Folk music picks of the month: July 2015

In the month that annually marks American independence it’s right and proper that Bristol celebrates Americana with a wealth of US talent and more local devotees. The party begins on the eve of Independence Day when Brook Williams & Keith Warmington play the Folk House (Friday 3) with the unusual support act of famed eco-chef Barny Haughton providing some American-style food for the interval. Now UK-based, Brook combines superbly-crafted songwriting with world class guitar playing and Keith’s blues-rooted harmonica is the perfect seasoning for his tunes.

But it’s the Bristol Americana Weekend that’s the main course this month, with eight great gigs shared between the Colston Hall and St George’s over four days and you can book weekend tickets or go for individual gigs. Highlights include Muscle Shoals veterans Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham (Lantern, 12) who can each claim a big part in the careers of Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett and many others (Penn wrote Dark End Of The Street and co-wrote Do Write Woman), and their Southern Soul influence is evident in relative newcomers like former Be Good Tanya Jolie Holland (Lantern, 9) and the poppier Larkin Poe (St George’s, 11) who come in a double-bill with Police Dog Hogan (who number Guardian columnist Tim Dowling among their 8-strong line-up). Blues fans will recognise singer Mud Morganfield’s famous surname  – he’s the eldest son of Muddy Waters and wields a similarly gritty Chicago style. His double bill with ex-Long Ryder Sid Griffin’s band The Coal Porters (St George’s, 12) will be a gig of two excellent halves.

For many people, however, the big attraction of the Americana Weekend will be when country rock queen Emmylou Harris plays the Colston Hall (12) in her longstanding duo with Rodney Crowell. Early involvement with the legendary Gram Parsons launched her in the 70s but after his sad death it became increasingly apparent that her own career was assured thanks to her great choice of material and compelling live performances.

That’s might be plenty for most Americana fans but there’s still a couple more left field pleasures on the horizon. Firstly: Boise, Idaho’s Hillfolk Noir play Canteen (21), combining clean-living old-time acoustic sounds with all kinds of less wholesome subject matter (drug busts, zombies …) to brilliant effect. Then things nosedive into even darker waters courtesy of Australian singer/guitarist Delaney Davidson, headlining at The Cube (23) with his Ghost Orchestra and a set of ‘neo-Gothic-folk-noir-country’.

If a Nashville postcode and an enormous beard makes you an authentic Americana star then Indiana-born Otis Gibbs (Hen & Chicken, 24) has made it, but it’s his rugged insistence on stripped-down songs about ground-level life that mark him out as a well-rooted storyteller in the old tradition. Angaleena Presley (Tunnels, 28) may not have the family roots the name suggests but she is a bona fide coal miner’s daughter from Kentucky and she embodies a new generation of country singers in the mould of Loretta Lynne.

While Sydney’s Spooky Mens Chorale (Colston Hall, 29) can claim a variety of beards they have more or less invented their own tradition through a combination of wit, theatricality and impeccable harmony vocals. Their version of Prince’s Kiss is legendary in its own right.