Hi Guys,
Last summer when I was up in West Virginia with Lynn’s family, one Tuesday evening we went to a singers night in the backroom of a hardware store in Shepherdstown…..it was a really cool gathering of local musicians playing and singing traditional West Virginian songs….I’ve never seen so many banjos and hammer dulcimers in one room and when it was over, as enjoyable as it was, a beer was very necessary!!

We toddled a few yards up the street and low and behold, an English pub….called The Devonshire Arms….well we had to….however the only English things in there were us, a dartboard, oh and they served Boddingtons on draught. In the corner was a local musician whose name I never got, she was singing and playing a four string banjo and to her left stood her Mum and little sister around one microphone singing harmony vocals. To be honest, having just sat through 3 hours of banjo based music, a quiet pint was the order of the day and another banjo was the last thing I was wanting to see!! So a quick one it was, but just as we were about to make our way home, she did a version of John Denver’s “Country Roads” that I had never heard before and it had me rooted to the spot.

By the time I got home, to be truthful, I’d forgotten about it but just before Christmas, Blacky & I were at a party, a little worse for wear as I remember, and someone asked us to sing. That version of that song was the first thing that came into my head. I’ve just finished recording it for my new EP that will be released later this year but you can download it now, for free, (and feel free to share it with the world !!) from my website www.alanwest.co.uk . Enjoy.

Hope you are well

Kindest, Alan

Hi Guys,

Last summer when I was up in West Virginia with Lynn’s family, one Tuesday evening we went to a singers night in the backroom of a hardware store in Shepherdstown…..it was a really cool gathering of local musicians playing and singing traditional West Virginian songs….I’ve never seen so many banjos and hammer dulcimers in one room and when it was over, as enjoyable as it was, a beer was very necessary!!

We toddled a few yards up the street and low and behold, an English pub….called The Devonshire Arms….well we had to….however the only English things in there were us, a dartboard, oh and they served Boddingtons on draught. In the corner was a local musician whose name I never got, she was singing and playing a four string banjo and to her left stood her Mum and little sister around one microphone singing harmony vocals. To be honest, having just sat through 3 hours of banjo based music, a quiet pint was the order of the day and another banjo was the last thing I was wanting to see!! So a quick one it was, but just as we were about to make our way home, she did a version of John Denver’s “Country Roads” that I had never heard before and it had me rooted to the spot.

By the time I got home, to be truthful, I’d forgotten about it but just before Christmas, Blacky & I were at a party, a little worse for wear as I remember, and someone asked us to sing. That version of that song was the first thing that came into my head. I’ve just finished recording it for my new EP that will be released later this year but you can download it now, for free, (and feel free to share it with the world !!) from my website www.alanwest.co.uk . Enjoy.

Hope you are well

Kindest, Alan

Hi Guys,

Just a quickie, but thought you might like to know that on Friday this week I found out that Blacky & I have been included on the bill at probably the biggest country music event The UK has seen in many at year at The C2C Festival at The O2 in London on the weekend of 16th/17th March. Needless to say we're chuffed as nuts!!! All the details are at www.c2c-countrytocountry.com .

Hope you're well, Kindest, Alan.

Hi Guys,

Just a quick note to let you know the latest goings on down here in Devon….

I have been working away in my little studio lots of late, both on some new stuff for me and producing a new album for my friend, the incredibly talented young blues guitarist, Adam Sweet. Both projects are coming along really well, in fact in the next couple of weeks there should be something of mine for you to hear…..
Last September when I was in Nashville I went along to The Bluebird with my friend Thomm Jutz to see a show that was promoted by The Folk Alliance. It was incredibly memorable, for lots of reasons, but for me the performance of Tommy Womack was outstanding. As soon as I heard he was touring the UK, I just had to put him on….and the show is this Tuesday, 26th Feb at The Dolphin Hotel in Beer. He is touring with Ben Reel from Northern Ireland and myself, Blacky and our buddy Adam Sweet will also be on the bill. Tickets are still available from 07773 768110 for what promises to be a great evening of acoustic Americana…can’t wait!!

As always, busy with the gigs down here, incredibly on April 4th Blacky & I will have played every Thursday at The Axminster Inn for 5 years….we are also working live a little more with Adam and this year we have a few more adventures planned a little further afield, even some talk of a trip to Scandinavia, now that would be nice!!

Trust this finds you well, Kindest, Alan

And there it was gone. Summer 2012 that is!! The gigs down here in Devon, mostly with Blacky, have been a blast. It really is humbling that so many of you made the trip to see us. It seemed every night someone from some far-flung part of The UK would show up unexpectedly. Thank you!!

I was privileged to have been in Nashville for the Americana Music Awards in September. The show itself was awesome but eclipsed by the amount of world-class live music in some fantastic venues around town for the whole week. The most impressive thing about it for me, was the amount of collaboration that goes on there. It really is about having faith in ability, sharing talent, learning from each other and creating great new original music. Looking forward to my next visit, which looks like it’ll be June 2013 to do few shows myself.

Lots planned for this winter too. Blacky and I have started regular writing sessions. Songwriting has never been at the top of my agenda, but is now something that I am keen to work on. It is a massive stroke of luck that I live 4 miles from someone who, I believe, is one of the finest, and is happy to share his knowledge with a novice!! All the regular gigs seem to remain unaffected by the change of the seasons and we are in our fifth year at The Axminster Inn, fourth year at The Dolphin and third year at The Kings Arms, Seaton. Long may it continue!!

A few months back I heard a band from Brighton, called Society ( www.societymusic.net ), do a session on Bob Harris’s Saturday night show on BBC Radio 2 and really liked them. So much so that they will be playing at The Dolphin Hotel in Beer on Sat Nov 3rd. Myself, Dean Barnes and our special guest Sarah Jory will be doing the opening set. Tickets are £10 and are available from 07773 768110. Can’t wait!!

The next installment of Blacky’s wonderful Christmas play, Turkey a la Vera, is well into rehearsals. It is always one of the highlights of my Christmas, and this year, that too will be at The Dolphin in Beer on Dec 9,10,11,12. Tickets are available (and usually sell out quite quickly) from 01297 33595 from Nov 5th.

Well, best crack on, playing this afternoon at, yes you’ve guessed it, The Dolphin in Beer!! It seems like a second home sometimes!!

Hope this finds you well,
Kindest,
Alan