Monthly Archives: September 2018

TVD’s The Idelic Hour with Jon Sidel

By Jon Sidel | Published: September 28, 2018

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

I’ll slash them cold, I’ll kill them dead / I’ll break them gooks, I’ll crack their heads / I’ll slice them till they’re running red / But now I’ve got the running gun blues…

I heard there was a car chase on Mulholland Drive yesterday morning. From what I understand the vehicle in question was burning Mulholland rubber while in hot pursuit by the grip of blazing LAPD squad cars.

The chase feels like a fitting metaphor for the Fall of 2018. I mean why stop running? Which brings up some recent, rocking cultural moments—last summer’s brilliant film Baby Driver, Tom Cruise’s full-on sprint in this summer’s enjoyable MI6, and free-running, the new action sport inspired by American Ninja Warrior.

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TVD Live Shots: Spiritualized and YAK at the Eventim Apollo, 9/21

By Jason Miller | Published: September 28, 2018

If I never see another live show in my life after watching Spiritualized last week in London, I think I’d be ok with that. This was one of the most incredible musical performances I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen thousands. Start with one of the best songwriters on the planet, add a live orchestra alongside the band, top that off with a full choir, and you have the makings of a once in a lifetime gig.

Spiritualized is best known for the critically acclaimed 1997 release of Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, which NME magazine named as their Album of the Year, besting Radiohead’s OK Computer and The Verve’s Urban Hymns. This not only put them on the map but instantly secured them as one of the most important artists of the 1990s with We Are Floating in Space acclaimed as one of the best albums by virtually all the major music press around the world.

The Eventim Apollo was the perfect setting for this sold out extravaganza which was led by the man behind Spiritualized, Jason Pierce, directing the two dozen-plus musicians across the legendary Apollo stage. One would not be wrong to compare the wall of sound to the sort of experience you’d get from seeing a Pink Floyd show during their peak. It was a perfect combination of brilliant songwriting alongside stellar musicianship, with the icing on the cake being the orchestra and the choir.

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TVD Live Shots: Car
Seat Headrest and
Naked Giants at the
9:30 Club, 9/20

By Richie Downs | Published: September 28, 2018

Indie-rock outfit, Car Seat Headrest brought their sonic talents to the 9:30 Club in DC last week to revisit a moment from their past with a newer and more ambitious interpretation. What emerged was music that is impossible to walk away from.

In 2011, Car Seat Headrest’s frontman Will Toledo—a DC area local from Leesburg, VA who is now relocated to Seattle, WA—released one of his most admired albums to date, Twin Fantasy, later re-titled Twin Fantasy (Mirror to Mirror). The original album marked Toledo’s sixth solo album and was recorded in the classic low-fi, DIY fashion that Toledo has become known for.

The album was made when he attended school at Virginia’s College of William and Mary and is said to be the first album he viewed as a true full length effort. Twin Fantasy is a genius collection of songs—lyrically it immortalizes a relationship that Toledo was in at the time and touches on issues like depression, love, and homosexuality.

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TVD Radar: Paul Heaton’s career spanning best of, The Last King Of Pop in stores 11/16

By TVD HQ | Published: September 28, 2018

VIA PRESS RELEASE | One of the UK’s most prolifically gifted songwriters Paul Heaton will release a career spanning album on 16 November ’18 on the Virgin EMI label.

Entitled The Last King Of Pop it will feature 23 of the finest songs from throughout Paul’s extraordinary music career, including hits from his days in the Housemartins, through his time in the multi-platinum pop co-operative The Beautiful South, his solo years, and up to the present day in his long-standing collaboration with former Beautiful South singer Jacqui Abbott.

From the Housemartins’ glorious 1985 debut single ‘Flag Day’ to the Beautiful South’s chart dominating pop standards ‘Don’t Marry Her’, ‘Rotterdam,’ and ‘Perfect 10’ through to last year’s Heaton & Abbott smash hit ‘I Gotta Praise,’ they’re all present and correct….and there’s also room for a 2018 re-record by Paul and Jacqui of the Beautiful South classic ‘A Little Time,’ and a brand new song, a deliciously infectious ska-pop paean to a lifetime of jukebox dancing and pop music obsession entitled ‘7”Singles’.

To celebrate the release of The Last King of Pop, Paul & Jacqui will play 3 very special live shows at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Sheffield City Hall, and Blackpool Empress Ballroom at the end of November where they will perform the album in full.

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Greta Van Fleet:
In-store with TVD
at DC’s Som Records

By TVD HQ | Published: September 28, 2018

You’ve most likely heard plenty about Greta Van Fleet of late—saviours of rock and roll, reminiscent of Led Zeppelin and other ’70s arena rock stalwarts, and heck–that here in Washington, DC they sold out the storied 9:30 Club on a Friday to packing them in at the far larger Anthem in DC the following evening. It’s been one hell of a steady ascent, even before a proper debut LP has arrived in stores.

Well, we’ll tell you what our ears have heard—a shit-hot rock and roll band who have most certainly had their noses tucked into some records from early on, and who have absorbed the authenticity and passion those old records still elicit. (There’s probably some good parenting in there too, but we digress.)

In advance of the 2 shows here in DC last summer, we grabbed bassist Sam Kiszka and drummer Danny Wagner from the tour bus down to the basement confines of Som Records, the backdrop for all of our Washington record rummages. Candidly however, Sam and Danny didn’t need any coercing as you’re about to see.

So, onward! We’re record shopping with Greta Van Fleet at DC’s Som Records!

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Graded on a Curve:
Limp Bizkit,
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water

By Michael H. Little | Published: September 28, 2018

Finally–the perfect band for people who like the Red Hot Chili Peppers but think they’re–get this–too tasteful and smart.

Nu Metal avatars Limp Bizkit made mucho bucks with their aggressive fusion of rap and metal, proving in the process they had the mad skills to suck at two genres at once. That said, if your idea of a good metal band is a bad rap band, Limp Bizkit’s hugely successful third album, 2000’s Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, could just be for you.

The turn of the millennium was a dark time for people like me; the likes of Limp Bizkit, Korn, Creed, and Papa Roach ruled the airwaves, and no one was safe. My older brother called in to a radio station to win an unnamed prize once. The DJ asked him if he liked Korn. My brother said yes; he thought the guy was talking about the kind that comes on the cob. He ended up with two tickets to see the band, which is kind of like winning radioactive waste.

I can sum up my problem with Limp Bizkit is two words: Fred Durst. The man has undeniable commercial smarts, and his crude braggadocio can be amusing; I’m impressed by his ability to stuff forty-six “fucks” into a single song (see “Hot Dog”), and you should be too. And the song itself ain’t bad, if you’re willing to settle for an unreconstituted Nine Inch Nails rip.

But the boasting wears; Durst wavers between defiance and self-pity, and when it comes to rhyming’ and stealing he’s no Beastie Boy. There’s no joy in this music–Durst is good for the occasional laugh, sure, but in general he just sounds pissed off. And how much does a rich record label vice-president have to be pissed off about?

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In rotation: 9/28/18

By TVD HQ | Published: September 28, 2018

Portsmouth, UK | Why this Gosport High Street store is moving to Southsea next month: After more than 30 years in Gosport High Street, a record store is moving across the harbour to Portsmouth. Reflex Records will be moving to Palmerston Road, Southsea, in October, with the manager citing a ‘dying high street’ as the reason behind the move. Paul Potter, 56, who has managed the shop for just under 10 years, blamed online retailers such as Amazon for undercutting high street shops, causing damage to shops across the country. Mr Potter said: ‘The high street is dying. ‘The unspoken truth is that Amazon doesn’t pay tax and can afford to undercut the high street.

Nashville, TN | Grimey’s Moving To Transforming Trinity Lane: years, but with the possibility of their building being sold and their rent being significantly increased, owners Mike Grimes and Doyle Davis decided to find a new location for the legendary record shop. While the two looked all over Nashville, they settled on an old church building on Trinity Lane in East Nashville between Gallatin Road and Ellington Parkway. “When we walked in here, we were like, ‘Oh my God. This is it,'” Davis said of the new location. “It’s beautiful, it’s gorgeous. It’s a former church for us to build our temple of music.” The new location provides more space than Grimey’s and Grimey’s Too combined. It has significantly more parking for customers, a larger performance area for in-store performances (and an actual stage), and it still has the great vibe that people have come to expect from the record shop.

Raleigh, NC | Raleigh Beer Week means Bojangles’ and rare beers. Here are 5 can’t-miss events. An awful lot of great beer comes and goes at State of Beer, but some of it sticks around and hangs out for awhile. The folks at the bottle shop are reaching into their cellar and bringing up past vintages that have been taking some age and developing flavor. On Tuesday, Oct. 2, the chefs of Trophy Tap & Table and Trophy Brewing on Morgan will also have a grilled cheese throwdown, while mobile record store Record Krate sells vinyl at a pop-up record shop. The shop is at 401a Hillsborough St.

Bromsgrove, UK | Next Bromsgrove vinyl record and CD fair takes place this Sunday: The next vinyl record and CD fair returns to the Bromsgrove Hotel and Spa, Birmingham Road, this Sunday, September 30, between 10am and 4pm. It is a sell-out with traders coming all over the UK, meaning there will be more than 40 tables from chart classics to real obscurities and bargains from 50p a record. Visit www.midlandsrecordfairs.co.uk for more information. Ben Frizzell has also launched his own vinyl record stall on Bromsgrove Market which runs every Saturday throughout September. For more on that click here.

St Albans, UK | St Albans music shop features in new work by record-breaking vinyl lover: Graham Jones published his first work, Last Shop Standing: Whatever Happened to Record Shops?, in 2009 after visiting thousands of music stores around the country. He believes he should be in the Guinness World Records book for visiting so many record shops. Since his first work, which documented the decline of vinyl, the situation has taken an unexpected turn and record sales have started to thrive. His second novel, Strange Requests and Comic Tales from Record Shops, reminisces about the anecdotes he picked up in his role as co-founder of Proper Music Distribution. The newest work highlights all 220 shops in the UK which stock new-vinyl. It is called The Vinyl Revival and the Shops That Made it Happen. It features Empire Records on Heritage Close, which is described as an “impressive” site where you are encouraged to “sit, chill out and listen to some good music”.

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TVD Live Shots: Outlaw Music Festival at the XFINITY Center, 9/21

By Chris Jenkins | Published: September 27, 2018

MANSFIELD, MA | Outlaw Music Festival returned to the XFINITY Center on September 21, warmly welcoming a talented lineup of legends and legends in the making. The Festival featured Willie Nelson & Family, Sturgill Simpson, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Margo Price, Lukas Nelson + Promise of the Real, and Particle Kid.

“We had so much fun on the Outlaw Music Festival Tour last year that we decided to do it again! See y’all out on the road this summer,” Willie Nelson shared in a statement with BlackBird Presents. “Family. That’s what this touring group of artists, fans, and friends are when we come together for our annual Outlaw Music Festival Tour. I am thrilled to continue this journey with Willie, this extraordinary group of performers, and Live Nation,” says Keith Wortman, CEO of Blackbird Presents.”

On stage last Friday night, frontman Nathaniel Rateliff’s talent radiated as he shared recently released material and then took a moment to honor his friend Richard Swift’s posthumous release, The Hex, and then played emotional version of “Tearing at the Seams.”

Night Sweats keyboardist Mark Shusterman notably brought joy and energy to Mansfield. His enthusiasm was so contagious that the organ fell over during the show, bringing surprised smiles to band members faces. Rateliff took the time to share his heartfelt gratitude to fans for their love and support. “Thank you for listening to us these past few years and for having us be a part of your lives,” he said.

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TVD Live Shots: Dinosaur Jr. at the
Black Cat, 9/21

By Richie Downs | Published: September 27, 2018

Since the cancellation of a joint tour with Mastodon due to “a critical situation in the Mastodon family” via an announcement on the band’s website, noise-rock titans Dinosaur Jr. thought it would be a good idea to make a go of it on the road themselves alone. Among dates that include stops throughout the midwest and a few cities in the northeast, DC fans were treated to an evening with J, Lou, and Murph on the main stage of the Black Cat.

Literally pioneers of the noise-rock genre itself, Dinosaur Jr.’s sound is made distinctive not by “noise,” but by J Mascis’ rich chord progressions and lead work on guitar, along with Lou Barlow’s melodic, full, and fuzzy bass guitar sounds. The overall tone of the trio is set by Murph’s hard hitting drums—and the sheer volume of the three together on stage. Dinosaur Jr. remains one of the loudest bands I’ve seen to date, and it’s nice to know that they’re carrying on the tradition without a hitch.

For Friday’s performance the band played through newer material and some classics, starting their set with the loud epic “Thumb,” then working their way through “Going Down,” “Lost All Day,” and a few more including their more commercial “Feel the Pain.” Things got really old school after that with “Little Fury Things,” a version of “The Wagon” featuring an additional drummer and guitar player for a fuller sound, then onto the beloved “Kracked” and the muddy “Sludgefeast.”

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TVD Vinyl Giveaway: Loretta Lynn, Wouldn’t
It Be Great LP and signed lithograph

By TVD HQ | Published: September 27, 2018

A genuine national treasure, Ms. Loretta Lynn returns to record store shelves this week with an absolutely gorgeous new release, Wouldn’t It Be Great. To herald its arrival we’ve got a copy of the release on vinyl and a signed lithograph to send to one of you! First however, some background on the new record:

“One of the most deeply personal albums of Loretta Lynn’s career, Wouldn’t It Be Great communicates in song the hard truths and spiritual insights Loretta has gathered throughout her life and reflects the resilience that sustains her still. Comprised entirely of songs written (or co-written) by Loretta, the album premieres new compositions alongside soulful reinterpretations of enduring classics from her catalog.

“This new record means so much to me, but this last year I had to focus on my health and I decided to hold up the release,” said Loretta. “I’m feelin’ good and look forward to it comin’ out. It was really important to me to be a part of it being released and I’m excited to celebrate with everybody!”

“Wouldn’t It Be Great?” is the last song Loretta wrote for her late husband (Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn). “Well,” Loretta observes, “my husband liked to drink a lot and that’s where that song comes from… ‘Say you love me just one time, with a sober mind’… I always liked that song but I never liked to sing it around Doo.” “That song just always meant so much to me,” continues their daughter (and album co-producer) Patsy Lynn Russell, “because of the lyrics, you know, ‘when my fancy lace couldn’t turn your face,’ it was just so powerful and was a song that needed to be recorded for this album with Loretta. It shows just how masterful my mom is with writing down her feelings.”

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TVD Premiere: Scarves, Dinner Dates for the End of Days

By Mike Olinger | Published: September 27, 2018

Math rock emo punks Scarves deliver Dinner Dates for the End of Days.

With their twangy riffs and kinetic songwriting, Seattle-based Scarves are primed to take the mantle of off-kilter indie darling. Their raw, authentic, and quirky rock evokes Modest Mouse, Yo La Tengo, and The Pixies, while painting a distinct seaport picture, unique to them.

The album was recorded downright punkishly with no click and mostly single takes. It’s a testament to the tightness of the band that the finished product sounds so lush and full of character. Frontwoman Niko Stathakopoulos owns these tracks with her singular sing-talk delivery, pinning esoteric and apocalyptic diatribes over the wily instrumentals. Her vocals are clearly a force of nature that resist any unnecessary embellishment, besides a honeyed children’s choir on standout muscle ballad “No Names.”

The excellent new LP, Dinner Dates for the End of Days arrives in stores via Good Eye Records September 28th—releasing digitally and on vinyl—including a limited “Green/Blue” Smoke color run. Let it be the last album you listen to before we all slip off into oblivion.

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Graded on a Curve:
New in Stores, September 2018,
Part Four

By Joseph Neff | Published: September 27, 2018

Part four of the TVD Record Store Club’s look at the new and reissued releases presently in stores for September, 2018. Part one is here, part two is here, and part three is here.

NEW RELEASE PICKS: Andrew Bernstein, An Exploded View of Time (Hausu Mountain) The skinny on the full-length debut from Charm City saxophonist Bernstein is that it sits at the crossroads of elevated technique and pure stamina. The cumulative effect is striking and occasionally inspires awe. A lack of background will assuredly lead to assumptions that a looping apparatus (or three) is part of the scheme, but with one exception it’s all Bernstein, and without a trace of show-off gimmickry. What he conjures in the first couple tracks lands firmly in the zone of Minimalism, and that’s cool. Even better is his expansion into territory reminiscent of solo Evan Parker and Colin Stetson, though the Minimalist aura never totally dissipates. Rigorous but never cold, this is experimental music at its best. A

Marissa Nadler, For My Crimes (Sacred Bones – Bella Union) Nadler’s eighth album is her finest yet. Featuring a load of guests including Angel Olsen, Hole drummer Patty Schemel, Sharon Van Etten, Mary Lattimore, Dum Dum Girl Kristin Kontrol, and Janel Leppin, the confluence of female talent (all but one of the contributing musicians are women) surely adds to For My Crimes’ value, but it’s mainly great because Nadler’s songs, hovering between introspective-confessional folk and robust singer-songwriter territory, are consistently top-flight and at times quite inventive, especially lyrically. And yet it all unfolds naturally. Dealing with relationship troubles/ marital strife, the album is emotionally resonant but never a bringdown; instead, it inspires immediate repeated listens and blooms under the exposure. A

REISSUE/ARCHIVAL PICKS: Algebra Mothers, A-Moms = Algebra Mothers (Third Man) Until now, the sole release by Detroit’s Algebra Mothers was their “Strawberry Cheesecake” b/w “Modern Noise” 45 from 1979, a superb hunk of subterranean punk from the arty-wavy end of the Killed by Death spectrum. A new pressing of that one is forthcoming from Third Man, which is cool as it’s never been reissued, but nearly as snazzy is this collection of previously unreleased home-recorded demos and live stuff covering ’77-’84 (A-Moms opened for, amongst others, Pere Ubu and The Sonic Rendezvous Band). While it’s not really the thing for those with a casual interest in punk, avid fans of the style’s early years should find much to enjoy. The single remains tops, but a high percentage of this gets in the ballpark. B+

Jack Wilkins, Windows (We Want Sounds) This reissues a very interesting guitar trio LP from Bob Shad’s Mainstream label that crate-diggers will know from A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders. It’s easy to peg the era of origin (‘twas issued sans fanfare in ’73), but it’s far less marred by ’70s excesses than you might suspect. In fact, I’d say it’s not really marred at all, though the potential does hover in the background. And so, the whole registers as a little short of a knockout for me, but thankfully the recording budget was small, with the ambiance appealing. Wilkins is a virtuoso and shows it without going overboard. Drummer Bill Goodwin and electric bassist Mike Moore are solid. There’s a nice, slow version of Coltrane’s “Naima.” Originals go for over a hundred, so this one is a public service. B+

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In rotation: 9/27/18

By TVD HQ | Published: September 27, 2018

Hagerstown, MD | Developer plans to buy former Massey property for record shop, game room: A vinyl record shop and game room are planned in a long-vacant building on East Baltimore Street in Hagerstown. The city council on Tuesday voted unanimously to introduce an ordinance authorizing the sale of the former Massey auto property, at 28-48 E. Baltimore St., to a private investor. Lloyd Thoburn, an owner of 339 Antietam LLC, has agreed to buy the property for $30,000, according to city documents. The company plans to invest $300,000 to $500,000 for renovation and fit-out work of the 20,000-square-foot building. About 5,000 square feet in the front of the building will be occupied by Hub City Vinyl, while the rear 15,000 square feet will house Gameroom Garage II.

Connecticut | Connecticut gets in the groove of vinyl craze: In a music industry where streaming is king, one tried-and-true format is making a resounding and timely comeback. According to the Record Industry Association of America’s mid-year report, vinyl record revenue has grown 12.6% from the first half of 2017, while CD’s have drastically fallen by 41.5%. Records are quickly taking over its CD predecessor as the primary format that people are using to consume physical music, despite the technology being more than three decades older. This popularity is evident in Connecticut, with the number of “mom-and-pop” record stores eclipsing 15 just in our small state. Shops like Redscroll Records in Wallingford, which specializes in metal and indie music, have noticed that business is booming despite the popularity of music streaming apps such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Zoe Kravitz to star in the female-lead reboot of High Fidelity: Let’s hope Championship Vinyl is still open in this adaptation. Zoe Kravitz has been announced as the star of a new series adaptation of Nick Hornby’s classic book, and the film High Fidelity. In a neat twist, Kravitz’ mum Lisa Bonet starred in the film version opposite John Cusack, as the impossibly cool Marie De Salle. The 10-episode series will reimagine the story of navel-gazing music store owner Rob Gordon from a female perspective. Hopefully, this reimagining will see the Big Little Lies actor still running Championship Vinyl record store. The film version follows Gordon, played by Cusack, as he attempts to get over a breakup by meeting ex-girlfriends, rearranging his considerable vinyl collection and obsessing over top 5 lists of records.

This new record stand is made out of recycled skateboards: A Dutch design studio have unveiled details of a new vinyl storage cube made from 34 thrashed skateboard decks. The latest in their Rip&Recycle range, Focused’s DecKube will allow buyers to store up to 70 records in a cube composed of recycled boards. The company – who collected the decks from stores across Europe – said, “No matter how old a skateboard deck is, the seven veneers of that deck are still full of life and should not be lost. Together with skateshops and parks we collect old skateboards and skateboard waste and give it a new destination.” Resting on a frame that keeps the cube hovering slightly above the floor, the holder is shaped to the size of an LP record cover. Once filled, it reportedly makes a “perfect cube.”

Denon’s Latest Turntables Provide Turnkey Vinyl Sound. Announced during CEDIA Expo 2018, the new Denon DP400 and DP-450USB turntables feature weighted, belt driven platters and integrated sensors to control playback speed. Coinciding with news from Neilsen that finds record sales are up from 6.4 million to 7.6 million in 2018—an increase of approximately a 20 percent—comes the introduction of the Denon DP400 ($499) and DP-450USB ($599) turntables. According to Denon, the launch of these two new turntables was driven by its years of experience designing consumer audio equipment, and as a result, the DP-450USB and DP-450 incorporate modern technologies to maximize the performance of classic analog audio. “We’re seeing a renaissance of vinyl listening. Whether it’s the high-touch process, superior sound quality or sense of nostalgia, consumers are hungry to experience and engage with their music with better sound and performance than we’ve seen in years,” states Joel Sietsema, senior vice president of brand management, Sound United.

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TVD Live Shots: Graham Coxon at the Rock and Roll Hotel, 9/23

By Erica Bruce | Published: September 26, 2018

Graham Coxon, Blur’s guitarist, stopped by the Rock and Roll Hotel on Sunday, halfway through his first ever North American tour as a solo artist. It was a little surreal to see one of the greatest guitarists of all time playing in a place so small, but it was probably better that way for both the audience and for Coxon. The audience, because you were essentially hanging out in a space the size of a living room with a legend, and for Coxon, a smaller room means a small audience staring at you.

Notoriously shy and introverted, Coxon is the quintessential guitarist in a band who prefers to let someone else be in front, the kind who is only truly comfortable when he’s playing guitar. And he makes it so endearing, and well…real. As a solo artist though, that makes things a little difficult, which he admitted. “You lock yourself away with bloody guitars or painting and you get good at it. And maybe you’re not sociable to begin with. And then you’re expected to go out and talk to people,” he quipped. He also admitted he couldn’t talk and tune at the same time, which led to a fair amount of silence between songs. But it was kind of charming to see, like watching a mad scientist so focused on his work…

Coxon wrote a few songs for Blur but his solo work began when a neighbor asked him to write songs for a movie that was never made. Eight solo records later, his latest output is the soundtrack from the Netflix series, The End Of The F***ing World. A majority of this tour’s setlist pulls from that (“There’s Something in the Way that You Cry” and “Roaming Star” are heart stoppingly beautiful live), and per audience request, Coxon did a little of TEoTFW’s “Bus Stop” (“It’s better with drums. My friends are too expensive now (to tour with a band),” he joked.

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TVD Radar: The Ballad Of Shirley Collins in theaters 11/2, “Southern Journey” US screenings announced

By TVD HQ | Published: September 26, 2018

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Fire Films announce the US theatrical release of feature documentary about the iconic English singer The Ballad of Shirley Collins.

This year is the 59th anniversary of a seminal 1959 song-collecting trip around the Southern United States by pre-eminent ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax and his then “secretary,” Shirley Collins. To commemorate this, and celebrate the theatrical release of The Ballad of Shirley Collins on November 2, the filmmakers are undertaking an event tour of the Southern States they visited. These screenings will often be accompanied by live sets by prominent musicians (details to be announced).

At the time Shirley Collins—now celebrated singer, folklorist and MBE—wasn’t known outside of folk circles in the UK. Alan had met her there, where he’d been avoiding the attentions of the McCarthy witch-hunts, and they became lovers. Together they returned to an America on the cusp of the Civil Rights movement, and embarked on a road-trip where they collected a vital body of music that provides a peerless document of the time.

Alan and Shirley left New York in their second-hand Buick, with a state of the art stereo recording device wrapped up in blankets in the boot. As part of the US release, the filmmakers are retracing Alan and Shirley’s 1959 trip with a series of event screenings. Alongside screenings at the Belcourt in Nashville, and the Library of Congress in Washington DC, they will be visiting a range of the rural communities they recorded in—Galax, VA, Whitesburg KY and Como MS among others—taking the music back to the communities that created it.