Michael Weston King

Sunday 26th July - 8pm - £7
The Listening Room @ The Georgian Hotel
26 Lefroy Street, Coatbridge
Tel: 01236 421888

Michael Weston King is widely acknowledged as one of Britain's finest singer songwriters, admired by the likes of Chris Hillman, Ron Sexsmith 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, Country to Soul and Gospel to Blues

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 six 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 beautiful, articulate albums 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.2 MOJO

As he had done some 15 years before, he once again grabbed his acoustic guitar and fled. Not to some dusty folk clubs this time, but firstly to Switzerland for a cathartic spell of writing, and then onto South Wales to record what would become his debut solo album, God Shaped Hole. Released in October 1999, again on Glitterhouse, it was a sparse, sombre, dark album which echoed his singer songwriter influences.....the likes of Tim Hardin, Woody Guthrie, Guy Clarke, Dylan, Neil Young, and, most poignantly Van Zandt and Phil Ochs. The album included an Ochs tune No More Songs, and a tribute to the now late Van Zandt, Lay Me Down. The critics were unanimous in their praise.

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 most recent 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

A new live album Crawling Through The USA, recorded during his most recent tour of N America has just been released on Valve Records, while work on a pure country duets album, with his wife, the acclaimed singer Lou Dalgleish and featuring the talents of Geraint Watkins, Martin Belmont and others, under the name of My Draling Clementine has just been completed and will be released in Summer 09.

Michael's website