Alessi's Ark at Paper Dress Vintage

Alessi's Ark

Sam Ashton

Paper Dress Vintage, 25 October 2017

"I've finally got a new album out," Alessi Laurent-Marke tells us tonight, with a beaming smile. "I took my sweet time, didn't I?" She isn't wrong: it's been four whole years since her last album, The Still Life, came out. During that time she left her record label, briefly dropped the Ark from her name and then reconsidered and got back on the Ark. She's also recorded her fourth album, Love Is The Currency, self-releasing it on her own label (Zooey Records - like her very first EP), which is what tonight's show at this very unique venue is celebrating.

Shannon McNally at The Islingston

Shannon McNally

The Islingston, 19 October 2017

Despite being a recording artist for over 15 years now, Shannon McNally has never toured the UK so I was super excited when this surprising London date popped up. She has just released her eighth album which is maybe a little more notable because country legend Rodney Crowell is at the helm but McNally has had a somewhat choppy history in the music industry which probably accounts for the fact that she's never attained the success she deserves, so never been able to tour in Europe.

Goodbye Tom Petty

Thank you for everything, Tom. :(