Among all this uncertainty, you won't be surprised to know that arrangements for the festival season are changing all the time. So far our gig at Sutton Bank Visitors Centre on 10th May is cancelled. We wait to hear what's happening about Staxtonbury, but at the moment we are still scheduled to play on Sat 4th July, at Meadowfest on 18th July and at Seafest 19th July. Looking further ahead to the Scalby Music Festival, we are now down to play on the evening of Friday 4th Sept. I'll post further news as and when we hear of any changes. Take care X

Great response to "Come On Home", having had plays on Americana Music Radio Show, and picked up by former Radio 2 presenter Rodney Collins for his show which is streamed to a host of digital radio stations. Lovely comments all round and nearly 300 views already on YouTube. There was also a very nice review done by Forever British Country on their website, which raises the spirits and also got a "like" from Bob Harris on Twitter. Thank you to everyone for their kind comments and encouragement.

My new single "Come On Home" is now out on CDBaby, and available on Spotify, iTunes Amazon etc etc. Huge thanks must go to Beck View Studios in Scarborough for guiding me through the process and to musicians Ben Smith (Smith and Brewer) on guitars and pedal steel, Mark Gordon on piano and Hammond, Pete Norman on bass and backing vocals, and Justin Johnson on drums. Thanks also to Justin for producing the song, and to Mel Osten for the video, which is available on Youtube.

The AMA UK just gets better each year. Among the highlights this time around was meeting Keith Harris OBE, former boss at Motown, and mainly retired, but still manager in the UK for Stevie Wonder. Probably one of the nicest guys in the industry today, and his comment on the process of so many people being brought together in order to write some songs gave me heart. He suggest that this process could lead to songs being "machine made". Here here. Other highlights included the performances of Robert Vincent, Irish Mythen, listening to Bob Harris' interview with Judy Collins, and singing alongside Billy Bragg at the after show party to "I'm so lonesome I could cry". Beer had been taken. I suppose the lasting memory is the welcoming atmosphere the conference, and feeling part of something. Gill Tee, co-founder of Black Deer Festival, remembered me from last year when I was invited to play at the festival on the Yard Stage, and came over to speak to me and invited me to attend again this year as her guest. Considering she must deal with several hundred people in the course of setting up the festival, I thought her personal touch, kindness and most of all, memory was very impressive.

Delighted to be going to the conference again this year, with Joan Armatrading as the keynote speaker. The three day conference is followed by the annual AMA UK Awards ceremony, in which Nick Lowe is to receive the "Trailblazers Award", and about time too! One of my all time favourite songwriters. Also up for an award is Ben Smith who features on my single "Come On Home", playing guitars and some wonderful pedal steel. He is nominated for "Instrumentalist Of The Year", and well deserved.

After a quiet start to the year, and saddened by the passing of bass player Roy Piper, we are slowly getting back to something like normal. Keyboard player Will Oseland and I spent a productive day in DBAudio Studios in York with the very helpful Dave Boothroyd, and recorded seven guide tracks for the rest of The Woolgatherers to have a listen to, and to see if we can make something of them. There are two stand out tracks, "Maybe Later" and " Pour Me A Drink" which I see as being included on the next album.

Meanwhile I teamed up with former Nashville producer Justin Johnson to record "Come On Home" as a single which will be released on Friday 31st Jan. Some of Scarborough's finest session players appear on this. Pete Norman on upright bass, Mark Gordon on piano and Hammond, Justin on drums and the hugely talented Ben Smith from Smith & Brewer on guitars and pedal steel. It will be available as a download on Spotify, iTunes and all the usual platforms, and the Americana Music Radio Show will be previewing the track this week.

Thank you to Dan and Richard on Jorvik Radio for playing my song "The Key" on their Sunday night show on 24th Nov. They managed to select many of my favourite artists too for their playlist, including the Boss, Teddy Thompson, Ashley McBryde, The Brother Brothers, Lachlan Bryan and The Wildes, and Sturgiss Simpson to name but a few. It's a real thrill to be named on the same playlist as these guys, and great to hear some radio for grown ups! Also thanks go out to Country Mile Radio for picking up "The Key" for their digital station. This is a really informative programme, and provides a great platform for Americana Music, full of factual links and a great place to discover new artists. Currently it is streamed to about thirty stations both in the UK and in the US.

A lovely atmosphere, with a very welcoming audience. David Swann opened the show with some very entertaining songs of his own creation, and had the crowd singing along. We followed up with a set of about an hour and a quarter, which had some folk dancing, others singing and an impromptu percussion section which sometimes were in time! A great evening, more like a party than a gig . Many thanks must go to Diane and Ruth for putting on the event, and to Rob the soundman who did a great job. Hope we can come back soon.

Phew! Another belter of a festival. This little pub in the North Yorkshire village of Leavening certainly packs a lot in. Very hospitable hosts, and with a selection of 18 different beers over the weekend, a fabulous atmosphere was created here. We were well looked after, and although a bit squashed, we managed! I am always delighted to be joined by The Woolgatherers, and we thoroughly enjoyed the night, as apparently diid the packed pub. We are now officially Big in Leavening.

Having recently played at three festivals, namely Black Deer, Staxtonbury and Meadowfest, I must confess to loving the vibes. These events seem to unite people, and it is great to escape all the other "stuff" for a while. Black Deer was lovely, and as a player it was great to have such a welcoming team to support the acts, and provide a great sound system. Main acts such as Kris Kristofferson, Billy Bragg, The Dead South and The Sheepdogs were highlights for me. Staxtonbury was a local event and a chance to catch up with fellow musicians from around the area, and it was great to team up with The Woolgatherers once again for an evening performance in front of a lovely crowd in the packed Acoustic Tent. Meadowfest was also a treat and a great addition to the festival circuit. In its first year, the festival attracted a lovely crowd in a fabulous setting. Top of the bill was Levi Roots and his reggae band, which rounded off a lovely day with locally sourced grub and some excellent ales from the Brass Castle Brewery. I have the feeling that this festival will go from strength to strength in years to come in the vibrant market town of Malton.

My first time at Malton Food Lovers Festival and thoroughly enjoyable. Huge thanks to the organisers for a great job (in particular for giving me the pitch right next door to the gin palace! Lovely generous crowd, sunshine in the afternoon, real ales and food, food, food. Special thanks to Graeme Hargreaves for looking after the buskers so well. Hope to see you again next year.

I spent a wonderful afternoon at Musicport's Sunday afternoon open mic. Hosts Jim and Sue are very welcoming, and there was a variety of acts performing in all sorts of genres of music. What was particularly inspiring was the respect afforded to each act by all the musicians and the audience. They all listened, applauded and encouraged each other. I have a pet gripe about the number of events I go to, including concerts and open mics, where some members of the audience and even some fellow musicians think it ok to talk, or to be "busy' with their phones during performances. I would suggest to those good people to shut the f... up, and to show some respect to the acts and to those who are there to listen. Musicport was a refreshing change to this trend, and it was great to be among like-minded people! Good on you !