Still Loud (even when it's quiet)

Back in February, with all thoughts on the new album and its promotion, we added a blog to the website. A great way to drive engagement, we thought — a vehicle to add a bit more depth to the typically brief world of social media posts. A splendid idea.

In reality, it can be tricky to think of engaging content — especially when engagement itself is so hard to come by. Algorithms favour boosted or paid content, everyone’s timelines are clogged with ads, and attention spans are shredded by a sea of clickbait.

And I suppose in a way, we’re chasing clickbait too — albeit organically, and hopefully a bit more genuinely. We're naturally a bit recessive and don't always go in for the whole 'big yourselves up' schtick... which, realistically, might be more of what's needed.

But we're determined not to let this blog become a dormant vehicle. If nothing else, it’s a (sometimes daunting) blank page to unload some thoughts.

It’s been a relatively quiet few weeks gig-wise, although we had a fantastic time at Mansfield Folk Festival last weekend — a really well-run event at Mansfield Rugby Club. An uncharacteristic headline slot for us too — a real honour, and it seemed to go down really well.

Ordinarily, we might have played it safe and gone for a cover-heavy set at a gig like that. And while we did include a few well-known songs, we stuck to our guns and showcased mostly our own music — and it was really well received. That transition from covers band to originals band can make you second-guess yourselves, but this time we backed ourselves. And we’re glad we did.

The quiet spell has also coincided with holidays, of course — but don’t let that fool you into thinking nothing’s happening. We’ve got a couple of new songs in the advanced stages of becoming something, and several more taking shape. Even if the blogging and social media muse is elusive at times, the musical one hasn’t abandoned us.

Next up, we’re heading to the brilliant Nah Then Festival in Calverton, followed by the equally wonderful Gig in a Fieldnear Doncaster (with a village party sandwiched in between). We’re raring to go — and we can’t wait!

Thank you Andy for the photo from Mansfield Folk Festival!