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The background to Bearded Theory…
This year’s festival takes place 24-27 May with headliner Robert Plant. Hollie Latham has covered the event for GRTR! in recent years and went on a fact-finding mission interviewing festival founder Rich Bryan More…
WIN SAXON STUFF!
Record Store Day comp – 21 April.
Pete Feenstra chatted with Roger Inniss in April 2018. Roger is the MD for Blues Caravan. In this hour special for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio he chats to Pete about his music with tracks from all aspects of his career.
Blues Caravan 2018 takes to the road from 18 April
The 2018 blues/rock revue sponsored by Ruf Records takes to the road in the UK from 18-29 April.
Mike Zito (pictured) will be joined on tour by Bernard Allison and Vanja Sky.
Mike Zito needs no introduction. An award-winning producer and songwriter who has worked with many of the best in contemporary blues rock.
In 2012 Mike Zito released a first album on Ruf with the Royal Southern Brotherhood. Since then he released two more albums with the RSB, but also his solo albums Gone To Texas, Keep Coming Back and Make Blues Not War together with his CD/DVD live set “Songs From The Road”. His latest album – First Class Life is due 11 May.
Ruf Records was created in 1994 to serve as a home for Bernard Allison’s father, Chicago legend Luther Allison. Bernard’s new album Let It Go maintains the legacy and with an emphasis on rhythm and songwriting.
Vanja Sky is Ruf’s latest signing – hailing from the Croatian capital of Zagreb, – the singer/guitarist is part of the new wave of up-and-coming musicians from all corners of the globe who are diving into the blues with passion and energy.
For her debut album, Vanja recorded the Luther Allison-penned roadhouse blues “Low Down And Dirty” together with fellow guitarists Mike Zito and Bernard Allison.
Wednesday, 18 April 2018 – Southampton, The Brook
Thursday, 19 April 2018 – Wolverhampton, Robin 2
Friday, 20 April 2018 – London, Borderline
(Saturday, 21 April 2018 – Paris, Panpiper France)
Sunday, 22 April 2018 – Exeter, Arts Centre
Monday, 23 April 2018 – Worthing, Worthing Pier Southern Pavilion
Tuesday, 24 April 2018 – Chislehurst, Beaverwood Club, BR7
Thursday, 26 April 2018 – Evesham, Iron Road
(Friday, 27 April 2018 – Chorzow, Blues Festival, Poland)
Saturday, 28 April 2018 – Hartlepool, Utd Supporters Club
Sunday, 29 April 2018 -Devizes, Long Street Blues Club
Album review (Bernard Allison)
Album review (Vanja Sky)
Marillion: Royal Albert Hall release and UK tour (review)
Gig review (Liverpool, 20 April)
Marillion’s triumphal first time performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall is celebrated on a CD/DVD/Bluray – ‘All One Tonight’ – and released prior to their forthcoming UK tour.
In two parts, ‘All One Tonight’ firstly showcases the band’s acclaimed 2016 studio album FEAR in its entirety. The second half introduces In Praise of Folly and guests, a string quartet with flute and French horn which brings a new dimension to some of Marillion’s best loved live material.
Directed and edited by Tim Sidwell, recorded and mixed by Michael Hunter, ‘All One Tonight’ is a Racket Records and Toward Infinity production.
The band’s UK tour starts 8 April with many venues already sold out.
Sun 8th April Belfast Ulster Hall
Mon 9th April Dublin Vicar Street
Wed 11th April Gateshead The Sage
Fri 13th April Cambridge Corn Exchange SOLD-OUT
Sat 14th April Birmingham Symphony Hall SOLD-OUT
Mon 16th April Brighton Dome
Tue 17th April Bristol Colston Hall SOLD-OUT
Thu 19th April Reading Hexagon SOLD-OUT
Fri 20th April Liverpool Philharmonic Hall SOLD-OUT
Sun 22nd April York Barbican
Tickets available from myticket.co.uk, seetickets.com & venue box offices.
Album review (All One Tonight)
In this hour special for Get Ready to ROCK! Radio Steve Hogarth chats about his music and Marillion
Steve Rothery interview (September 2016)
More News
Beth Hart tour starts 12 April
Beth Hart starts her UK tour on Thursday 12 April. This culminates in a sold-out date at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 4 May.
Signed to Atlantic Records, Beth worked with top producers on 1996’s Immortal, and scored international hits with cuts like ‘Am I The One’, but today, she contends it was on 1999’s Screamin’ For My Supper – home to the smash-hit ‘LA Song (Out Of This Town)’ – that she found her voice. “I think that record is where I became a real writer.”
Afrer her career went on hiatus at the turn of the millenium – a heady cocktail of drugs and Beth’s unmedicated bipolar disorder – the musical highs returned with 2003′s album Leave The Light On followed by 2005′s Live at Paradiso release.
Along the way she rubbed shoulders on album with some of rock’s iconic guitarists (Jeff Beck, Slash) but is best known for her work with blues rock titan Joe Bonamassa on the albums Don’t Explain and Seesaw.
Her solo albums followed – Bang Bang Boom Boom (2012), Better Than Home (2015) and 2016′s Fire On The Floor firmly establishing Beth’s credentials as a powerhouse vocalist and songwriter and to wide critical acclaim.
DUBLIN VICAR STREET – TUESDAY 10th APRIL
IPSWICH REGENT THEATRE – THURSDAY 12th APRIL
BEXHILL DE LA WARR PAVILION – SATURDAY 14th APRIL (SOLD OUT)
NOTTINGHAM ROYAL CONCERT HALL - SUNDAY 15th APRIL
OXFORD NEW THEATRE – WEDNESDAY 18th APRIL
FOLKESTONE LEAS HALL – THURSDAY 19th APRIL
CARDIFF ST DAVID HALL – SATURDAY 21st APRIL
CAMBRIDGE CORN EXCHANGE – TUESDAY 24th APRIL
BLACKPOOL OPERA HOUSE – THURSDAY 26th APRIL
HULL CITY HALL – FRIDAY 27th APRIL
READING HEXAGON – MONDAY 30th APRIL
PORTSMOUTH GUILDHALL – TUESDAY 1st MAY
LONDON ROYAL ALBERT HALL – FRIDAY 4th MAY (SOLD OUT)
On Sunday 4 March in the first hour of his weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, David Randall chatted to FM’s Steve Overland and played tracks from ‘Atomic Generation’. In this exclusive edit, Steve chats about career highlights since the 1970s with Wildlife and FM in 2018 (6:32) Full interview…
Melodic rockers FM will release their eleventh studio album – ‘Atomic Generation’ – in March via Frontiers Records. The band’s frontman Steve Overland recently chatted to Get Ready to ROCK! about FM and the album and this interview is now available via Mixcloud.
The album release will be followed by the band’s first-ever USA appearance in May headlining MelodicRock Fest 5 in Chicago, IL. FM will also headline at the sister festival MelodicRock Fest Scandinavia in June and have been confirmed for Frontiers Rock Festival in April.
UK dates with Dare and Toby Jepson in May will be followed by a further UK tour later this year.
18 May London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
19 May Norwich Waterfront
25 May Glasgow Garage
26 May Newcastle O2 Academy
9 June Manchester O2 Ritz
On Sunday 4 March Steve Overland chatted to David Randall on David’s weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. The feature included tracks from the new album.
Says David: “Get Ready to ROCK! has supported FM since 2007 when they reformed and featured many album and gig reviews. We were there at the Metropolis album launch in February 2010 – their “comeback” album – and it is timely to catch up with the band again via our chat with Steve ahead of a new album release.”
The interview – broadcast at 22:00 GMT on Sunday 4 March – will be followed by Steve’s own selection in the “Favourite Tracks from Favourite Artists” series which features those artists and songs that have inspired and influenced him over the years. This sequence will be broadcast on Monday 5 March at 16:00 GMT, repeated on Thursday 8 March at 23:00. Steve’s personal favourites will also be aired on Monday 26 March at 16:00 and on Thursday 29 March at 23:00.
More News
Wishbone Ash – comprehensive box set out 20 April – ‘The Vintage Years (1970-1991)’
Wishbone Ash – one of the UK’s most enduring and best-loved rock acts – are celebrated on 20 April with the release of a comprehensive deluxe 30 CD box set, The Vintage Years via Madfish.
This collection – authorised by all of the original band members – is loaded with rarities, memorabilia, a new interview and a lavish 156-page hardback book. A third of this new collection features previously unheard and unreleased material.
This box set is strictly limited to 2,500 copies and includes all 16 studio albums between 1970-1991, all of which feature bonus material including rare album outtakes, B-sides and 12 previously unreleased studio tracks. These are presented in mini-gatefold sleeves.
Three of the 16 albums are currently out of print on CD (Nouveau Calls, Here To Hear & Strange Affair). The box set will feature brand new cover artwork designed by Colin Elgie, the original designer behind the award-winning Live Dates sleeve artwork.
There are 3 original live albums (Live Dates, Live Dates Volume Two & Live in Tokyo) and 8 previously unreleased live albums (on 11 discs) recorded between 1973 & 1980.
All music has been remastered from the original multitrack and ¼” tapes, sourced from Martin Turner and Andy Powell’s personal collections, and from the Universal Music and Atlantic archives.
Accompanying this thorough collection of repertoire is a 156-page coffee table hardback book written by Classic Rock’s Dave Ling, which includes personal photos, rare posters and flyers and collector’s memorabilia ( A 7″ flexi disc for the single Blind Eye, the first of the 11 Japanese singles series andndividually signed photos of each band member: Martin Turner, Andy Powell, Ted Turner, Steve Upton and Laurie Wisefield.
Martin Turner is playing UK dates from whilst Wishbone Ash (Andy Powell) are currently touring in North America.
Gig review (Martin Turner, October 2017)
Gig review (Wishbone Ash, October 2017)
More News
2018
THE GREAT BRITISH ROCK & BLUES FESTIVAL, Skegness, Lincs 19-22 January
Featuring Roger Chapman/Family, Lucky Petersen, Nazareth and more. >> Review
GIANTS OF ROCK, Minehead, Somerset 26-29 January
Featuring HAWKWIND, URIAH HEEP, MAGNUM and more. >> Review
HRH AOR, Pwllheli, Wales 8-11 March
Featuring Joe Lynn Turner, Skid Row and more >> Review
BEARDED THEORY, Catton Hall, Derbyshire 24-27 May
Featuring Robert Plant, Jimmy Cliff, The Jesus & Mary Chain and more.
STONE FREE, O2 Arena, London 16-17 June
Featuring Scorpions, Yes (Anderson, Rabin & Wakeman), Megadeth and more.
RAMBLIN MAN FAIR, Maidstone, Kent 30 June-1 July
Featuring Halestorm, Sons Of Apollo, Blackberry Smoke, Fish, Mostly Autumn, Von Hertzen Brothers and more to be announced.
CORNBURY MUSIC FESTIVAL, Oxfordshire 13-15 July
Alanis Morissette, Amy Macdonald, Pixie Lott and more
STEELHOUSE, Ebbw Vale, South Wales 27 -29 July
Featuring Black Star Riders, Stone Broken, King King, Dan Reed Network, Glenn Hughes and more to be announced.
>> News item (Glenn Hughes)
THE GREAT BRITISH RHYTHM & BLUES FESTIVAL, Calne, Lancs., 24-26 August
Featuring King King, Laurence Jones, Simon McBride, Connie Lush, My Baby, Kyla Brox and more to be announced.
APRIL-MAY 2018
MARTIN TURNER, 16 March-21 April
MARTIN TURNER (ex-Wishbone Ash) 6-21 April
TAX THE HEAT (pictured) 7-30 April
MARILLION 8-22 April
BETH HART 10 April – 5 May
BLUES CARAVAN (Bernard Allison, Vanja Sky, Mike Zito) 19-29 April
FM 20 April-9 June
G3 (Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Uli Jon Roth) 24-30 April
LAURENCE JONES 3-13 May
DANNY BRYANT 7 May-17 June
AURI The Space Between (Lyric video)
Auri is a new collaboration between two members of Nightwish (Tuomas Holopainen and Troy Donockley) and Finnish singer Johanna Kurkela.
Their debut album is released via Nuclear Blast on 23 March.
THE AMORETTES Everything I Learned I Learned From Rock N Roll
This is a track from the forthcoming Amorettes’ album ‘Born To Break’ via SPV on 6 April. The album has been produced by Thunder’s Luke Morley. The band play UK dates with The Dead Daisies 8-14 April.
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