Scottish singer/songwriter Paul McKenna plays Ropery Hall

Days of the Supergroup may be long past… but The Guilty Men would surely qualify for that description! The band is made up of five of the finest musicians from the Northwest of England. Between them, they have played over 10,000 gigs on planet Earth, recorded thousands of songs and made countless radio and TV appearances. To say they’re experienced would be an understatement!

The story starts in 1979, in Manchester, England. Clive Gregson and Neil Cossar met through a mutual friend, John Martin, the bassist in The Cheaters… Neil was the band’s guitarist. Clive was the leader of Any Trouble. The Cheaters had a PA, Any Trouble owned a van. It made sense to pool resources, often with both bands on the same bill… happy days!

Any Trouble signed to Stiff Records, The Cheaters signed to EMI. Both bands released several albums and played thousands of shows. Both bands ran their course… Clive then went on to a successful partnership with singer Christine Collister, released over 20 solo albums, and spent 15 years in Nashville working as a session musician and producer. Neil became a radio DJ, formed a Music PR company and launched the online brand This Day in Music, before becoming a music book publisher.

Cut to 2021… lifelong friends Clive and Neil are catching up over lunch and thought it might be fun to try and write some songs together… Several weeks and quite a few songs later, they decided to expand the enterprise from a songwriting workshop to a full blown band. Clive recruited keyboardist Jez Smith and bassist Craig Fletcher from John Lees’ Barclay James Harvest… and the lineup was completed with the addition of legendary drummer, Paul Burgess, who has played with 10cc since 1973. They named the band The Guilty Men… and headed into the recording studio.

Cut to 2024… and The Guilty Men’s debut album “Invisible Confetti” is ready to roll. 13 brand new songs recorded in the old-fashioned way: everybody playing live in the studio, intent on catching the moment. Most of the songs were laid down in no more than 2 or 3 takes… and with four featured lead vocalists, the album covers a lot of musical bases. “Invisible Confetti” rocks… with nods to Americana, country, folk, pop, psychedelia… it’s an exhilarating ride from start to finish. All aboard!

Award-winning London-based saxophone player and composer Kasper Rietkerk worked with John Carrol Kirby, Eddie Chacon and Jean Toussaint among others. His work is rooted in a jazz tradition,but also influenced by rock, hiphop and pop music.

‘The Island’ is his first full length album released under his own name. The album is about the experiences he had during his first two years in the UK. It is about the beauty of living abroad and personal development. But also reflects the dark side in a time of war in Europe and an uncertain future. It will be launched with a big live show at Pizza Express Soho London on the 24th of June.

On this album his sextet KRSIX welcomes Emma Rawicz (Ship of Fools), Anatole Muster (Roll it in Glitter) and Immy Churchill. Kasper also arranged all seven songs for string quartet which gives the album a unique sound.

The Dirt Road Band is the brainchild of guitar legend Steve Walwyn, mainly known as the longest serving guitar player in Dr Feelgood (32 Years). During this time, he amassed a massive reputation as a guitar hero in the UK, Europe, and beyond. He says, ‘I’d always liked the idea of the power trio-stripping everything back to basics. Guitar, bass and drums.’

To help him this he has recruited the services of Ted Duggan, professional since the ‘60s including stints with Badfinger and world techno giants Banco de Gaia. ‘I’d worked with Ted before,” Steve says. “I knew he would fit the gig perfectly”. He certainly does.

Bass player Horace Panter is better known as a founding member of The Specials. Horace has ‘groove’ imprinted on his DNA. Holding it down comes as second nature

This then is Steve’s dream team rhythm section that swings as hard as it rocks. “We have started to develop that musical telepathy that makes a band more than just the sum of its parts. It is a really thrilling tie and keeps music alive”.

Jake Vaadeland is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from Saskatchewan, Canada. His traditional sound and unique style could be defined as a blend of Bluegrass and 50’s Rockabilly, with Jake also specializing on guitar and banjo in addition to his impressive vocals. Jake strives to write and play with a focus on storytelling and messages that he hopes his audience can relate to, all packaged in foot stomping, high energy performances with The Sturgeon River Boys.

In 2023, he performed at JunoFest, CCMA Week, travelled to Nashville to showcase at AmericanaFest, and opened for artists like Dean Brody and Charley Crockett. He recently earned a Western Canadian Music Award nomination for ‘Roots Artist of the Year’ and won a Saskatchewan Country Music Award for ‘Alternative Country Album of the Year’.

2022 also proved to be a remarkable for Jake Vaadeland, as he received 2x Saskatchewan Music Awards including Album of the Year for ‘Everybody But Me’, along with the Folk/Roots Artist of the Year. In addition, he earned 4x Saskatchewan Country Music Awards, including Fans Choice Entertainer of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Alternative Country Album of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year. His album, Retro Man also finished at #2 in fan voting for the Best Saskatchewan Albums of 2021.

Track Dogs are four international “madrileños” (Garrett Wall, Dave Mooney, Howard Brown & Robbie K. Jones) 2 Irishmen, an Englishman and an American. Based in Spain, the band name comes from the dark subterranean world of New York’s subway system.‍

However, there is nothing dark or subterranean about the sound of Track Dogs. Their style is a dynamic joyous fusion of Folk, Latino, Americana & Bluegrass played on multiple acoustic instruments – and a trumpet! … overlaid with delicious four part vocal harmonies.‍

Their new album, Blind Summits & Hidden Dips, entered the Official Folk Charts at number 22, and has managed to make Track Dogs pack even more punch. They have achieved grandeur in the sound that they’ve been cultivating over more than 100 songs in their recording career.‍

Well-established in Spain and increasingly popular in the UK, they are surprising music lovers everywhere with “Sun-shiny songs thriving on dark themes behind irresistible rhythms.” After a fortuitous invitation to the Costa del Folk Festival in Ibiza they teamed up with Firebrand Music in the UK who also represent folk legends Show of Hands with whom in 2022, they toured the UK and released a 23-track live album, “Dog Show Sessions”  culminating in a fabulous guest appearance at the Royal Albert Hall.  ‍

Track Dogs are finally getting the recognition they richly deserve.

Channelling the sounds of The Byrds, Big Star and The Flying Burrito Brothers, as well as hints of Mojave 3 and The Allah Las, The Hanging Stars mainline the dying embers of the early 70s psychedelic folk and cosmic country scenes. The band is comprised of songwriter, singer and guitarist Richard Olson, Paul Milne on bass, Paulie Cobra on drums, Patrick Ralla on banjo, guitar, keyboards and assorted instruments, with pedal steel courtesy of Joe Harvey-Whyte.

Touring with new album On A Golden Shore – their fifth album and their second for the pioneering Loose Music, following 2022’s Hollow Heart – finds them definitively themselves and presents a set of disparate songs whose fundamental linkage is the band that made them.