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The Faith Healer by Brian Friel

...is a book I had never read. In fact, I do not own a single book by Brian Friel despite the shelves bursting at the seams with Irish literature in my house. Why do I write about it now? Why about a book in the first place? Actually I am going to write you something short and sweet about a theatre play. And no, I am not even a regular theatre goer. I wish I was. Hence, I dare not write a review, other than wholeheartedly praising the performance I saw and recommend to you the event where it was

· Alice Peters-Burns · 2 min The Faith Healer By Frian Frian Friel

Just a short note

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me and introduced themselves and submitted music for this blog. You make my day every single time. (No, no, the blog is not going to vanish from the face off the earth). As I have written to each and one of you, I would love to do much more on this blog including continuing the introduction of bands and labels, new releases etc. It has been a long time since I have done that last. Unfortunately additional burdens in the day job and pretty demanding famil

· Alice Peters-Burns · 1 min Just a short note
Interview With The Burning Hell

Interview With The Burning Hell

It happens once in a while that I have heard of a band and yet our timelines never met. Hard to manage if that particular band has released a multitude of albums and is touring diligently but it was the case with The Burning Hell from Canada. Maybe it was something about the name? Maybe it was that I thought I was too far behind with all those albums released (as in "I don't dare to start watching 'The Big Bang Theory' now, as the mountain of episodes seems unsurpassable"). But then I came acro

· Alice Peters-Burns · 22 min The Burning Hell
Little Waves Festival 2019 - review

Little Waves Festival 2019 - review

Indeed, it was upon us again in this corner of the world: Little Waves Festival in the beautiful buildings of the C-Mine in Genk, Belgium. In December, the first acts were announced and it bode well to get tickets. This is a smallish indoor festival taking place in early April and it is always sold out quite early. You can rummage through reviews of earlier editions of Little Waves festival here and here. En route to the festival, there were a few bummers. First of all, I was eagerly awaiting

· Alice Peters-Burns · 6 min Little Waves Festival C-Mine
Steve Gunn talks about The Unseen In Between
interview

Steve Gunn talks about The Unseen In Between

As you might deduce from this blog and also from my radio shows, I have been listening to Steve Gunn for quite a while and hence eagerly anticipated his new album “The Unseen In Between” (Matador). The sheer multitude of Steve’s outputs, collaborations, musical interests and the scope of his guitar playing as well as his dedication to music is second to none. When I heard the first few songs of Steve Gunn’s new album, I was amazed at how lush they sounded and still intimate, how light and yet

· Alice Peters-Burns · 24 min Hamburg Matador
Seamus Fogarty - an interview
interview

Seamus Fogarty - an interview

Seamus Fogarty is on a massive tour in mainland Europe, so he says himself. Following the release of his EP The Old Suit (Domino), he will be visiting further destinations, see here. Offbeat took the opportunity to visit a gig in Cologne, Germany, at the lovely venue Die Wohngemeinschaft on February, 4th 2019 and had the chance to speak to Seamus Fogarty before the concert. Folktronica, that’s what Seamus Fogarty does, if you believe the hype. Yes, he comes from a traditional music background

· Alice Peters-Burns · 12 min Cologne Die Wohngemeinschaft
A few precious words about Precious Few

A few precious words about Precious Few

Having gone to see Marble Sounds twice, I remembered fondly the time when Precious Few played support for them.  I recently had the opportunity to witness a wonderful set by Precious Few again and want to recommend them warmly to you again. They tour a lot in Germany but you might also catch them supporting bands like Desperate Journalist, The Wedding Present or – like last autumn – Precious Few’s Barbara joining Downpilot at some concerts. So keep your eyes peeled abroad as well if you are into

· Alice Peters-Burns · 2 min Barbara Chris
Marble Sounds, Alter Schlachthof, Eupen/B, December 1st 2018
review

Marble Sounds, Alter Schlachthof, Eupen/B, December 1st 2018

It is that time of the year again and we are being tortured by the holiday tunes on radio. Well many of them are pretty atrocious. Those songs that are actually quite touching and warming your soul, are sometimes not even intended as Christmas songs. Among them you’ll find “Leave A Light On” by Marble Sounds from Brussels, Belgium – written originally as a lullaby. “Leave A Light On” was the very song that introduced me to Marble Sounds and I have not looked back since. A while back, I had the o

· Alice Peters-Burns · 4 min Alter Schlachthof Eupen
Kurt Vile & The Violators and Mary Lattimore & Meg Baird at Kantine, Cologne, Germany, Nov '18

Kurt Vile & The Violators and Mary Lattimore & Meg Baird at Kantine, Cologne, Germany, Nov '18

Avid Kurt Vile fan that I am, I have been looking forward to see Kurt Vile & The Violators performing live again in my vicinity for the past six months now. The anticipation was made all the more glorious when the support act was announced: Mary Lattimore & Meg Baird. A veritable feast so to speak and I will of course let you know how this festive occasion turned out, so join me for a review and more blathering on Kurt Vile & The Violators and Mary Lattimore & Meg Baird at Kantine, Cologne, Germ

· Alice Peters-Burns · 7 min Bottle It In Cologne
Spain's Josh Haden - an interview
interview

Spain's Josh Haden - an interview

Josh Haden’s band Spain has had a long and winding career. Throughout the band’s existence their output of six studio albums, however, has had a consistent level of high quality. Their music is among the critics’ favourites, the fans are faithful. Deservedly so, as Spain is a band that offers genuine and heartfelt and well-crafted songs that never bow to trends, never try to endear themselves to the business and above all remain absolutely timeless. It is always mentioned that Josh Haden is the

· Alice Peters-Burns · 21 min California Dangerbird
That was Reeperbahnfestival 2018 like - to me
festival

That was Reeperbahnfestival 2018 like - to me

No excuses, I told you about Hamburg’s Reeperbahnfestival last year and let you know that and when it is happening again. Hope you were there and enjoyed it as much as I did this year. It is been and gone and it was superbe. That was Reeperbahnfestival 2018 like – to me: For a dedicated follower of music, the Reeperbahnfestival on St. Pauli (yep, ON is correct), Hamburg’s famous harbour quarter, is heaven – and hell at the same time, especially when you can throw in a good dose of OCD like mys

· Alice Peters-Burns · 6 min Chris Chris Garneau
Gwenifer Raymond, Glenn Jones, Nathan Salsburg, Carla J. Easton & Static Shore

Gwenifer Raymond, Glenn Jones, Nathan Salsburg, Carla J. Easton & Static Shore

This past summer has seen the release of many a fine example of American Primitive Guitar music. Does anybody know what is supposed to be primitive about the nimble fingerpicking style? I do not. In today’s post I would like to warmly recommend to you three releases to be majorly impressed and touched at the heartstrings equally. Furthermore I like to introduce a lovely small label to you, coinciding with a new release there. Then, to round it off and keep things balanced, some perfectly polis

· Alice Peters-Burns · 5 min Carla J. Easton Glenn Jones