Michael Weston King (UK) + supp: Pernille Sparboe

Michael Weston King is widely acknowledged as one of Britain’s finest singer songwriters,  Admired by the likes of Chris Hillman, Ron Sexsmith, Jackie Leven, and the legendary Townes van Zandt (who recorded one of his  songs), he draws his influence from a wide range of styles, from Pop to Folk, from Country to Soul, from Gospel to Blues

Michael Weston King  – BIOG. / March 2010

He is the former leader of U.K. Alt Country pioneers The Good Sons, with whom he made 4 critically acclaimed albums in a seven year career, which was recently celebrated by the double album, Cosmic Fireworks-The Best of The Good Sons (1994-2001).

MOJO magazine wrote “The band who must rate as England’s very own Uncle Tupelo.  A truly thrilling collection.”, while www.americana-uk.com said ”The British band that played alt. country before anyone knew what the hell it was. Had the Good Sons done this same thing across the Atlantic, they would surely have been acclaimed trailblazers.”

For the past eight years he has been a solo troubadour, touring all over the world, performing with the likes of Nick Cave, John Cale, Roger McGuinn, Steve Earle, Guy Clark , Chris Hillman, Ron Sexsmith, Steve Forbert, Son Volt, and many more, and releasing five studio albums, 3 live albums and a career retrospective dvd, The Crowning Story, along the way.

As fine a singer songwriter as Gram Parsons’ CHRIS HILLMAN

Michael Weston King has a voice part Nashville balladeer and part Alt Country hero………a cross between Nick Cave and Rodney Crowell. THE INDEPENDENT

Like Tim Hardin, Phil Ochs or Townes van Zandt, King transmutes squalor and self-laceration into pure gold. MOJO

Many different artists have recorded his songs, while a number of his songs have also been used in TV shows in America and Germany.  Beautiful Lies, a songbook of his work, was published in 2005,  Happy Infidels, a play by the Irish writer Brian Richmond, was based around 12 of Michael’s songs, and he is currently working on a book about some of the greatest ‘lost’ songs of the past 40 years.

A solo retrospective collection, The Tender Place, was released in November 2006, while his last studio album, A New Kind of Loneliness including contributions from Chris Hillman, Ron Sexsmith and Jackie Leven, was released in May 2007 to critical acclaim, and has been widely hailed as his best album to date;

A powerful work of unblinking emotional seriousness.  Entombed in gorgeously sepulchral tunes, the effect is quite magnificent. King is a special talent. The Word

MWK has entered the rarefied field of classic singer songwriters. USA Entertainment News

His latest album, Crawling Through The USA, recording live during his 2008 tour of N America, perfectly showcases the man alone, with just his guitar and songs for company.  The album features Michaels stunning interpretation of the Townes Van Zandt song, Marie. The accompanying video perfectly captures the mood of the song, and has been nominated for awards in the UK.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj3k-D4bQnQ&feature=related

Coming up are 2 new albums, both set for release in 2010. Firstly,  a pure country duets album, My Darling Clementine, made with his wife, the acclaimed singer Lou Dalgleish, and featuring the talents of Geraint Watkins, Martin Belmont, Bobby Irwin, and many other legendary British musicians.

And secondly, I Didn’t Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier, an album made up entirely of Protest songs. Some news ones, written specially,  and some older ones that are still as relevant today as when they were first written, some going as far back as the 1920′s. An outspoken album, a modern album for these troubled times..

For more information go to;

www.michaelwestonking.com

www.myspace.com/michaelwestonking

www.facebook.com/michaelwestonking

Pernille Sparboe jobber til daglig som politietterforsker ved Tromsø politistasjon, men har bestemt seg for å leve ut artistdrømmen. Det startet våren 2008 med jamsessions, noe som kort tid etter ledet til hennes første spillejobber.Pernille har med sin flotte stemme, tøffe låter og fenomenale scenesjarm allerede rukket å bli en yndling i Tromsø med en rekke konserter i hjembyen. Mest omtalt ble hun antagelig da hun ble plukket ut til å synge ”Flink” med DeLillos på årets Buktafestival.Våren 2009 var Pernille i studio med et knippe musikere og spille inn sin første EP BUZZ. Med på laget fikk hun med seg Ken Stringfellow som produsent. Stringfellow er kjent for sitt arbeid med blant annet R.E.M og The Posies og som vokalist i The Disciplines.