…Inverness, Cambridge, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Norwich.

Lots of people love the idea of live music, as long as it’s not rubbish right? I don’t know if you’ve come to one of my gigs before or not, dear reader, or whether you thought it was good, but either way this could be a good time to book a couple of speculative tickets. I’m feeling full of purpose and new ideas right now, and I’m eager to give you everything I have.

What’s more I’ve been able to keep the ticket prices quite low to hopefully not price anyone out who might want to come. Truth is I’m not too fussed about your £6 (although it does all help) I just want you in the damn room, because great things can happen when lots of people all get in a room together.

Take a look to see if there’s one near you, … Read the rest

I invented a new rule yesterday in time for my birthday today. For two days either side of your birthday you are allowed to eat anything you can find in the kitchen, even if it’s not your food or your kitchen.

We’ve been almost announcing this tour for a while now and I figured why not do it today? So in between mouthfuls of cake here goes – my 2013 UK Tour is now on sale…

I’ve always admired the way Communion develop their artists, giving a platform for songwriters like Ben Howard, Laura Marling and Daughter to play their music. So I’m very happy for them to present my next London gig at The Sebright Arms.

I know it’s not a massive venue, but this tour has always been about playing in the best small venues around. I love the interaction and atmosphere that those environments offer, so let’s start here and as plans for the next album develop, we’ll see where it all leads… x

Tickets are on sale now at communionmusic.co.uk/live.… Read the rest

I can report that writing the ‘difficult second album’ has indeed been difficult. Should it be an elaborate concept album? How many bagpipes to have in my bagpipe orchestra? There was joy, there was *facepalm*. I made a sign.

But along the way I feel like I re-discovered music, and look at many of these new songs as the best I’ve ever written. It’s now time to record them into an album to follow up 2011’s Many Fish To Fry.

Our first studio dates are booked for next month, and although it may not be released until next year, the ball is rolling and will bear its first fruits in the Autumn. Listen out for that.

In the meantime I’d like to invite you to a solo concert at a small venue in Dalston, London next month.

The date is 23rd July 2013. Are you free??
The … Read the rest

Just want to express my gratitude to The People’s Republic of Nizlopi for letting me be part of their special shows in London this week. Two extraordinary people making extraordinary music, it really was a privilege to be one of their support acts along with the brilliant Antonio Lulic.

Who else makes music like them? They really are like nothing I’ve ever seen before and the love in the room is testament to their impact on people’s lives. Thank you also to everyone who listened so carefully to my set too.

As many of you know, John Parker (pictured above, stage diving last night) has been the only bass player I’ve ever played with. We’ve shared so many wonderful gigs together from the outer islands of Scotland down to mainland Europe and everywhere in between. This history, tied in with a little piece of Nizlopi history, meant last … Read the rest

Wonderful to be introducing two excellent new projects – One Run For Boston and The Little Bird Foundation.

One Run For Boston is a non-stop relay race spanning the width of the United States to raise money for The One Fund, a charity set up to provide assistance to victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. Over 1000 runners are taking part, passing on the baton to a new runner every couple of hours for 3 weeks night and day, and due to cross the finishing line of the Boston Marathon on June 30th. So far they’ve managed to raise over $50,000, with more coming in every day.

Danny Bent, one of the organisers, asked if Feet Don’t Fail Me Now could be their official theme song, and of course I didn’t have to think very hard before saying yes. Best wishes to all the runners involved, they’re part … Read the rest

Although I didn’t know it at the time, the night I first met John Parker and Luke Concannon from Nizlopi in 2010 became quite a significant one where every act on the bill split up and started playing music with each other.

Since then I’ve been lucky enough to share a stage with John regularly as he brought his double bass to life on my songs. The end of Nizlopi was very hard for him, but over time he’s developed into an irreplaceable session musician for lots of great artists.

Moving on was hard for Luke too, but he’s managed to record an exceptional solo album, and now they’ve agreed to their first set of dates back together since the split:

Sunday 16th June – support from Paper Aeroplanes and Rob Bearsby
Monday 17th June – support from me and Antonio Lulic

Both nights will be at The Borderline, … Read the rest

Things seem to have moved forward quite a bit recently. In the space of a week I met some engineers and producers and spent two days rehearsing new songs with the band. I’m starting to get a crazy feeling in my belly… maybe it’s time to get into the studio again??

There are 16 songs on my current list. Some feel like the best I’ve ever written, others less so. The current plan is to record the first batch soon, release some, then just keep going.

In the meantime I have a stack of gigs this month: