If you’re reading this you probably already know that I’m a singer and songwriter as well as a grassroots music promoter. Some of you will have seen me perform support sets or small gigs with my duo Phrase & Fable, or maybe on a festival stage with my bluegrass band The Reckless Abandoners a few years ago. I’m planning to release a five-track EP of my original songs soon, featuring some exceptional folk-roots and bluegrass musicians from the USA, UK & Ireland. I’ve been writing songs for over a decade, inspired by the beauty of the Yorkshire countryside and the evergreen themes of love, loss and the search for home. I’ve been performing them live on stage for many years, and in 2020 I started to record them, collaborating remotely (and later on, in the studio) with some of my musician pals. Five years on, the finish line is finally in sight!
I’m hoping that the support of my music community will help me cover the costs of this longtime dream, and as part of that I’ve set up a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. Kickstarter have even selected it as a #ProjectWeLove which must surely be partly due to the support it received in the first few days. I still need your support though (read on for more info) so please do support it if you can, especially if you have appreciated what I’ve done with True North Music over the years. You can pledge to receive the 5-track EP itself as a digital download or a physical CD, and of course sharing this music is my main motivation. But if you’re able to donate a little more to support the project, I have some extra rewards on offer, including gorgeous art prints, your name in the credits, and the option to commission me to write an original song!
As regular followers will know, I’m lucky that my work as a grassroots promoter has brought me into contact with many awesome musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, some of whom have played on these songs. I’ve worked with them on UK gigs and tours; they’ve stayed in our home, jammed with me by the fireside and become friends. I wrote and sang lead vocals on all the songs, and the musicians who contributed their instrumental skills include members of UK trio Jaywalkers and USA band Stillhouse Junkies. I was also lucky to get to work with outstanding audio professional Josh Clark, who did mixing and mastering at Get Real Audio in Wiltshire. Josh is renowned as the sound engineer of choice for some of the best folk-roots artists in the UK & Ireland.
Studio costs were kept reasonable by many instrumental parts being recorded by the musicians at home, and I’m also doing my own sleeve design, photography and promotion. But the total costs of around £2,500 are still significant. My original Kickstarter goal of £800 aimed to cover around one-third of the costs, but obviously it would be really helpful to raise more! I didn’t want to be too ambitious in my initial goal, as Kickstarter is an “all or nothing” platform and this is my very first campaign. The fantastic support I’ve received over the last fortnight has got the campaign to about £1,300 or around half of my costs, so I’m hoping that I might make an even more impressive stretch goal by the end of the campaign on 31st March. You can read more about the project and Rewards and support my campaign, at my Kickstarter page here.