In May 2022, master guitarist Martin Simpson will be playing eight shows with melodeon maestro and close friend Andy Cutting (dates below). This duo certainly know how to entertain a crowd and even surprise us – as they did in 2016, alongside Tom A. Wright, with their Record Store Day single, a cover of the Booker T. instrumental ‘Green Onions’. You can hear it on our Folk Show, Episode 91 here. While that single may not be a feature of this eight-day tour, we will experience some incredible music.
Talking about the tour, Martin says, “I am so much looking forward to working with my dear friend, the consummate musician Andy Cutting. We first played together at the suggestion of my wife Kit, and within the first two verses we knew it was going to work! Since then, we have recorded together numerous times, and on this tour, we’ll be revisiting material from Prodigal Son, Murmurs and more, and also playing new material, much of which will form the core of my next album.”
Martin’s new solo album is scheduled for release next March, following on from his lockdown album ‘Home Recordings’ released last year, and 2019’s ‘Rooted’.
Murmurs, released in 2015, was an album of traditional songs and originals that received a steady flow of glowing reviews, including our own here. Here they are performing Ruben during rehearsals for the album:
Prodigal Son has remained a popular album since its release in 2007 on Topic Records. It received a Deluxe Edition Reissue in 2019, the first release on the Topic Treasures imprint, which, alongside the original fifteen tracks, included an incredible live set recorded at London’s Union Chapel on 13th November 2007, during which Martin was accompanied by Andy as well as Andy Seward and Kellie White.
Needless to say, these shows usually sell out, so don’t hang about booking your ticket; see the links below.
Martin will also soon be launching a Patreon page that will be going live with exclusive content uploaded regularly. The page is likely to include transcriptions, live concert footage, studio outtakes, out of print recordings, conversations with collaborators and friends, videos, new recordings and more. Keep an eye on Martin’s socials for news of the launch.
Martin Simpson: https://martinsimpson.com/
Andy Cutting: https://www.andy-cutting.co.uk/
Martin Simpson and Andy Cutting Dup Tour
05 MAY – FIRTH HALL, SHEFFIELD
06 MAY – THE OLD COURTS, WIGAN
07 MAY – NEWHAMPTON ARTS CENTRE, WOLVERHAMPTON
08 MAY – THE CRESCENT, YORK
18 MAY – DARTINGTON HALL, TOTNES
19 MAY – MARINE THEATRE, LYME REGIS
20 MAY – THE VILLAGE PUMP, TROWBRIDGE
21 MAY – WINGFIELD BARN SUFFOLK