Folk star John McCusker on silver jubilee tour

Folk musician John McCusker has a busy few weeks ahead with a tour to mark his 25th anniversary and his first solo album in 13 years.
John McCuskerJohn McCusker
John McCusker

He performs at the Whitworth Centre, Darley Dale, on April 23 in support of his long-player Hello Goodbye which is due out six days later.

John’s upcoming release is the first on his new record label Under One Sky Records and the first recorded in his new state of the art studio.

Hello, Goodbye was composed while John was on a world tour with Mark Knopfler. The core musical group for the album is a cast of handpicked musicians with whom John has worked over the past quarter of a century: James Mackintosh, drums/percussion (Shooglenifty, The Blue Nile, James); Ewen Vernal, bass (Deacon Blue, Capercaille); Ian Carr, guitar (Eddi Reader, Julie Fowlis, Swap); Michael McGoldrick, whistle (Mark Knopfler, Capercaille, Sharon Shannon); Andy Cutting, melodeon (The Who, June Tabor); Tim O’Brien (Grammy Award Winning US bluegrass star); Phil Cunningham MBE, accordion (Bonnie Raitt, Nicola Benedetti) and acclaimed Irish singer Heidi Talbot.

Since 2008, he has been a member of Mark Knopfler’s band, playing arenas around the world including a double bill with Bob Dylan at The Hollywood Bowl and 20 nights at the Royal Albert Hall.

An expanding portfolio as a producer features debut albums by Kris Drever and Idlewild’s Roddy Woomble. He’s also manned the controls for top folk chanteuses Eddi Reader, Heidi Talbot, Eliza Carthy and Linda Thompson.

Tickets for his concert in Darley Dale cost £16.50. Contact www.peakconcerts.co.uk/event/john-mccusker/