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Diary Dates
The Soundhouse Summer Sessions – Every Saturday
The Soundhouse
The Soundhouse Summer Sessions are back every Saturday afternoon throughout the summer. Join them for an afternoon of outdoor music from some of the best local live acoustic acts, with free entry, outdoor stage, dog friendly and family friendly.
Sunday afternoon gigs at The Donkey
Another one for a sunny weekend, don’t miss the free Sunday afternoon gigs at The Donkey on Welford Road. Starting from 3pm, when it’s sunny the music will move to their outdoor stage so you can soak up the tunes and the sun with a few beers and a bite from their food menu.
Crazyhead – Saturday 26 August
The Donkey
Enjoy a dose of garage punk from Leicester’s Crazyhead. Their songs range in theme from trenchant social commentary to the surreal, but always with an underlying vein of black humour. Though lumped in with the largely media-created grebo scene, they were more influenced by the garage rock of the late 1960s, as well as bands like The Ramones, The Stooges and Captain Beefheart.
The Della Grants (Acoustic) – Friday 1 September
The Guildhall
Performing acoustically in a beautiful setting, don’t miss The Della Grants at The Guilhall.
Bluesmusicfan.com – “The blues world need to hear this band in a big way…” Blues Review (USA) – “Spectacular guitar based Blues/Rock.” Blues Rock Review (USA) – “Get ready for The Della Grants 9/10”
Aziz Ibrahim – Saturday 2 September
The Donkey
Former guitarist with Simply Red and The Stone Roses, and sometime collaborator with Ian Brown. Now a solo artist in his own right, Aziz has a unique East meets West sound and his guitar playing has been described as Ravi Shankar crossed with Jimi Hendrix.
Witch Fever – Saturday 9 September
The Soundhouse
Manchester all female punk band Witch Fever provide big grungy riffs and totally manic performances.
Trevor Nelson’s 90s and 00s Mixtape – Friday 15 September
O2 Academy
One of the country’s top r’n’b and hip-hop devotees. Resident DJ at Funk at Sound and regular contributor on Radio 1 and MTV. He is without question the main man in all that’s hiphop, RnB, soul and reggae related, while his 1xtra breakfast show is usually what rouses you out of bed in the morning.
Gengahr – Monday 25 September
O2 Academy
Gengahr create effortlessly smooth and melodic indie-rock that journeys along a laidback sun-kissed path with a sound that could easily stem from influences drawn from icons such as The Smiths and Modest Mouse, to the more recently revered Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Youth Lagoon.
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PREVIEW: The War and Treaty at The Long Road
Country music fans, this weekend all eyes turn to Stanford Hall in Lutterworth as The Long Road celebrates all things Country, Roots and Americana. One of the acts performing over the weekend is the award-winning Nashville-based husband-and-wife duo The War And Treaty who are kicking-off their headline UK & Irish tour with a festival slot on Sunday.
With a truly unique story, the duo are gathering an army of fans. In fact, The War And Treaty – Tanya Trotter and Michael Trotter Jr, a US Army Veteran – recently treated an audience of millions to a powerful version of “Blank Page” from Lover’s Game at the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards, co-hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, where they were nominated for Duo Of The Year.
Originally from just outside Washington, D.C., Tanya discovered her exceptional vocal skills at a young age and pursued a career in music and acting. Meanwhile, Michael grew up in Cleveland and D.C., spending part of his childhood in homeless shelters and later enlisting in the U.S. Army. While stationed in one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces several years after 9/11, he gained access to a piano and instantly captivated his fellow troops with his formidable vocal presence. Promptly tasked with writing and performing songs in memoriam to his unit’s fallen soldiers, Michael cultivated a distinct songwriting voice that he further developed upon returning home.
You can read about Michael’s struggles with PTSD in this moving feature in Rolling Stone magazine.
Since forming in 2014, The War And Treaty have amassed a following as eclectic as their sound itself, a bluesy but joyful fusion of Southern soul, gospel, country, and rock-and-roll. They’ve been named Emerging Act of the Year by the Americana Music Association as well as winning the International Folk Music Awards “Artist of the Year” accolade. The War And Treaty also performed at the 2020 Grammy Awards alongside icons like Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Gary Clark Jr. and Common in a tribute to Grammy executive producer Ken Ehrlich. Last April they joined Dierks Bentley for a performance of U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love)” for the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards.
Known for a live show nearly revival-like in intensity, Tanya and Michael create an exhilarating exchange of energy with their audience, a dynamic they’ve brought to the stage in opening for the legendary Al Green and touring with the likes of Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, John Legend and Lauren Daigle.
Soon after sharing the stage at a music festival in 2010, Michael and Tanya began making music together, eventually marrying and forming The War And Treaty. Their vocal interplay takes on an intimacy that’s often sweetly akin to listening in on a private conversation, but despite the deep sense of communion that infuses their music, Tanya and Michael hail from wildly different backgrounds.
“Our time last year in the UK was so surreal,” comment The War And Treaty, whose debut UK tour in 2022 included a rapturously received appearance at Glastonbury Festival. “The energy the crowd gave us was so mind-blowing. We are amped up to come back. Actually, we couldn’t get back soon enough!”
Earning respect, they’ve gone on to appear as top-flight collaborators, and have been recognized by the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry and the Americana Music Association as ‘2022 Duo/Group of the Year.’
A must for any Country fans, you can see The War and Treaty at The Long Road Festival in Lutterworth on Sunday 27 August. Tickets are available from The Long Road website.
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WEEKLY PLAYLIST
Check out this week’s playlist focused on the line-up at this weekend’s The Long Road Festival. Plan who you want to see and grab yourself a ticket.
Have a listen and get in touch to tell us which tracks you’re loving.