My Favourite Albums Of 2020

13. Tanya Donelly & The Parkington Sisters

12. Bonny Light Horseman - Bonny Light Horseman

11. Courtney Marie Andrews - Old Flowers

10. Isobel Campbell - There Is No Other...

9. Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter

8. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud

7. Ren Harvieu - Revel In The Drama

6. Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters

5. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher

4. Greg Dulli - Random Desire

3. Margo Price - That's How Rumors Get Started

2. Neil Young - Homegrown

1. Kathleen Edwards - Total Freedom

My Favourite Movies Of 2020

1. Bill & Ted Face The Music

2. The Personal History Of David Copperfield

3. The Queen's Gambit

4. The Peanut Butter Falcon

5. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound Of My Voice

6. On The Rocks

7. Eurovision: The Story Of Fire Saga

8. Mrs. America

Merry Christmas!

Best Gigs Of 2020

Wow, what a strange old year! For obvious reasons I didn't go to many gigs this year, they were all cancelled! A few I had tickets to were cancelled altogether (Greg Dulli and the late, great John Prine) and a few have been pushed until next year (Ren Harvieu, Joan As Police Woman, Courtney Marie Andrews), so at least there is something to look forward to. There were lots of live stream concerts but I have to admit, I just can't get into them. For me it's all about being there in the moment and feeling it in the flesh.

I did manage to catch two gigs at the very beginning of the year before all this started. Luckily they were both really good ones and would definitely be in my list even if I went to loads more shows, I imagine.  Here's to next year being a little more normal.

Kelsey Waldon at The Slaughtered Lamb

Sturgill Simpson at The Forum

Finally! Vol 2 Of Neil Young's Archives

It's expensive but I guess I've hardly been to any gigs this year. This is my favourite Neil era so I'm sure it will be worth it!

Goodbye Peter Green

Goodbye to the amazing but so tragic Peter Green, surely one of the greatest guitarists Britain has ever produced. Without him and Fleetwood Mac, the band he formed yet named after his rhythm section, my life would have been so much poorer. Thank you so much, Mr Green.

Farewell, John Prine

Rest in peace John Prine. Another lost to Coronavirus. One of the all-time greats, definitely one of the best lyricists. Never did get to see him live in the end, last time I was supposed to was in February, but he cancelled three times in all. Hopefully though he's getting to do all the things he sang about in this song. He deserves all that and more.

New Dulli

Tonight I was supposed to be seeing Greg Dulli live but with the lockdown due to Covid-19 understandably everything is cancelled. Who knows when we'll all be able to go to a concert again and write about it here but it's a sacrifice I'm more than happy to make to ensure we all remain safe. In the meantime I'll be listening to Dulli's excellent new solo album Random Desire, and watching his brilliant video homage to Bob Fosse (I watched Fosse/Verdon TV series too, Greg) made for the fantastic track, Pantomima.

Kelsey Waldon at The Slaughtered Lamb

Kelsey Waldon

Jess Thristan

The Slaughtered Lamb, 6 February 2020

I always picture walking into the old, creaky pub in the classic horror film An American Werewolf In London when I hear the name the Slaughtered Lamb. I don't know if it was actually named after the movie's famous boozer but there's certainly a nod to it with the fluorescent pentagram hung at the back of the small stage. It's certainly a lot more cozy than its cinematic namesake though and apparently has become something of a hotspot for country and folk types to appear, so it certainly seems appropriate for Kelsey Waldon to play her first headlining UK show here.

Sturgill Simpson at The Forum

Sturgill Simpson

The Forum, 28 January 2020

It's been a while since I last saw Sturgill Simpson live. Last time was back in 2015 and I remember it being rather refreshing seeing such a rootsy unpretentious show with such a pure unashamed love of traditional country music. With his last album, Sound & Fury, Simpson made a surprising and striking left turn musically, releasing a pretty amazing mix of country, southern rock, heavy rock and even a little techno. Crazily the mix really works but would the trick also work live?