The next Hudson Records Listening Club is this Sunday, 7th June at 10.30 am and features Neil McSweeney (as well as some his band including Sam Sweeney, M G Boulter, Lucy Farrell and Thomas Lenthall), who will be listening to and talking about his album “A Coat Worth Wearing”.
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He reminds me of the romantic poets: Like Wordsworth or Shelley his relationship to his art has a spiritual aspect to it, rooted in the emphatic epiphanies offered by the natural world, but like Blake, he has a darker side, a rebellious streak and a decisive need to push for positive change. It is a rare songwriter that can combine these elements over the course of an album or even a career. McSweeney often manages to do it in the space of a single song. Thomas Blake, Folk Radio.
Folk singer-songwriter Neil McSweeney emerged from the flowering of Sheffield music that gave the World the likes of Slow Club and Richard Hawley and has since established himself as ‘a songwriter of rare ability’ (R2). Setting lyrics that deal with the contrasts and contradictions of life to romantic melodies as hopeful as they are melancholy, McSweeney’s finely crafted songs have been championed by his peers as well as across national radio and press. Folk audiences may recognise Neil from his time touring alongside Bellowhead, Sam Sweeney was Neil’s drummer for that tour and Jon Boden joined occasionally on double bass. In 2016 Neil became co-founder of Hudson Records and alongside his ‘day job’ running a masters course for the music department at the University of Sheffield, Neil still finds the time to collaborate and create with the likes of Jon Boden, Fay Hield, Vera Van Heeringen, Lucy Farrell, M G Boulter and many more great songwriters and musicians.
McSweeney’s fourth album, ‘A Coat Worth Wearing’ (reviewed here), was the second release for Hudson Records back in 2017. Produced by Andy Bell it built on the success of its predecessor ‘Cargo’. Its nine songs were conceived as a piece and subsequently recorded together, largely in full-band live-takes, over seven days in the beautiful Welsh countryside, the incredible cover photography was provided by the wonderful John Beatty.
Join us to listen to ’A Coat Worth Wearing’ in its entirety on Sunday morning with commentary and insights from Neil and some his band including Sam Sweeney, M G Boulter, Lucy Farrell and Thomas Lenthall. Join the guys online to chat and discuss the album throughout the listening club, say hello in the comments area. You can watch the live stream on Hudson Records and Folk Radio’s Facebook pages or Hudson Records YouTube, subscribe, like and follow to receive a notification just before the broadcast.
Streaming Links:
Hudson Records YouTube Channel | Hudson Records Facebook
Hudson Records Listening Club – Neil McSweeney – A Coat Worth Wearing
Sunday 7th May – 10.30 am
You can see the previous Listening Clubs from Sam Sweeney, Salt House, Rowan Rheingans, The Lost Words Spells Songs, Karine Polwart, Martin Simpson, The Furrow Collective, Sam Carter, Jon Boden, Northern Flyway here – https://www.youtube.com/