There’s beauty in new beginnings. In nurturing new life to grow from the ashes of what came before. While we may wish that all our endeavours work out first time, all that really matters is that they work out in the end. All the road blocks and wrong turns we encounter on the way to get there, while frustrating at the time, make for a good story in the end. All the best stories have plenty of twists and turns after all. There are few storytellers more deserving of turning their new beginning into a happy ending than our favourite Transatlantic duo Samuel James Taylor and Rebecca Van Cleave. Sheffield based Americana outfit The Greatest Endangered Thing (f.k.a. Ophelia) – having taken the time to slow down and reflect on both the way forward and the road behind – feel as though they’ve hit their stride once again with the tender, bittersweet folk of their new EP Phosphenes Vol.1. We were lucky enough to have the pair play our tenth anniversary show, and luckier still to chat to them all about the new music they’ve been creating. Continue reading
It’s important to look for silver linings in times of uncertainty. They say that when a door closes a window opens, or words to that effect, and it’s just a matter of finding it. There’s a lot that we’ve been lacking in this year, but one thing we have no shortage of right now is time. Time that can be spent discovering new music; finding records to get lost in and absorbing every last note, stumbling upon artists whose words resonate in the deepest recesses of your soul. One of my favourite such discoveries from this year has been the incredibly talented Francesca Louise, whose debut EP 
It’s safe to say that 2020 doesn’t have a lot going for it. That does mean however that each little oasis of joy and beauty that we stumble upon in this monumental clusterfuck of a year feels all the sweeter. There’s plenty of great new music despite everything, and one of the finest escapes I’ve stumbled across in the past six months has been the brilliant 
Belwood favourites Miccoli have been having a whirlwind 2019 thus far. The Birmingham based trio of siblings first won us over with the glowing melodies and infectious hooks of their debut EP 1/2 back in 2017. This year has already seen them release a full album and share the stage at packed out arenas up and down the country. It’s such a joy seeing them on the up and up, so we grabbed a moment out of their busy schedule for a quick catch up. 
With a focus on honest and heartfelt lyricism, up-and-coming singer/songwriter Scott Lloyd has certainly been making a name for himself in the Manchester scene, standing out from the crowd with his mature and meaningful mix of folk and Americana. With an enviable string of independently released EPs to his name, and a relentless touring schedule over recent years, his work ethic has rightfully yielded him praise and acknowledgement as he now moves forward as a newly signed artist. I had a chat with him about his most recent single and his journey thus far: 
Though album releases have been a little inconsistent thus far this year, 2018 has been proving to be the strongest year for singles since this site started. Some of the best examples have come from Pennsylvania based artist Caleb Kopta and his synth tinged Americana, evoking the likes of Ryan Adams and Bear’s Den. His latest track ‘Anything’ is the kind of song that you could look back on one day as an important part of the soundtrack to the best days of your life. I had a quick chat with him about how his enthralling Americana sound came about and where it may lead him next: 
With their latest EP I Thought You’d Be Bigger, Florida based duo Big Kettle Drum dabble in the kind of music that you don’t listen to, so much as feel every note from somewhere deep within. Brant Christopher Menswar and JT Keel have explored their soulful side with this latest release, but while still maintaining their hard-wearing signature sound steeped in old-school blues and Americana that won them their fiercely loyal fanbase. I fired a few quick questions their way to find out more about this latest release. 
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