May…….

May You Never, by John Martyn.

Vintage footage of John Martyn playing and singing “May You Never” from The Old Grey Whistle Test, many moons ago…….

May You Never (YouTube link)

John Martyn.  11th September 1948 – 29th January 2009

….though if you are in England you would be forgiven for thinking it was still January….

April is here, with the delight of Spring blossoms, renewal, and cheerful sunny days. In theory. Spring is currently buried under rain, cold and snow in England, with the coldest Easter on record. The temperature in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, dropped to a chilly -11C (…@12F). More of the usual delightful weather that keeps everyone in Britain guessing, as it always has since the Romans were present – and complaining about the weather too, all those years ago. Across the Atlantic, there are cold, wet grey skies in Knoxville Tennessee, though we are assured it will soon change for the better.

Little Room April News…..

Katie’s concerts and her new EP are going down a storm in Hong Kong and China. See her website for the forthcoming concert dates. www.kt-a.com

Charlotte Parmiter’s traditional folk songs album is in final stages of overdubs and nearly ready to mix….mandolins, mandola, guitars, (vintage Martin, Telecaster & Rickenbacker). If you like Sandy Denny, Kate Rusby, June Tabor, Fotheringay, Fairport Convention, you’ll love this.

Phil Baggalley and Open Road play concerts in the Midlands and headline in their hometown of Derby…see their website for details. www.openroadmusic.bigcartel.com

David Clifton plays the Rhythm And Blooms Festival in Knoxville. www.rhythmnbloomsfest.com

Work begins this month on the video for Ellice’s new single, No Passenger, currently being mixed in Hereford, and due for release this Spring.

And Gabriel is back in town, hot-foot from a trip down the Mississippi. If you are awaiting replies to music publishing enquiries, they will soon be winging their way to you.

Holy Week, beginning today, Palm Sunday (also known as the Sunday of the Passion) commemorates the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus, the Passion of Christ, and looks forward to the joy of Easter morning. “There Is A Green Hill” tells of the Spiritual message encapsulated in the world changing events of this special week, over 2,000 years ago. The song was written in 2001 by Phil Baggaley, David Clifton & Ian Blythe, and the lyrics are adapted from the traditional hymn by C.F.Alexander. It has been recorded by several artists over the years, including Geraldine Latty, Julie Costello and Holly Mumford. The version here is from David Clifton’s Seeds Of Hope And Love album.

March brings breezes loud and shrill, stirs the dancing daffodil.  (…continuing our seasonal theme from the Sara Coleridge poem!)

A WORLD OF MUSIC, the new EP from Katie Targett-Adams is released Monday March 4th. We are featuring three tracks for download from her Little Room page, and you can buy the CD/EP from her website. We will add the iTunes link when it becomes available. There are some great new arrangements of favourite songs from her concerts and shows around the world – in three languages –  Chinese, Mexican and French, as well as a beautiful version of the traditional folk song Marble Halls, and a new instrumental piece specially composed for the EP. For more details, please go to her home page or link to her website.

ENGLISH FOLK SONGS…..

Charlotte Parmiter’s recording of English folk songs is continuing well, with bass overdubs and further audio restoration taking place on the original music files. Due to the producer’s laptop with all the music content being stolen in the early stages of the project, we are taking a little longer than usual to get this release to you. We are having to revert to back-ups and early versions of the songs, and in some cases transferring them from the original working demo’s. It will be worth the wait!

February the 14th is VALENTINE’S DAY…! Send the one you love a happy Valentine’s Day song! You can find the link to The Woodthieves classic and much loved single on the home page, or on the Archives pages. There are also extra re-mixes available, both a Dance and a Eurotrash mix.

Katie packed up her Clarsach and her suitcase, and travelled across the world to begin recording a new five track EP in the USA, which is due for release early March. It will feature songs from around the world in three different languages, Chinese, French and Spanish, as well as a new instrumental for harp and guitar. She begins a series of concerts in the Far East later this month, and the venue details can be found on her web-site. www.kt-a.com