Dear all,

I’m delighted to tell you all about the new Dan Walsh trio featuring the mighty Ciaran Algar on fiddle and maestro Nic Zuppardi on mandolin. We’ll be touring the UK throughout May next year and we’ve done a little video to show you what you can expect:

I hope you enjoyed it! Tour dates to be released soon….

In the meantime, it’s been a fun month. I had a nice little run of solo gigs starting at the Woodman Folk Club in Kingswinford which as always was a great blast. Then a trio of gigs the following weekend at National Forest Folk Club in Leicestershire, Royal Traditions in Sheffield and then up in Penrith, the land of my birth, at a rather special songwriters circle night. All three were highly enjoyable in different ways. National Forest is sort of an old favourite as I’d done the festival a good few times but it was only my second visit Continue reading “New trio!” →

Dear all,

What a long time since my last blog, dear me. Where on earth does the time go? It’s nearly October!!!! Anyway…I’ve been to Canada. But quite a bit happened before that as well so let’s head back to August. First up, the wonderful Broadstairs folk week which has been a staple of my calendar for much of my career – a truly wonderful festival run brilliantly by the now retiring Kim. I’ve always loved this one and UFQ’s set was as much fun as we expected. Fantastic! Next up was another cracking festival Folkeast which showcased my duo with John Dowling and I also made an appearance in the Young ‘uns hilarious live podcast and there was even the unlikely event of Will Pound and I playing something together for the first time in five years.

Then two more belting festivals to see out August – first guesting on banjo with Chris Quinn at Shrewsbury Folk Festival and then a set with UFQ on the raucous Chai Wallah stage at the flamboyant Shambala. Then just before Canada there was time to squeeze in two more festivals – Didmarton Bluegrass with John and then solo at Fleetwood Folk and Blues. Didmarton was a real belter in fact it was possibly mine and John’s favourite so far as a duo and then Fleetwood was just a lovely little festival too.

So then it was off to Canada…I’ve been to the east coast three times before and loved it so I thought it was about time I headed to the west coast and Continue reading “Good old Canada” →

Dear all,

Festival season has been in full swing though unusually I’ve also done a bit of UK solo touring, rare for me in the summer months. Firstly, let’s bring you up to speed. The first weekend after my last blog saw festivals galore, firstly with Urban Folk Quartet as we played the Secret Garden Party down in Cambridgeshire. I have to say, the state of many of the audience allowed me to see why its kept fairly secret but anyway they seemed to have a very good time, as did we. The next day saw a solo jaunt up north to Hull to play Hull Folk Festival out on the pier. It was a lovely gig although I felt a very long way from the audience! Then it was off to Cumbria to play Music On The Marr on the Sunday with UFQ and that was an absolute blast! I even sneaked a solo set in during the day as well.

I should add that during this weekend, the banjo gremlins struck again as a troublesome pickup played up again which made the gigs rather hard work. Something had been wrong and several apparent fixes hadn’t lasted! And so here I propose a vote of thanks to the wonderful Eagle Music shop in Huddersfield and particularly to Matt the banjo doctor. So many Continue reading “Automated machines?” →

Dear all,

Well July has seen a milestone – yes everyone I am THIRTY YEARS OLD. Good god above. Yes my twenties are over and I am now allowed to be a slightly grumpy sod rather than prematurely grumpy. It’s interesting to reflect back on my life thus far. When I was a little kid my dream was to be a performing musician so I guess I’ve acheived that. Admittedly not quite in the way I imagined back then – I probably had images of massive venues with people dancing and singing all the words etc. Of course the reality of playing the banjo not in Mumford and Sons and being into rather more ‘niche’ music has long since manifested itself but that’s in no way a problem. At least I’ve had my bit of playing in the sorts of venues I’d imagined thanks to my guest appearances with the Levellers, Seth Lakeman, Joss Stone, Imelda May et al. Plus I appeared on stage with a Saw Doctor – four year old me would be over the moon and 30 year old me is pretty chuffed too. Just to clarify, when I say a Saw Doctor I mean a member of the Irish band the Saw Doctors not anything more sinister. That part of my act is yet to come…

Well that’s a brief assessment of my life. I’ll do the rest when I’m 40. Anyway, let’s catch up. First after my last blog was a trip to Portslade in Sussex for a gig at Railway Roots. It was a right belter as well hosted by political songwriter and all round gent Robb Johnson as well as a ludicrously talented 15 year old opening act Anouska Marshall – big things to come from her I think. Owing to an illness for the organiser, long time favourite Hales Club was sadly postponed til another day so instead it was up to Cumbria Continue reading “We want the sport!” →

Dear all,

I write to you a little refreshed after a much needed ‘light on the travel’ week last week. I was feeling a tad burnt out, hardly surprising after a very gruelling few months. Nonetheless there was plenty on up to that point! After returning from the States it was straight back into touring because I am of course a very silly man. So the day after returning I headed up north to Sheffield, Doncaster, Swaledale, Northumberland and…er…Birmingham. The northern leg was a delight – Sheffield was an old favourite gig Nether Edge Folk Club which is always a blast and this was no exception. Then onto Doncaster on election night where I played to a small but perfectly formed audience at the Brewery Tap. Then Swaledale festival, a bloody marvellous musical extravaganza held in the Yorkshire dales which is always fantastic and we played in a beautiful church to 300 people who gave us a wonderful time. Thanks to Malcolm Creese, organiser extraordinaire. Finally, the northern bit was completed by a gig at Woodhorn Museum with the legend that is Alistair Anderson.

On that subject, pleased to say Alistair and I are releasing an album (finally!). Our live album will be available at Furness Tradition Festival in Ulverston next weekend and then on the Sunday night at Coquetdale Music Trust in Thropton, Northumberland. Alistair is a bona fide legend, having been one of the leading ambassadors of folk music around the world throughout Continue reading “Finance departments” →

Dear all,

Well I write to you from New York from where I am, incredibly, soon to fly home. I can’t quite believe this wonderful tour is over and I am actually genuinely sorry that it is. I enjoyed the UK touring I did prior to coming out here very much but this tour has been really special. Right from the opening night in Soquel, the gigs just seemed to click with audiences really loving the material, enjoying my English-ness (seriously being English over here is great!) and showing such a keen interest in the stories and the techniques and emotions in my music. I came away from each gig feeling so pleased and to boot I had some great times with my hosts, some of whom I knew previously and enjoyed hanging out with them again.

All that has largely been reported in my previous blog but that was before the Midwest Banjo Camp which I have just taught and performed at. It was an honour and a privilege to do so. It dawned on me as I got there – here was I, the only non-American, about to teach and perform alongside many of the finest banjo players in the world. I can’t deny the nerves did kick in a touch especially when I realised that the faculty concert would involve 20 banjoists, one after the other, including me! I was anxious to make a good show and it seemed like I did which was lovely! You can see it on the Midwest Camp’s facebook page as the whole thing was captured live on video. The lesso Continue reading “Thank you USA” →

Dear all,

I write to you from the Deering Banjos factory in San Diego, California. It is the birthplace of my banjo who is currently getting a bit of love and attention from people who know how to build, repair and maintain instruments as opposed to…me. The Deerings are a great family who’ve been very good to me so it has been a pleasure hanging out with them for the last few days, even taking in a visit to San Diego zoo.

The gigs here have been a real joy this time. Not that they weren’t last time, but whether it’s just I feel rather more relaxed because of no visa problems or whatever it is I feel like the gigs have been particularly good here and I am feeling really happy. Special thanks to everyone who has hosted a gig, put me up, fed me, given me a drink, Continue reading “Tell me how much to pay!” →

Dear all,

A warm hello from San Francisco! Actually, it’s a surprisingly mild hello but I’m not complaining…I’m not much of a lad for the searing sun actually. Apologies for the lack of recent bloggage. It’s been a pretty gruelling tour to be honest and with so many hours taken up with driving, sound checking, eating and actually doing gigs I’ve rather let this thing slide of late! Perhaps I ought to bring you up to speed with the Verging on the Perpendicular tour thus far. It began back on April 19th in Sittinngbourne in Kent and the first leg of the UK tour finished on May 12th at Birmingham Town Hall. Now it’s US time before I return to the UK for the rest of the gigs through June, July and early August.

So the gigs…

Sittingbourne – cracking little bluegrass club, Dog Gone Roots. Excellent night, lovely audience and some very fine spots from the regulars before my set
Burnham on Sea – a bit of an old favourite this gig and this night certainly reminded me why
Deal – great little folk club with a lovely crowd
Oxford – the first festival Continue reading “A Brit in the US” →

Dear all,

It’s an end of an era for me as after eight years of being a musician on the Live Music Now scheme, April marks my departure. Most musicians are only on the scheme for about half that time so I’ve had an extremely good deal, largely owing to the end of my duo Walsh and Pound (which I joined the scheme with) coming three years into my time on the scheme so my new partnership with mandolin maestro Nic Zuppardi was treated as a new beginning.

To assess the impact of Live Music Now for me, it’s worth remembering how I came to join it. I have to hand it to Will Pound really who very much pushed to me that we ought to apply to go on the scheme. For those not in the know, Live Music Now was created in the 1970s by the great Yehudi Menuhin. The scheme auditions top musicians at the beginning of their careers and if they take them on, trains them and pays them to play in places where music makes a profound and lasting difference and brings music to those who are often deprived Continue reading “Live Music Now – the charity that changed my life” →

Dear all,

A very happy St Patrick’s Day to my Irish friends around the globe. It’s the first time in about thirteen years that I won’t be doing a gig on Paddy’s Day. In my younger years and particularly in Newcastle I used to play loads of gigs on the day and it was a vital income stream. I even enjoyed it sometimes…but I think my horror of fancy dress and groups of people acting in irritating ways is too much for me these days. In the last few years I’ve gigged in my normal way but this year it so happens I’m not. I will probably be staying in to avoid irritation.

Anyway, that’s a cheerful start to the blog isn’t it?! To bring you up to speed, after returning from Gran Canaria I had a few days practice before heading to London for a seriously hectic week culminating in ‘A Night Of Country’ at the Roundhouse. This was a gig with an 18 piece ‘house band’ of stellar musicians which I was very glad to be a part of. There were then some guest artists including Imelda May (of whom I’m a big fan!), Duane Eddy, Ward Thomas and a solo set from Seasick Steve. It was fun to be a part of it all. Rehearsals Continue reading “Know your limits” →