It is great to welcome back to Biggar New York’s Annie Keating Band, on their 2023 UK tour. Their last gig in the Corn Exchange was a sell out and their energetic blend of rock and americana made for an amazing night.
A staple of the contemporary Americana scene, Annie Keating writes and sings like a woman who knows deep down that heartache is the price of hope, and she can make us believe — in that way that only the best artists can — that all of it is worth the cost.
Talent spotted by BBC Radio‘s Bob Harris with the release of her breakthrough album, “Belmont” in 2008, Keating has been growing in stature and reputation ever since with each of the ten studio album and EP releases to date, drawing formidable comparisons to artists including Lucinda Williams and John Prine along the way.
In 2021, Keating released her eighth studio album ‘Bristol County Tides’, a record that told an evocative story of love, loss, and finding what matters most in uncertain times, on a pandemic journey from Brooklyn to the coast, through fifteen beautiful songs. Standing as her most accomplished and ambitious to date, the record was praised by Folk Radio UK as “personal and universal… unequivocally Keating’s finest hour yet.”
Performing as The Annie Keating Band, the line-up will feature Scott Warman on double/electric bass (who recently appeared on Bob Harris’s charity release of Stand By Me alongside the likes of Mark Knopfler), rising star Joe Coombs on electric/acoustic/slide guitars (who has played internationally with a wide variety of artists such as Grammy nominated songwriter Yola on her Walk Through Fire Tour, Jaime Wyatt, Laura Evans, Robert Vincent, Sam Morrow and Lynne Hanson), plus Jamie Dawson on drums (a member of The Dreaming Spires and Steady Habits, and regular collaborator with Speedbuggy USA).
ABOUT THE NEW ALBUM
Annie Keating’s new release “HARD FROST” (due out June 1st, 2023) is another superb collaboration between songwriter Annie Keating and brilliant guitarist/producer Teddy Kumpel, who last produced the 15 song “Bristol County Tides” album in 2021.
Keating and her stellar studio band take the listener on a journey from the funk infused rock, grit and swagger of “Sunshine Parade” to the infectious, swampy honkey-tonk jam of “Lovesick Blues” and intimate storytelling on ballads like “Keepsakes and Heartbreaks” (a songs reminiscent of the late and great songwriter John Prine.)
On this new album, she shows both her range and depth, with no two songs sounding alike, the songs ranging from raucous rock to tender acoustic storytelling.
With grit and grace, humor and heartache, the album keeps the listener spellbound for ten tracks including one stunning co-write with songwriter Lynne Hanson (“Lies and Dynamite” ) and a crackling cover of “So Lonely” written by Sting (of the band The Police).
https://www.anniekeating.com