car broke down and Ruby was caught. Ruby was sent to Dartmoor. The food was so bad that Ruby ate the table in his cell. His punishment was to be put in a cell with a metal table. Ruby was the first man to escape from Dartmoor. While on the run he went to see his old flame Lillian, but the fire had burnt out.


David Ford
myspace.com/davidford

David Ford is a British singer-songwriter, currently living in Eastbourne, East Sussex. He first achieved prominence with the indie rock group Easyworld, who released an independent mini-album, …Better Ways to Self Destruct and two full-length albums on Jive Records before disbanding in 2004.

Almost immediately after Easyworld's dissolution, Ford began to play a sporadic series of intimate solo gigs, debuting a number of songs which would later appear on his first solo album. In 2005, he embarked on his first headline solo tour. Fan favourite “State Of The Union” was released as his debut single on September 26, 2005 and followed swiftly by his self-recorded debut album I Sincerely Apologise For All The Trouble I’ve Caused.

After a support tour with Starsailor and a sold-out headline tour in February 2006 and the release of his second single, “I Don’t Care What You Call Me”, David has confirmed headline shows in Ireland as well as shows across the US and high-profile slots supporting KT Tunstall, Richard Ashcroft, Elvis Costello and Gomez. His debut was released in the United States in May 2006 by Columbia Records.

After supporting Suzanne Vega on her UK tour, Ford released his second solo album, Songs For The Road in August 2007. He toured extensively to support the album in October 2007 and toured the US in May 2008.

David has become known both for the sheer passion he puts into his songs, but also for being a master at the layered/looping effect he brings to many of his songs.

David's music can be bought from www.backstreet-merch.com/bands/dford

Thanks to the guys from David's management company MagnoliaMAM for permission to play the song.

Please note that David's gig at the View Two Gallery on Wednesday 24th February is also SOLD OUT.

Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight #23 - February 2010

If you get the chance, please support your local artists by emailing them, joining their mailing lists, leaving them comments, going to their gigs, and buying their music direct from them where possible.

The Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight is produced and presented by Graham Holland on behalf of the Liverpool Acoustic website. It is also available on the Internet courtesy of Art In Liverpool FM (Defnet Media), and is a proud member of the Association of Music Podcasting - supported by Libsyn

The theme music is King of the Faeries by Andrew Ellis from his CD Midnight On The Water.

Thursday, 18 February 2010

Events for weekend 19th to 21st February 2010

It's one of those weekends. You know, the kind that has so much going on that it's hard to pick which event to attend. I'm afraid we can't choose for you, but we can give you the information you need to help you make a more informed choice!


Friday 19th February - Friday Night Acoustic
7.45pm @ The Zanzibar (upstairs)

Lloyd Rock, Karl Macann, Janet and The Planets
£4/£3 on the door

myspace.com/fridaynightacoustic

Friday 19th February - Pop Cocks
8.00pm @ The View Two Gallery

A 'listening party' for cocks and hens

Tom George = pop-punky acoustic sounds+ poems
Ortolans = furious twinkly math-rock folk
Dave Owen = chirpy lancastrian troubadour
Rae Clark = Soulful jazz-folk master

plus more acts to be announced!!

Visuals by TV Lux

Tickets £4 in

Friday 19th February - T-J & Murphy
9.00pm @ Studio 2 at Parr Street

Thomas-Joseph & Murphy will be playing their first monthly Studio 2 gig of the year, with one acoustic set and one set with their band. Free entry.

myspace.com/thomasjosephandmurphy

Saturday 20th February - The Songbook Sessions
7.45pm - The Zanzibar

Hosted by Marc Sunderland (Peter and the Wolf), tonight sees performances from
Rachael Wright, Kaya, Marc Sunderland, Dan Wilson, Laura James, Ian Dunn, Gavin Mckew, and Hannah Atkins. £5 in.

myspace.com/thesongbooksessions

Saturday 20th February - Joseph Topping album launch
7.45pm @ Pacific Road Arts Centre

With special guests Elbow Jane, and the Tom Topping Band

Tickets: £10

www.pacificroad.co.uk

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

Free and discounted tickets for Paper Aeroplanes 17th Feb

Thursday 18th February sees Paper Aeroplanes playing Liverpool.

And those kind people at The Masque venue on Seel Street have dropped sent us a message to let us know that there are a limited number of free tickets (that's right... free!) and discounted tickets available to members of the Liverpool Acoustic posse (er... that's you!).

All you have to do is contact Craig Thompson via email
craigpaulthompson[at]googlemail.com (replace the [at] with @)

The gig starts at 8.00pm, and support comes in the form of Jack Roberts, The Cassette Tape Collective, Georgia Williams, and The Rivers Presley Set.

More details about The Masque can be found at www.masque-liverpool.com

Tuesday, 16 February 2010

Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight: The Pool Selection

Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight #24
February 2010 - The Pool Selection





Download the show for free
(right-click to download)

Or listen online below







(not available for email subscribers)



On Sunday 14th February Graham Holland from Liverpool Acoustic went on The Pool hosted by Dave Monks on BBC Radio Merseyside. He introduced his Pool Selection - three of his favourite tracks from the local music scene. The songs he picked are:-

The 10p Mixes - Sorry
myspace.com/the10pmixes

Rob Clarke - The Long Road North
myspace.com/robclarkeunplugged

Stephen Langstaff - Here Come The Sunbeams
www.stephenlangstaff.co.uk
myspace.com/stephenlangstaff

You can find out all about Dave Monks here. The Pool is broadcast every Sunday evening from 8.00pm to 10.00pm and can be listened to on 95.8 FM, 1485 AM, and DAB.

You can listen live online and if you miss it the Listen Again feature allows you to catch up on a show for up to 7 days afterwards.

Check out the BBC Radio Merseyside schedule here.

Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight #24 - February 2010

If you get the chance, please support your local artists by emailing them, joining their mailing lists, leaving them comments, going to their gigs, and buying their music direct from them where possible.

The Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight is produced and presented by Graham Holland on behalf of the Liverpool Acoustic website. It is also available on the Internet courtesy of Art In Liverpool FM (Defnet Media), and is a proud member of the Association of Music Podcasting - supported by Libsyn

The theme music is King of the Faeries by Andrew Ellis from his CD Midnight On The Water.

Thursday, 11 February 2010

Wirral Folk On The Coast gig this Friday

News has come through of a gig this Friday 12th February. It's a fundraiser for the Wirral Folk on the Coast Festival and is taking place at the OC Club, 28 Bridle Road, Bromborough, Wirral, CH62 6AR.

It starts at 7.45pm and it's £7 to get in.

Entertainment on the night comes in the form of Welcomme, Finnan & Chrimes, Jamie Landsborough, Brian Lupton, and Vocal Point.

Tuesday, 9 February 2010

Interview with Ragz

An Interview with Ragz

The first musician I spoke to for my series of interviews, songwriter-to-songwriter, was Norwegian born Ragz Nordset. Based in Liverpool she has recorded two EPs Little Stings, and Love You Still, and played with the likes of Laura Marling, Mumford and Sons, and David Ford. Critically aclaimed, described by Liverpool.com as 'Startlingly original' and The Fly Magazine has described her as an artist who bares her "soul through beautifully crafted songs", she gave me the chance to see what inspires and drives her to make music.

Starting at the beginning, what made you want to start writing your own songs?

I can’t remember how old I was, but at some point as a young girl, I started writing. It was just this emotion or vibe inside me and it somehow made sense to make that into songs. As silly as it may sound, it has the same effect as hunger or thirst. If I feel hungry, I eat and if I feel a certain way, I write.

Who influenced you as you began writing?

I grew up listening to my dad’s vinyl collection which contained everything from led zeppelin to Motown and think that was already in me when I started writing my own songs. It’s hard to say what bands or which music influenced me early on, but I actually think the biggest influence was just my big brother. He played guitar and that’s how I started too.

What is your instrument of choice? Do you find that playing other instruments inspires you differently?

My instrument of choice will always just be my voice. Guitar and piano comes as a joint second. Even though I love playing both piano and guitar, they are still just a way for me to carry or inspire motions in my voice. It would be the same way with any instrument really, they trigger different emotions in me and that way inspire different kinds of melodies and songs.

What would you say your muse is, what inspires you when you write?

My muse... I suppose my muse is my life. It’s all based on pure emotion – any changes in myself or people around me will, if it’s significant enough, almost force me to write. The need to tell, express, release or scream about something will, more often than not, become a song.

How do you approach song writing, do you find it is different each time or do you have a formula?

I wish I had a formula, but the only thing that is always the same is the decision and need to sit down and start something. The melody, if I’m patient enough will come alive through the chords I try. I never know how it’s going to pan out, but I hear that is a normal observation for most songwriters.

You're Norwegian, so I was wondering did you start writing/singing in your own language and then switch to English? Did you find this difficult when writing?

I’ve sang both Norwegian and English songs whilst growing up, but I’ve always written in English. I suppose that’s because most popular music was in English in Norway when I grew up. I never thought ‘bout it till a little over a year ago and decided to change my approach a little. I only wrote my first Norwegian song last Christmas, whilst visiting family in Norway. I’m trying to write in both languages now, but it’s still easier in English. Ask me again in ten years and that might have changed.

You've supported the likes of Laura Marling & Noah and the Whale - artists coming from the London folk scene. Do you see yourself as having a lot in common with them style wise?

This is a bit of a difficult one as I still struggle to find artists that I feel I properly share ground with. Regardless of where I am, I stick out like a sore thumb, style wise. This because my music might look folk based (girl with acoustic guitar), but I actually don’t think I fit the folk genre in its traditional sense. On a personal level I feel like I’ve connected with many artists from different scenes. Style wise, I’m still developing.

Are you writing at the moment?

I haven’t written a song for a few weeks now, due to touring and travelling, but there are a few brewing at the moment.

What's coming up for you, any gigs or recording?

We’ve just finished a tour, but there are some northwest based gigs coming up for ‘Liverpool Music Week’ and other events. As for recordings, I reckon early 2010 will bring some studio time for us.

A lot of musicians struggle or are reluctant to categorise their music. How would you describe your music, genre wise?

It’s always about the song for me, which sometimes makes it hard to categorize, but at the moment I would refer to it as acoustic pop/rock. You never know though, as soon as we get the right producer involved, this might change depending on what suits and completes the songs. We shall see.

Ragz's music can be heard on her myspace: myspace.com/ragzmusic Her EPs Little Stings & Love You Still are available to download, you can find the links on her myspace. Her finely crafted songs coupled with her brilliant voice make her well worth a listen.

Ragz will be supporting David Ford in a sold-out gig at the View Two Gallery on Mathew Street on Wednesday 24th February, and will be appearing at Sick Presents at The Zanzibar on Friday 26th February. Full details of all her gigs can be found on her MySpace page.

Interview © 2009 Matthew Moss

This interview was originally published on Matthew Moss' blog, The Harmless Musician Type, which consists of Matt's ramblings about music in general, and the local scene in particular. You can find the blog at theharmlessmusician.blogspot.com

Matthew is a musician and student; he likes music so decided to make some. He enjoys Johnny Flynn, Mason Jennings, Neil Young, David Gray, Bob Dylan, The Yeah Yeah Yeas, Mumford & Sons, and Blind Pilot.

Many thanks to Matt for making them available to followers of the Liverpool Acoustic News and Reviews blog.

Friday, 5 February 2010

Friday Night Acoustic and The Songbook Sessions

The poster says it all! If you'd like to play at the Friday Night Acoustic event all you need to do is contact Marc using the details above. The next event is tonight, Friday 5th February, so you could even go along to the event and see him in person!

7.45pm start at The Zanzibar, and £4 in.


Staying with The Zanzi, the next Songbook Sessions in on Saturday 20th February, doors 7.45pm, with music provided by Laura James, Ian Dunn, Gavin Mckew, Kaya, Daniel G Wilson (Cubical), Racheal Wright, and Hannah Atkins.

Monday, 1 February 2010

Liverpool Acoustic Newsletter - February 2010

February marks the first anniversary of the Liverpool Acoustic Live event (see below) and we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than by launching our new-look website and brand new logo. Fab, isn't it? The graphics have all been created for us by James Wafer from Bluewhistle Creative, and what a splendid job he's done too!


Moving on to the reason we're here... and there's lots going on this month. Liverpool's classical guitar virtuoso Neil Campbell has two concerts taking place at The Unity (4th & 5th), and the following day sees The Family Folk-up (6th) restart after a New Year break, having moved to the Black-E while roof repairs are carried out at St Brides. One particularly busy week sees the launch of Joe Topping's new album at the Pacific Road Arts Centre (20th), the visit of David Ford to the View Two Gallery (24th), the launch of the Woody Guthrie Folk Club (25th), and Liverpool Acoustic Live's first birthday (26th). I think we'll need most of March just to recover!

February also sees visits to Merseyside by a plethora of acoustic and folk musicians, including Kathryn Tickell, Tom Paxton, Martin Simpson, the Phil Beer Band, Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls, Eduardo Niebla, Ashley Hutchings and Ken Nicol, Judy Collins, and Moishe's Bagel. Some of the highlights from February's calendar can be found in the Diary Selection Box below.

LIVERPOOL ACOUSTIC LIVE

January's Liverpool Acoustic Live was jam-packed, and a highly appreciative audience enjoyed music from Andy Chandler, Vinny T Spen, Suzanne Jones, and Sparkwood & 21. A huge thank you to the artists who donated their time for free - this meant that the door money and some very generous extra donations raised a total of £240 for the DEC Haiti appeal.


This month Liverpool Acoustic Live takes place on Friday 26th February and features the return of Stephen Langstaff. Since playing at the very first Liverpool Acoustic Live last year Stephen has gone on to become the first unsigned act ever to headline at the Liverpool 02 Academy main stage. This was followed by a support slot for The Lightning Seeds at The Phil, and a support slot for Deacon Blue at Liverpool Arena! However, Stephen hasn't forgotten his unplugged roots and is looking forward to debuting a number of brand new songs in a rare solo acoustic outing.

Stephen is joined on the bill by the return of local musician, and organiser of the Acoustic Live Lounge, Barry Briercliffe. Also on playing for us on the night is LIPA graduate Ashley Théberge showing off her French-Canadian roots with her refreshing sound. The final spot is taken by London-based musician Nigel of Bermondsey, former bassist with 1990s Britpop band Gay Dad.

This is due to be a very popular night and those wishing to attend are advised to buy their tickets in advance. There are only 50 tickets available for this intimate gig, and once they're gone, they're gone. Entrance is £4 on the door (if there are any tickets left!) or £3 in advance from wegottickets.com

Doors open at 8.00pm with music starting at 8.30pm sharp. The night finishes at 11.15pm

The facebook event is here.

DIARY NEWS

  • There's a new folk club opening on Thursday 25th February. Called the Woody Guthrie Folk Club it meets in the upstairs room at the Ship and Mitre on Dale Street on the last Thursday every month. Full details can be found on the facebook event page, and we'll be plugging it here closer to the time.

  • Three regular events are returning after an extended break: they are Homegrown (4th), the Family Folk-up (6th) and T-J & Murphy's Studio Two residency (19th).

  • The Liverpool Guitar Society is a brand new group set up for anyone interested in classical guitar. They are looking to run monthly meetings, and once the dates are confirmed we'll post them here.

FEBRUARY DIARY SELECTION BOX

Here's a selection of some of the acoustic events taking place in February. Click on the event in the diary for full details and links. If you'd like your event to get a special mention in a future newsletter then let us know.

Monday 1st - Come Strut Your Stuff @ The Egg Cafe. Open floor poetry and acoustic music takes place once a month in Liverpool's best vegetarian bistro. The event starts at 8pm but if you want to perform you'll need to be there before 7.30pm to get your name on the list. comestrutyourstuff.co.uk

Tuesday 2nd - Out of the bedroom @ Leaf Tea Shop & Bar. Open mic hosted by Johnny Sands. 8pm start

Wednesday 3rd - Kathryn Tickell @ Pacific Road Arts Centre. 8pm start, and tickets £16

Thursday 4th - Homegrown @ 3345 Parr Street. Returns after a break with music from Martin Harley, Naomi Mather, Laney Murphy, and Christopher Wood. 8pm free entry.

Thursday 4th/ Friday 5th - Neil Campbell in concert @ The Unity. With special guests Thomas Lang, Sense of Sound’s Perri Alleyne-Hughes, cellist Nicole Collarbone, and soprano Anne Taft. 8pm start, tickets £8 (£6 conc)

Friday 5th - Tom Paxton @ The Phil - The legendary folk singer Tom Paxton visits Liverpool. 7.30pm start, tickets £20 & £25

Friday 5th - Friday Night Acoustic @ upstairs at The Zanzibar. 1st and 3rd Friday every month.

Saturday 6th - Family Folk-up @ The Black-E. Music from Table, The Random Family, Temple Fire, and Jukebox Gypsy. Doors 7.30, admission £5. Bring your own drink.

Saturday 6th - Martin Simpson @ Pacific Road Arts Centre
Saturday 6th -
Phil Beer Band @ The Citadel, St Helens
Saturday 6th -
Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls @ The Rodewarld Suite (The Phil)

Friday 12th - Eduardo Niebla @ The Rodewald Suite (The Phil). Formidable flamenco-jazz guitar virtuoso, Eduardo Niebla is technically superb and breathtakingly versatile. 8.30pm, £12

Tuesday 16th - Ashley Hutchings and Ken Nicol @ The Brindley. Ashley Hutchings was the founder of Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and The Albion Band. Ken Nicol was a member of the Albion Band and Steeleye Span, and currently co-hosts Folkcast. 8.00pm start, tickets £12 (£10 conc)

Friday 19th - T-J & Murphy @ Studio 2, Parr Street. The acoustic guitar duo return for their regular showcase, playing the first set as a duo and the second set with their band. 9pm - free entry.

Saturday 20th - Joe Topping album launch @ Pacific Road Arts Centre, with special guests Elbow Jane, and the Tom Topping Band. 7.45pm, £10

Saturday 20th - The Songbook Sessions @ The Zanzibar. Laura James, Ian Dunn, Gavin Mckew, Kaya, Dan Wilson, Rachael Wright, and Hannah Atkins. 7.45pm start.

Wednesday 24th - David Ford @ The View Two Gallery. A Mellowtone gig, with support from Ragz. Doors 8pm. STOP PRESS - this event is now SOLD OUT.

Thursday 25th - Woody Guthrie Folk Club @ The Ship & Mitre. Where better than upstairs at one of Liverpool's best real ale pubs to launch a brand new folk club dedicated to the memory and spirit of Woody? 7.30pm doors, 8.00pm start, 10.30pm finish. £3 entry, or free to singers.

Friday 26th - Liverpool Acoustic Live @ The View Two Gallery. Our first birthday bash features Stephen Langstaff, Barry Briercliffe, Ashley Thebérge, and Nigel of Bermondsey. 8pm doors, music 8.30pm to 11.15pm. Tickets £3 in advance, £4 on the door.

AND FINALLY...

Would you like to try your hand at writing a gig or event review for the News and Reviews page? There are always more gigs than the current team can ever hope to attend, so if you'd like to review one for us that would be great. As an official journo you'll get into many ticketed gigs for free and we might even print you an official Liverpool Acoustic press pass! If you're interested then drop us a line using the Contact Us form or by emailing contact[at]liverpoolacoustic.co.uk

While you're on the new-look Liverpool Acoustic website why not leave a message in our Guestbook? Tell us what you think of the redesign, and let us know if you think we could add anything else to the site to make it even better.

Graham, on behalf of the Liverpool Acoustic Team