It’s countdown time for the new album Misfits’ Jamboree – the moment when, with luck, the first reviews start coming in, and radio station and folk websites choose which tracks to play.
It’s scary, of course, this moment of truth. Will they hate it? Will they understand it? Will it make them laugh in a good way? Or a bad way? Will they, worst of all, simply not notice that it’s there or prefer to ignore it?
But, for all the worrying, the initial reactions to Misfits’ Jamboree have been encouraging. This is an album which means a lot to me and many of the songs on it have worked really well live – already ‘Singers’ Night’, ‘Way To Go Blues’ and ‘The Crying Game’ are regulars on my set-lists. That vibe seems to have been picked up by reviewers. Seán Laffey in Irish Music magazine has called it ‘a hoot of an album’ while folking.com’s Tony Birch has written, ‘I thoroughly enjoyed this album because it’s pure entertainment.’*
And the tracks that folk shows have chosen to play so far? ‘Singers’ Night’ has been popular, ‘No, Sorry, It’s Gone’, ‘Crazy Old Bones’ and ‘Just Like James’ have had quite a few plays as has ‘Clichéville’.
You can buy the physical CDs on this website here or go digital at my Bandcamp page.
On the live front, I have just started working with the brilliantly funny (and offbeat, and heart-breaking) New Zealand-born singer Kath Tait. I love Kath’s work and, in spite of the fact that our worlds are utterly different – or perhaps because of it – the show already feels fun and unusual.
We launch in September and, as you’ll see on the gigs page, we have a few bookings coming in for late 2025 and 2026.
See you soon – and look out for Misfits’ Jamboree.
In a recent edition of The Living Tradition, there’s profile of me to tie in with the release of Playing For Time.
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