Laurel Canyon Music

24 Blackbush Avenue Chadwell Heath, Romford, England, RM6 5TU United Kingdom

For fans and musicians of Folk, Americana, Country, Blues, Singer-Songwriter, Rock, Roots & Acoustic and music from the Laurel Canyon late 60’s/early 70’s era.

LCM is a new co-operative music community, promoter, event organiser and on-line magazine to promote & support the music that we love. All the latest news, reviews and interviews

LCM is your indispensable insider guide to the wonderful world of independent music and beyond

We aim to help music fans connect and discover great new music and help indie musicians promote their music and help them build relationships with supporters and industry professionals.

Please join us now and explore our website.

We also have some special and exclusive items in our LCM store that you might like.

Filtering by Category: Singer-Songwriter

Mind Of Mine EP - Lisa Wright (25/05/18)

April 17, 2018  /  Gary Smith

  • Artist: Lisa Wright
  • Release Date: 25th May, 2018
  • Genre: Country, Singer-Songwriter
  • Record Label: Lisa Wright (Independent)
  • Tracks: 4
  • Website: 

One of the most exciting voices in the UK’s homegrown country/Americana scene, Lisa Wright, has announced the May 25th 2018 release of her brand new EP ‘Mind of Mine’. Produced by Matt Greaves (Ward Thomas, The Girls Musical), ‘Mind of Mine’ contains four brand new songs, and is Lisa’s most personal work to date. Lead single, ‘Tennessee’, co-written by Lisa with Kaity Rae and currently gaining airplay on country shows & stations across the UK, was inspired by her trip to the US in late 2017, reflecting the notorious ups and downs of the music industry and the search for purpose in life.

Two of the tracks were solely written by Lisa, with ‘Giving Up The Ghost’ penned in collaboration with Jake Etheridge, known for his starring role as Sean McPherson on CMT’s Nashville TV show, and having also lent his songwriting talents to the show’s soundtrack.

Combining Lisa's staple of honest and emotive lyrics with a new exploration of sound and style, it’s obvious that ‘Mind of Mine’ will showcase this young artist’s ability to continually re-create herself, while staying true to her roots. Having opened for US country star Cam earlier this month and with support dates with the likes of Ward Thomas & Phil Vassar under her belt, it’s easy to see why the Nashville Songwriters Association (NSAI) have declared Lisa Wright “one to watch”.

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categories / Country Music, Americana Music, Singer-Songwriter
tags / Lisa Wright, Mind Of Mine EP, LCM New Releases 2018, May 2018

Utopia & Wasteland - Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar (13/04/18)

April 13, 2018  /  Gary Smith

It could be their pull-no-punches songwriting. It could be Russell's remarkable voice and Algar's distinctive, fluid fiddle. It could be their inventive takes on traditional songs, their unseen empathy, infectious tune sets or the way they tackle topical issues. Whatever it is, Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar have got it, making a huge impact from the first moment they emerged on the UK folk scene.

Still only 24 and 22, Greg and Ciaran released their first album The Queen's Lover in 2012 and enjoyed a remarkable rise, landing the Young Folk Award at the 2013 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. In 2014, they found themselves at the Royal Albert Hall clinching the Horizon Award and in 2015 they were nominated for Best Duo.

Drawing on a range of influences, Russell and Algar released their second album The Call in 2014 and, in 2016, the acclaimed The Silent Majority. Now with solo albums under their belts and performances in other line-ups (Algar with Sam Kelly's The Lost Boys and Russell in The Transports and his own multi-artist protest song project Shake the Chains) they are back. Utopia and Wasteland marks another milestone in their short but exceptional career. Recorded at The Green Room Studio, Devon, producer Mark Tucker adds percussion, bass and backing vocals to Greg's unmistakable voice and acoustic guitar and Ciaran's fiddle, tenor banjo, electric tenor guitar, bodhran and vocals. 9 of the 11 tracks are originals, marking a bold departure from their largely traditional back catalog

Utopia And Wasteland
By Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar
Buy on Amazon
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categories / Folk Music, Contemporary Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Acoustic Music
tags / Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar, Utopia & Wasterland, LCM New Releases 2018, April 2018

Inverse Alchemy - Rob Corcoran (01/12/17)

March 06, 2018  /  Gary Smith

Rob Corcoran - Inverse Alchemy.jpg
  • Artist: Rob Corcoran & The Necessary Evils
  • Release Date: 1st December, 2017
  • Genre: Contemporary Folk, Americana, Singer-Songwriter
  • Record Label: Independent
  • Tracks: 12
  • Website: https://www.robcorcoranmusic.com/

"Heart-on-sleeve, alt-folk Americana with a Dublin accent" - the debut studio album by Dublin-born troubadour Rob Corcoran in the company of his alt-folk super-group 'The Necessary Evils' 

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categories / Contemporary Folk, Americana Music, Singer-Songwriter
tags / Rob Corcoran, Rob Corcoran & The Necessary Evils, Inverse Alchemy, LCM New Releases 2017, December 2017

Solo Duo Trio - Luke Jackson (09/02/18)

February 10, 2018  /  Gary Smith

Luke Jackson - SDT.jpg
  • Artist: Luke Jackson
  • Release Date: 9th February, 2018
  • Genre: Americana, Blues, Folk
  • Record Label: First Take Records
  • Tracks: 15
  • Website: http://www.lukepauljackson.com

Luke Jackson organised a show in his hometown of Canterbury and decided he would record the whole thing and release these recordings as a CD. The night included a solo, duo & trio sets showing the different sounds and contrasts of Luke's music and live performances. He took tracks from all his previous albums, breathing new life into old songs, others he has been performing every night for the last few years. It also includes a few tracks, that although may have been performed, never made it onto any records.

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categories / Americana Music, Blues Music, Singer-Songwriter, Folk Music
tags / Luke Jackson, Solo Duo Trio, LCM New Releases 2018, February 2018

Southern Wind - Dean Owens (16/02/18)

February 09, 2018  /  Gary Smith

  • Artist: Dean Owens
  • Release Date: 16th February
  • Genre: Americana, Celticana, Singer-Songwriter
  • Record Label: At The Helm Records
  • Tracks: 12
  • Website: http://www.deanowens.com/

Southern Wind was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, with the same team responsible for his acclaimed Into the Sea – producer Neilson Hubbard, award winning guitarist (and long time collaborator) Will Kimbrough and some great US musicians.

Dean’s music has been described as Celtic Americana with a rocky pop edge, and draws as much from his Scottish roots, especially his home town of Leith (referenced and loved by the Proclaimers) as from his US heroes. The emotional honesty in his songs shines through as he sings about people and places, love and regrets, drawing favourable comparisons with the likes of Springsteen. A gritty yet lyrical Scottish sensibility, delivered with a searingly soulful voice.

Dean’s solo career has seen him tour far and wide, including in Europe, USA and Australia. Dean is also highly regarded among other musicians and has played shows and toured
with Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Joan As Policewoman, Eddi Reader, John Hiatt and Nanci Griffith, to name but a few.

In his early career Dean was the front-man of the much loved and lauded Americana band
The Felsons. Since launching his solo career he has produced 5 albums, including the highly regarded Whisky Hearts (also recorded in Nashville), New York Hummingbird (recorded in the Big Apple with some exceptional New York-based musicians) and Cash Back (Songs I Learned From Johnny) album, inspired by one of his lifelong idols, Johnny Cash.

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categories / Americana Music, Celticana, Singer-Songwriter
tags / Dean Owens, Southern Wind, LCM New Releases 2018, February 2018

Accomplice One - Tommy Emmanuel (19/01/18)

January 22, 2018  /  Gary Smith

  • Artist: Tommy Emmanuel
  • Release date: 19th January, 2018
  • Genre: Acoustic, Blues, Americana
  • Record Label: Mascot Records
  • Tracks: 16
  • Website: http://tommyemmanuel.com

 

 

A wonderful duet album two years in the making from Tommy Emmanuel, one of the best guitar players in the world. Accomplice One sees Tommy join a host of special guests for one of the most innovative and interesting albums so far in 2018.

 

  •   1. Deep River Blues (feat. Jason Isbell)
  •   2. Song And Dance Man (feat. Ricky Skaggs)
  •   3. Saturday Night Shuffle (feat. Jorma Kaukonen & Pat Bergeson)
  •   4. Wheelin' & Dealin (feat. J.D. Simo & Charlie Cushman)
  •   5. C-Jam Blues (feat. David Grisman & Bryan Sutton)
  •   6. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay (feat. J.D. Simo)
  •   7. Borderline (feat. Amanda Shires)
  •   8. You Don't Want To Get You One Of Those (feat. Mark Knopfler)
  •   9. Keepin' It Reel (feat. Clive Carroll)
  •   10. Looking Forward To The Past (feat. Rodney Crowell)
  •   11. Purple Haze (feat. Jerry Douglas)
  •   12. Rachel's Lullaby (feat. Jake Shimabukuro)
  •   13. Djangology (feat. Frank Vignola & Vinny Raniolo)
  •   14. Watson Blues (feat. David Grisman & Bryan Sutton)
  •   15. Tittle Tattle (feat. Jack Pearson)
  •   16. The Duke's Message (feat. Suzy Bogguss)

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categories / Acoustic Music, Americana Music, Blues Music, Contemporary Folk, Folk Music, Roots Music, Singer-Songwriter
tags / Tommy Emmanuel, Accomplice One, LCM New Releases 2018, January 2018

Whistle Down The Wind - Joan Baez (02/03/18)

January 15, 2018  /  Gary Smith

  • Artist: Joan Baez
  • Release Date: 2nd March, 2018
  • Genre: Folk
  • Record Label: Proper Records
  • Tracks: 10
  • Website: http://www.joanbaez.com/

Legendary singer, songwriter, activist and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Joan Baez' brand new album Whistle Down The Wind . Produced by three-time Grammy® Award winner Joe Henry and recorded over ten days of sessions in Los Angeles, Whistle Down The Wind gathers material by some of Baez's favourite composers.

Whistle Down The Wind is Joan's first new studio album in a decade, since 2008's critically acclaimed, Grammy®-nominated Day After Tomorrow, which was produced by Steve Earle. Its release ignited an extraordinary decade of achievement by Joan, including: the PBS American Masters series premiere of her life story, Joan Baez: How Sweet The Sound (2009), which underscored the 50th anniversary of Joan's debut at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival. Joan's seminal debut album of 1960 was honoured by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in 2011, which inducted it into the Grammy® Hall Of Fame; and subsequently by the Library of Congress in 2015, which selected it to be preserved in the National Recording Registry. That same year, Amnesty International bestowed its highest honour on Joan, the Ambassador of Conscience Award, in recognition of her exceptional leadership in the fight for human rights and she was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2017.

Joan Baez remains a musical force of nature of incalculable influence. She marched on the front line of the civil rights movement with Martin Luther King, shined a spotlight on the Free Speech Movement, took to the fields with Cesar Chavez, organized resistance to the Vietnam War, inspired Vaclav Havel in his fight for a Czech Republic, saluted the Dixie Chicks for their courage to protest the Iraq war, and stood with old friend Nelson Mandela in London's Hyde Park as the world celebrated his 90th birthday. Joan's earliest recordings fed a host of traditional ballads into the rock vernacular, before she unselfconsciously introduced Bob Dylan to the world in 1963. Thus began a tradition of mutual mentoring that continues on Whistle Down The Wind, and which will reverberate long into the future across Joan's lifetime of recordings.

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categories / Folk Music, Singer-Songwriter
tags / Joan Baez, Whistle Down The Wind, LCM New Releases 2018, March 2018

Headlong - John Smith (29/06/17)

January 13, 2018  /  Gary Smith

  • Artist: John Smith
  • Release date: 29th June, 2017
  • Genre: Folk, Americana, Singer-Songwriter, Acoustic
  • Record Label: Barp Ltd
  • Tracks: 11
  • Website: http://www.johnsmithjohnsmith.com

It’s all for the love of the guitar. John plays a rumbling fingerstyle and sometimes uses a slide, sometimes plays the guitar on his lap, sometimes he detunes mid-song. His guitar work and honey-on-gravel vocals have brought crowds to pin-drop silence and rapturous applause.

Not by chance is it that John’s new record 'Headlong' comes bearing a title implying impulsive, breakneck motion - written as it was, during various touring stints in North America - with a view ahead, to new horizons and new songs, to new opportunities and new audiences. The album also bears the indelible loss of John’s friend and guitar hero John Renbourn, who called John “the future of folk music” and to whose memory 'Headlong' is dedicated.

John currently has five self-released records out; 'The Fox and the Monk' (2006), 'Map Or Direction' (2009), 'Eavesdropping' (2011) 'Great Lakes' (2013), and 'Headlong' (2017).

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categories / Folk Music, Americana Music, Acoustic Music, Singer-Songwriter
tags / John Smith, Headlong, LCM New Releases 2017, June 2017

Cold Rooms EP - Ben Morgan Brown (04/12/17)

January 08, 2018  /  Gary Smith

Ben Morgan Brown - Cold Rooms EP.jpg
  • Release Date: 4th December, 2017
  • Artist: Ben Morgan-Brown
  • Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Acoustic, Contemporary Folk
  • Record Label: Ben Morgan-Brown
  • Tracks: 5
  • Website:

Exeter based singer-songwriter & guitarist Ben Morgan-Brown writes intimate & reflective songs heavily informed by the folk-baroque guitarists & singer-songwriters of the late ‘60s & early ‘70s. As a taster of Ben's music we have chosen as our LCM #SongOfTheDay 'No More Fooling' taken from his recently released 'Cold Rooms EP'.

Inspired to pick up the acoustic guitar ten years ago when he first heard Bert Jansch’s seminal debut album, his open-tuned guitar, ethereal vocals & highly personal lyrics tip the hat to Nick Drake, John Martyn, Michael Chapman et al whilst still maintaining a unique musical style & identity.

Having self-recorded his previous two releases (both of which received airplay on BBC Introducing) his new E.P. ‘Cold Rooms’ was recorded by Josh Clark (Kate Rusby, Mike Dawes, Miranda Sykes) and features five songs (with a bonus sixth track only available through Bandcamp) written in the last 18 months, a time during which Ben has reflected upon the past few years of his life, turbulent years that have seen him lose both his grandparents, get married & divorced within two years, spend a month in hospital after catching salmonella in Morocco & which culminated with the death of his father in November 2016.

These events led Ben to reevaluate many aspects of his life & in October 2017 he left his job managing a guitar shop deciding it was time to dedicate himself to music. After five years of life-changing events beyond his control, the release of ‘Cold Rooms’ marks yet another significant moment in his life - the moment at which he begins to give his music & talent the attention it deserves.

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categories / Singer-Songwriter, Folk Music, Contemporary Folk, Acoustic Music
tags / Ben Morgan-Brown, Cold Rooms EP, LCM New Releases 2017, December 2017

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