Leah Mason Announces Brendan Benson Main Support On August UK Tour Dates

Tucked away in London honing her sound for the past few years, Leah Mason is very pleased to announce that she will be stepping straight out of his studio and joining Nashville, Tennessee native Brendan Benson as main support on his August 2013 UK tour and a show at Paradiso in Amsterdam.

Leah wears her love for blues and rock and roll on her sleeve and has crafted her music over the past few years to become without a doubt one of the UK’s most talented female guitarists and powerhouse vocalists. She counts Janis Joplin, Patti Smith and Bonnie Raitt among her many role models and influences – a concoction that all makes sense once you hear her soul-imbued voice and dextrous guitar work.

It’s a trademark sound that saw her catch the attention of Brendan Benson last year as she headed to Nashville to record her forthcoming debut EP with The Raconteurs member, news of which will be announced shortly, and led to a personal invitation from the singer to join him on the upcoming tour dates.

“I don't want to get caught up in comparisons to other girls with guitars who are out there at the minute” says Leah “I'm into Alison Mosshart, Janis Joplin, Courtney Love; essentially women who aren't scared to show they don't give a fuck.”

The young singer has already cut her teeth at a handful of high profile shows including slots with soulful UK sensation Michael Kiwanuka and an appearance at Secret Garden Party, so you can expect to hear plenty more from Leah Mason in the coming months.

August 2013 UK Tour Dates w/ Brendan Benson

Tue          20            The Netherlands, Amsterdam, Paradiso
Wed        21            UK, London, Dingwalls
Thu          22            UK, Manchester, The Ruby Lounge
Fri            23            UK, Newcastle, The Cluny
Sat           24            UK, Edinburgh, Electric Circus

Find Leah Online:
http://www.facebook.com/leahmasonmusic
http://www.twitter.com/leahmasonmusic

Soundcity 2012 - In Summary

Well folks, SoundCity 2012 is over again for another year and over-all its been another shining achievement for Liverpool. This year seemed even more busier than previous years and people from various walks of life have descended on the city again to experience the wealth of talent this city has to offer.

This year saw even more venues attached to the festival which provided more scope for the line up to grow and diversify in its content. Venues like the Epstien Theatre provided the unique approach of sitting down to watch artists and this provided the perfect outlet for the likes of Luke Fenlon, Thomas J. Speight and Michael Kiwanuka to shine brightly. Other new venues like Liverpool  Academy of Arts and the Red Bull Live Studios made use of what was essentially derelict buildings and turning them into urban theatres of noise and sound.

The old favourites like the Kazimier and Zanzibar showcasing the finest in new bands and new talent and bigger venues like the o2 providing a more mainstream alternative to the the festival.

Though its not all positive and like any other large scale festival it has its problems and from talking to other festival goers there seems to be 2 major areas for concern. 

The first is the size of venues and putting major acts on in them. The prime example for this was White Denim in the Kazimier. People who had paid good money for a wristband to see someone, don't expect to be stood in a queue in the rain because a venue has under estimated the amount of people wanting to see an act. I understand that at other festivals this occurs but its usually a large tent where at least if you cant get in you can still hear the bands. Bigger venues need to be used for large scale acts otherwise it wont work. The same happened for The Kooks last year at the bombed out church when gig-goers queued to get into the gig only to be disappointed. These are, I may add, one off occurrences. But as the festival continues to grow in both popularity and size, it needs to be taken into consideration in the future.

The second is the use of venue's that demand people to be scanned in or have ID on them (even press) to get in. Surely the point of buying a wristband should be enough. I wouldn't expect to turn up to the Reading festival turnstiles only to be told that I couldn't get in without having my passport on me.

The policies of HeebieJeebies and the Krazyhouse are in total contrast to the ethos of SoundCity and unless this changes bands who play these venues are not going to get the exposure or coverage they deserve. 

That aside, SoundCity is still one of the best inner city festivals and continues to get better each year and continues to provide the much needed injection of enthusiasm and vibrance into the city.

Article posted by Musicmafia

 

Sound City Liverpool 2012 review - Friday

Liverpool Sound City Day 2

Here's some snippets of the bands/singers we saw out and about yesterday and we loved every single minute of it.

Wet Nuns @ Red Bull Studio Live 

We came across this punk rock/blues rock North East duo by chance as we could hear them from up the road and just had to go and investigate the totally amazing sound emanating from the Red Bull Studio Live was from. When we got their I was surprised to see it was just from 2 people on stage, Rob on guitar and Alexis on drums. From outside you'd be forgiven for thinking they were at least 4 people on the stage. The place was buzzing with energy from the crowd, who were loving every minute of it and the band themselves, who were obviously enjoying every second of it going by the on stage antics and banter. They had also attracted a lot of the North West music industry big guns and I can see why. They didn't want to leave the stage and the crowd didn't want them too. Also a first for me was seeing the drummer, Alexis, take lead vocals for some of the songs but with his sheer raw rock vocals bordering on thrash, which complimented Alexis vocals whose have a more rounded mellow edge to them without loosing that rock grittiness. Guitarist Rob, was totally caught up with the music covering whole stage in what seemed like one giant bounce. This is a massively talented duo and crowd loved them, including us.  

White Arrows @ Kazimier 

This young band heralding from L.A have with plenty of talent. They bring  a fresh sounding approach to music which floats and bounces melodically along throughout set with a gentle rock twists and a mellow twist to the set. Lead singer, Mickey Church's vocals ranged from gently melodic countryesque to gravely from each song, thanks to a cover of Bruce Springsteen's ,"I'm on Fire". Definitely a must see for all you modern indie rock lovers.

Get Back Colquitt @ Binary Cell 

With a lead singer, Shaun Dunbabin, looking like a very young Suggs, this young Liverpool band not only have a mature sound beyond their years but lyrics to boot. Shaun has a brilliant voice which captures the emotion of the lyrics. Pity Sound City didn't see fit to actually put this venue on the map as its in a obscure place on Seel Street and people have missed a fantastic opportunity to see a very talented young  Indie Rock band who bring a style of their own to the genre. Very polished performance who will hopefully be playing bigger venues very soon. 

Michael Kiwanuka @ Epstein Theatre 

I almost kicked myself for missing him at last years Sound City and I was certainly not going to let that happen this year and I can say with all honesty that this has to be the best 90 minutes I've spent listening to live music in a very long time.

I dont quite now how to begin trying to describe this gig apart from using the words sheer brilliance that hits every possible musical tingly part of you. We were taken on a soul train that passed through mellowville and funktown on the way. Joining us along the way were some hauntingly beautiful vocals by Michael Kiwanuka. This set hit every note you could possibly wish for in a gig, and then some. 

He was joined on stage for half of the set with various musicians including Miles James on guitar, Steve Pringle on keyboards and Graeme Godfrey on percussion as well as a bass player and drummer. 

With songs like ,"Rest", "Home Again" , "I'm Getting Ready", a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Waterfall" and my favourite of the night, "Rest" a solo song that was gentle, emotive, beautiful and rendered the lively audience into sheer silence, as everyone just basked in the pleasure of listening to such a talent. Michael sang the remainder of the set how he had originally played them,and took us back in tie to when he in his bedroom with just his guitar and a pen and paper writing them, and it worked so well, keeping it simple and very real, especially with "Any Day Will Do Fine".
His band joined him back on  stage for a final funked out number which saw the crowd standing up and joining in clapping and dancing along especially one very natty dressed dude who definitely had his funk on big style especially for tonight.
As i said earlier, I'd missed him last time round and am so glad that I didn't this time. So far for Sound City, Michael Kiwanuka has stolen this festivals crown for the most uber performance.




BearinHeaven @ Leaf 

This Brooklyn based "rock" band have to be quite possibly the strangest yet oddly captivating performance so far. With enigmatic lead singer Jon Philpot, clad in a Rambo style vest  and providing some mad 80s dancing with a bit of Tim Booth stylee thrown in for good measure they definitely provided great stage presence.With an electro pop style heavily influenced by the bands of 80s yesteryear they are definitely something a little bit different from what we've seen so far. All in all a highly entertaining set.

Pond @ Kazimier 

An odd little get up from Australia, with Paisley Adams, a mini Sid Vicious look a like as lead singer this rock band were an eccentric little group who provided a pretty damn good end to our Day 2 of reviewing. At times you thought they were going to go right into Rage Against The Machine mode, then into a funked up little beat number all while Paisley swung around the stage on another planet.  After jumping into the crowd half way through set, Paisley just managed to get back on stage and managed to switch of all the lights. Next track saw him playing the flute, not sure I've seen that happen in a rock ensemble before but from the short time they were on stage I realised, it was probably best to expect the unexpected from this curious little lot. But I've got to say, I kinda loved them all the more for it

Review by Alison Goggin
Photos by Thomas Lennon HERE

Article posted by Musicmafia

Liverpool Sound City announce next wave of artists

Liverpool Sound City 2012 announce next wave of artists

BBC Sound Of 2012 winner Michael Kiwanuka joins Professor Green, White Denim and Death In Vegas for annual Sound City spectacular

Mystery Jets, Alkaline Trio, Slow Club, Willy Mason, Ghost Poet, The Jezabels, (ALT-J), Niki and the Dove, Toy and more artists confirmed

Early Bird Sound City wristbands and delegate passes run out at midday on 27^th February.  Get your tickets now

Dutch Uncles and Poland’s finest Paula and Karol added to inaugural New York Sound City event in March, headlined by The La’s playing their first New York show in 20 Years.

Tickets almost sold out for New York Sound City.  Last few available for the conference.

Liverpool Sound City, the 3 day international music, media and technology conference and live arts and music festival returns in May with another bold and innovative music programme and forward thinking conference. With Professor Green, White Denim and Death In Vegas announced as the first wave of artists, the 5^th Liverpool Sound city is well on the way delivering its finest line up yet.  Announced today are a host of new artists who represent all that is pioneering and captivating in contemporary music.

Michael Kiwanuka was the winner of the BBC’s esteemed Sound Of 2012 poll, judged by all the key players in the music industry.  Signed to the Mumford and Son’s endorsed Communion Records, Michael Kiwanuka has toured with Laura Marlin and Adele and performs the bluesy, soulful, folk from his ‘Home Again’ album.  Mystery Jets release their 4^th studio album in April and continue their slow burn ascendancy with quirky pop and harmony splashed tunes that are big and vibrant.  

Alkaline Trio are a huge draw with a young, frenzied following.  Their turbo charged anthems are a potent mix of uplifting punk melodies and decidedly dark lyrics.  Slow Club‘s saccharine folk-pop and heart bursting songs are sure to be a festival highlight as are Willy Mason’s facetious anecdotes and colourful yarns.  A must see is Ghost Poet who made the shortlist for the 2011 Mercury Music Prize.  So won over was Gilles Peterson by his hypnotic lullabies that he signed him to his Brownswood Recordings label. 

Alt- J have been tipped by everyone as an act to watch in 2012 and make the short trip across the Pennines to Liverpool from Leeds whilst from further afield, Sound City is delighted to welcome Australian indie darlings, The Jezabels.  Two other acts who have been making a stir on the music scene of late are Swedish duo Niki and the Dove who make goth tinged electro-pop and The Horrors endorsed Toy whose music is inspired by the speedy garage psychedelica of the late 60’s and German art rock of the early 70’s.

Acclaimed as the most influential live music platform for new and emerging artists, Liverpool Sound City will also play host to Forest Swords, The History of Apple Pie, Bear In Heaven, Folks, The Computers, Still Flyin', Jonquil, Shields, Towns, PINS and Bleached.

Uniquely for a city centre festival, Liverpool Sound City does not just showcase acts in traditional venues and this year performances will take place in warehouses, bombed out churches and a range of other locations giving fans a once in a lifetime chance to see bands in such captivating surroundings.

One of the key new additions to the Sound City event will be Sound City Expo, an event that brings together the newest and most forward thinking exhibitors to the Echo Arena, providing access for both consumers and music/digital professionals to the people, tools and services they will need as we move ever onwards in the digital age.  Sound City Expo will focus on the current and future intersection of music, art, business and technology - giving a real insight into what is possible in the modern age.

Earlier this year the Sound City team announced the first of a number of international shows in 2012 and they can confirm that Dutch Uncles have been added to the bill for New York Sound City on 12^th March, supporting The La’s who play their first show in ‘The Big Apple’ in 20 years.  Dutch Uncles are one of the bands at the fore-front of Manchester’s vibrant new music scene and their unmistakable brand of prog pop has had the critics tipping them for success.  Poland’s finest act, Paula and Karol have also been confirmed for the show having gained numerous accolades in their home country and having been highlighted by the Guardian in their ‘Sound Of 2011 Around The World’ poll.

Liverpool Sound City continues to focus on the future, intent on bringing the best new music, film, art and more from all over the world to Liverpool.  With the inaugural New York Sound City show taking place in March and further international shows to be announced, this is an incredibly exciting time for Sound City

Early Bird Tickets are still on sale at the following prices.

Sound City Live Festival Wristband - £25

Sound City Delegate Pass - £90

The Early Bird price will run out at midday on 27^th February so early booking is advised.

For information on Liverpool Sound City go to the following:

Website: http://www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk/

Website tickets link: http://www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk/products

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liverpoolsoundcity

Twitter: @SoundCity

Hashtag for this year will be #SoundCity12