Jez Lowe

The Bad Pennies start their year!

jez — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:15:52 +0000

Jez has solo gigs this weekend at Otterton Mill in Devon (Thurs), Kingswinford (Fri) and Aycliffe Village, County Durham (Mon), and will be joined by The Bad Pennies for the first time this year on Saturday at Brindley Arts Centre near Warrington – though this show is already SOLD OUT. The whole band will be playing dates in the UK throughout June… Jez is on the front cover of the current Folk North West magazine, with an extensive review of the Muse MacColl concert in Birkenhead late last year, which was the gig David and Andy missed due to their car-crash!… Jez is currently recording more songs for the BBC Radio Ballads, which number THIRTEEN so far… The US tour itinerary for October will be announced next week – check here for details…

From the kitchen to the road…

jez — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:39:31 +0000

Jez recorded a session for singer Maggie Boyle’s Kitchen Songs project yesterday, two songs from Jez and a duet with maggie herself. It will be on line at the project’s website next week, and also featured at a later date on BBC Radio Leeds… Jez is back out on the road this week, with solo gigs at Stafford, Norwich, Dunton and Southampton in the next batch…

On the road again

jez — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:43:42 +0000

Last night Jez played the first of SEVENTY TWO gigs that are lined up for him across the UK – that is, excluding the October North America trip – between now and the end of the year. With more still to be added… The set-list at Cuffern Manor in South wales included SONG OF THE INDIAN LASS, KID CANUTE, BIG MEETING DAY, JESSE OWENS SHOES, DAVIS AND GOLIGHTLY, and a lot of songs fom the last two albums, like JUDAS BUS, WAITING FOR THE ALL CLEAR and A CHAMPION LIFE. This never-ending-tour continues in Highworth, near Swindon, tomorrow night… Jez is also scheduled to record a session for Maggie Boyles’ “Kitchen Songs” project this week… Both he and kate Bramley have just been added to the line-up of Fylde Folk festival in Lancashire this summer…

News catch-up

jez — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:33:07 +0000

There was an article in several local North east England newspapers earlier this week, previewing Jez’s appearance at next Monday’s John Bell lecture at Hartlepool’s English Martyrs School. Hailed as a unique appearance by an international touring musician, it’s a free event but by pre-booked ticket only… In a similar vein, an exhibition entitled The Great Lost Library of 18th Century York will be on show from June 1st at the University of York campus, and will be using Jez’s 1993 song BEDE WEEPS as its main theme.More details nearer the time… Jez and Andy May will be reprising their appearance on next Celtic Music Cruise in February 2013, which will this time be a “land-cruise” based in the Bahamas! Details to follow… Word is, by the way, that the forthcoming Best of CD might end up being “not quite what it first appeared to be..” So now we know!

That Best of compilation…

jez — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:37:44 +0000

It looks like the track-listing for the forthcoming “Best of Jez Lowe” (it probably won’t be called that!) compilation CD has been more or less decided. The album is based around the songs that have had the most cover-versions by other acts, so there are some obvious likely candidates. There will also be a few “bonus tracks”, more recent songs that Jez is currently playing live – again, some obvious hopefuls there too. All of the tracks will be versions not currently available, a bit of an ambivilent description really, as there are about EIGHT of Jez’s albums currently out of print. It should also be noted that the record is specifically for the North American audiences, though again, it’s not clear what that might mean. Release date is not until September, so when things are clarified somewhat, we’ll keep you posted. All of this could change of course…

Updates

jez — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:04:41 +0000

Jez’s new song MORPETH OLYMPICS got a rousing reception when sung by Benny Graham at Morpeth Gathering last Saturday. Benny later showed up at Jez’s Davy Lamp gig, and there was hope that the two of them might deliver a duo rendition for the sold-out crowd, but it wasn’t to be… Benny will be joining Jez and the band for gigs later in the year, plus another round of Christmas shows… Suggestions for songs to be included on the forthcoming compilation CD have been asked for on the Bad Pennies Facebook page. There’s still time to contribute… Songs included at Jez’s solo gigs last weekend ranged from oldies like Yankee Boots and Propping Up Walls to new ones like Jesse Owens Shoes and that REVENGE song…

Jez writes a song for Morpeth Gathering

jez — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:36:48 +0000

Earlier this year, Jez was commissioned by the organisers of the annual Morpeth Gathering folk festival in Northumberland, to write a new song in hommage to the infamous Morpeth Olympics – a working-class sports event that ran annually from 1870 to 1959. Morpeth Gathering takes place this weekend, and as Jez is elsewhere, the new song is being sung by Benny Graham. Here’s the festival’s press release: On Saturday evening a world première will be held of a song all about the Morpeth Olympics. Kim comments, “We heard that north-east singer Jez Lowe was writing songs on the modern Olympics for the BBC Radio Ballads and thought with his track record there was nobody better placed to create a modern folk song about our own local Games. Like the Blaydon Races, it brings to life the characters involved and some of the scenes to be seen during Sunday’s archive film show. Jez actually wrote the song on tour in Australia and has just e-mailed us the result, and he’s done us proud. The tune touches on the Morpeth Rant melody, it’s got a good chorus for everyone to belt out, the numerous verses make very clever use of internal rhyme, and the whole thing celebrates the local working man dreaming of escape from daily drudgery, seeking healthy recreation, a chance to win some money and a good family day out. Jez can’t be at the Gathering himself, but the song will be premiered by another grand local singer, Benny Graham, who headlines the Saturday Winners’ Concert at the Town Hall.”

News Round Up

jez — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 20:13:20 +0000

Jez’s North American tour in October is shaping up – dates so far confirmed include Voorheesville (Oct 27th), Old Lyn Pennsylvania (oct 26th), Berkeley California (Oct 14th), plus dates in Boston, Vancouver and Ithaca – so an extensive tour in other words. Jez will perform solo throughout… A “Greatest Hits” album is likely to be released especially for this tour, we hear… Jez has been invited to be the guest speaker at the annual John Bell lecture at his old school in Hartlepool on April 30th. Title of the lecture is “Looking at the folk through music”. Details can found at the school’s website – now called English Martyrs School, though it was called St. Francis in Jez’s day!… Jez resumes UK gigs at the end of this week at Brewtown Folk Club in Burton On trent on Friday, and a return to Washington’s Davy Lamp on Saturday.

Tour Down Under Ends

jez — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:44:39 +0000

Jez is about to head back to the UK following the final show of the Australian leg of the Down Under tour in Canberra last weekend. The trip ended on high note, with a full house and the last few CDs of the tour selling out at half time! Thanks to audiences and promoters who have made this the best Antipodean tour ever… Speaking of CDs, there’s talk of a new compilation album of Jez Lowe tracks being released in America later this year, though details are vague. Tracks from Jez’s Fellside albums are rumoured to be included… Currently, three of Jez’s albums on the Tantobie label are unavailable – Live at The Davy Lamp, Honesty Box and the Fighting The Tide soundtrack. 2004′s Sight Rhymes DVD is also deleted. Five of Jez’s Fellside albums are also unavailable (the exception being Two A Roue, which Tantobie released in 2001). However, many of these albums are available on download through I -Tunes and other sources. Meanwhile, there’s still no developments concerning the first two volumes of Jez’s songbook. Hopefully these are all matters to be addressed when Jez returns from Australia next week.

Australia tour ends this week.

jez — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 02:25:05 +0000

Jez is back in Sydney for a special show at Notes tomorrow (Wednesday), with The Wheeze and Suck Band sharing the bill. Jez and the Wheezers first worked together in Sydney nearly ten years ago and again at Auckland Festival in New Zealand in 2009. He then moves on to Braidwood NSW folk club on Thursday, and the final down-under show is at Canberra’s Merry Muse on Friday… He recorded an extensive radio interview with Roger Joseph in Tasmania last week, which will be broadcast later next month – a must-listen, by all accounts. Watch this space for details of how to access it from around the world.

Van Dieman’s Land

jez — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 12:53:16 +0000

Jez is currently in Tasmania, with a concert at Brookfield winery tomorrow night, then on to Melbourne and Brisbane. The Sydney concert on March 28th is a special show at the prestigious venue Notes, with dinner as part of the ticket price… Jez performed two songs on Radio Fremantle last Monday and talked extensively about the current tour – check their website for a “listen again” feature… There’s more radio coming up this week, in Tasmania and Sydney… It’s now two months since Jez left the UK. He returns in early April.

The Tour moves West

jez — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:42:14 +0000

The South Australia portion of the tour ends tonight with a concert in Port Noarlunga near Adelaide, and the heads to Perth tomorrow. Early next week Jez doubles back to Tasmania for two concerts and a collaboration with the local Union Choir, who have used his song THESE COAL TOWN DAYS in their repertoire for a long time. He then continues to Melbourne, back to Sydney, to Brisbane and to Canberra, about ten more shows in all. It’s easily ranking as the best down-under tour for many years. Jez’s weekly Northern Echo column, by the way, is being used as a brief blog as to the progress of the trip, and is being dropped into various Twitter pages as things progress. One piece of news is that Jez will be contributing to a tribute album for Australian songwriter Judy Small at some point. More news on that at another time.

News round-up

jez — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:56:02 +0000

The Australian tour continues – it’s south to Victoria for next weekend’s Burke and Wills Festival, then on to Adelaide next week, before the long haul to West Australia for gigs in Mundaring, Fremantle and Perth’ Radio shows and interviews along the way… Those rumours of recording sessions in Australia don’t seem to have materialised… The live dates page of this website is slowly being updated. Apologies for the delay. All details should be up in the next week or so…

Tour Down Under update

jez — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 01:09:22 +0000

The New Zealand leg of the tour ended last night (with a standing ovation!) at Hamilton Gardens Festival. By all accounts it’s been a great tour so far. Things now continue to Australia and the first gig in Sydney on February 29th. The extra gigs in Melbourne and Brisbane are now confirmed – details on the live dates page of this website.

New tour dates Australia

jez — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:08:08 +0000

Exciting news just in that we have two more dates confirmed for Jez solo at the end of his long trip- 25th March Melbourne and 26th March Brisbane… see gig … Continue reading →

Down Under

jez — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:32:27 +0000

THe New Zealand tour is well underway, seven gigs into a nine day run on the North Island before heading down to Christchurch for the first show in the South Island. No reports yet, and not much from the performers themselves on Twitter and Facebook… Lots coming through about the recent Irish Music Cruise though, including some photos of a big band finale with Jez backed by Andy May, Hanneke Cassal, Martin O’Duggen and Connor Makem. Also Jez backing up Kieron Sheehan on a medley of Beatles songs! More from down-under soon.