John Smith, who played Cambridge Folk Festival yesterday, has announced the release of a folk album titled Hummingbird. The album was produced by Sam Lakeman and features Cara Dillon, John McCusker and Ben Nicholls.
Hummingbird will be released on 5th October on his own imprint, Commoner Records, via Thirty Tigers worldwide on CD/LP and digital and will be supported by an extensive EU Tour in October / December 2018 including St Pancras New Church, Bloomsbury, London on Thursday 15 November 2018. See full dates below.
The announcement is accompanied by a very personal message from John which you can read below but before you do, feast your ears on his gorgeous rendition of Willy Moore. Collected in Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music, John says that he first heard the song performed by the “gentleman genius Wizz Jones.”
“The Future Of Folk Music” – John Renbourn
John Smith on Hummingbird
Ever since my teenage epiphany at the altar of Folk Music, hearing Nick Drake, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn for the first time, I have been a devotee. The six strings of my guitar have granted me access to a sacred space between things, the unconscious interweaving sensations that allow us that gentle buzz on hearing a good folk song.
I’ve been immeasurably fortunate to open for and even play with some of my heroes and influences in the folk world; John Renbourn, Davy Graham, Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson, Nic Jones, Joan Baez, Wizz Jones, John Martyn, Danny Thompson, Martin Simpson and Paul Brady.
Their work and their generosity of spirit has been a constant reminder that I must keep playing, recording and touring, no matter the cost. There is always work to be done in the service of good music.
It was with this in mind that I returned to Sam Lakeman’s Somerset studio in March of 2018, two years since recording ‘Headlong’ in that same place, to commit six of my favourite folk songs to tape, alongside one cover version and three original songs.
With my guitars and notebook, I sat for a week and dug into these songs, some of which I have performed hundreds of times, but never recorded. I always chose instead to concentrate on my own writing. If I didn’t record these songs now, representing the Folk Music that I love, I felt I was going to regret it.
The tracks quickly took on their own shape in Sam’s able hands. I invited several good friends to join me in this process: Cara Dillon, John McCusker and Ben Nicholls. Each a giant in their own right, they offered subtle and deeply nuanced performances to what I feel are my most restrained recordings so far.
Sam and I adopted the motto ‘less is more’. We all know that a Folk Song’s clarity of purpose is exactly the reason why it has been played in pubs, living rooms and concert halls for hundreds of years.
I made this record for myself, for my heroes and for you.
John Smith
Somerset, May 2018
European Dates October – December 2018
04 Oct Aberdeen The Lemon Tree
05 Oct Ullapool Guitar Festival
10 Oct Cork IE Coughlan’s
11 Oct Cork IE Coughlan’s
12 Oct Limerick IE Dolan’s
13 Oct Dublin IE Unitarian Church
14 Oct Bangor NI Studio Theatre
17 Oct Chipping Norton The Theatre
20 Oct Whitby Musicport Festival
21 Oct Liverpool St George’s Hall
22 Oct Gateshead Sage Gateshead
24 Oct Leeds The Wardrobe
25 Oct Sheffield Picture House Social
26 Oct Thames Ditton The Ram Club
30 Oct Newbury Arlington Arts Centre
01 Nov Bury The Met Arts Centre
02 Nov Scunthorpe Cafe Indiependent
03 Nov Halifax Square Chapel
04 Nov York The Crescent
07 Nov Middlesbrough Town Hall
09 Nov Bristol Rough Trade
10 Nov Plymouth Barbican Theatre
11 Nov Dartmouth The Flavel
12 Nov Exeter Phoenix
14 Nov Southampton The Brook
15 Nov London St Pancras NEW Church (Bloomsbury)
16 Nov Brighton Unitarian Church
17 Nov Guildford St Mary’s Church
20 Nov Paris FR Le Point Ephemere
21 Nov Leuven BE 30CC
22 Nov Waregem BE De Schakel
23 Nov Beveren BE Cultuurcentrum Ter Vesten
24 Nov Evergem BE Cultuurcentrum Evergem
28 Nov Zurich CH Bogen F
29 Nov Leopoldsburg BE Cultuurcentrum Leopoldsburg
02 Dec Berlin DE Kantine am Berghain
03 Dec Munich DE Ampere
PRE-ORDER HUMMINGBIRD http://smarturl.it/hummingbird-eu
https://www.johnsmithjohnsmith.com/
Photo Credit: Rose Cousins