Roman Candle is thrilled to welcome Dylan Earl and Jude Brothers, with special guest Tom Blackwell, to Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds, on Thursday, September 5th.  

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DYLAN EARL

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On Dylan Earl‘s third full-length album, “I Saw the Arkansas,”. . . he further hones the very convincing loner country-boy schtick and image he’s been cultivating ever since he left Swampbird. His signature croon - hushed and sleepy and stretching for the lowest and saddest notes - drifts over spare upright piano flourishes and unhurried pedal steel like someone slowly driving a truck through open landscapes, cursed by wanderlust. Standout tracks include “White Painted Trees” and “Buddy.” 
-Daniel Greer, Arkansas Times

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I’m from where I woke up this morning. I write the songs that come to mind and struggle with the ones that don’t. I find humour in misconceptions and solace in laughter, love in the street and fire in the eyes of the marginalized. I prefer facts over alternate facts. I’m here to shoot you straight, although sometimes I fire from the hip. 

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I was born a Cajun in Lake Charles, Louisiana at the end of the 1980s. When I was a boy, I was naturalized by the Natural State, then became a man. I plan to die in Arkansas. I dream of the raven riding thermals along the cliffs of the Ouachita. I’m blessed by the monks of Subiaco and silent with it’s hills. Sometimes my boots are tugged by the Calcasieu mud. A cold beer goes further than you think; “don’t give me two unless you’ve got 12 more” my buddy always says. I used to ride the levee at night and shoot at the moon. I used to run with the boys in Logan County, that’s also in Arkansas. I used to hold my breath in church until I saw stars just to see if Jesus would come down off that cross and save me. I used to hide from my brother, now I just hide from the cops. The sound of a dog drinking water is my favourite sound. I’ve never written all the songs I wish I had, but I’ve got 3 albums you can find on me or the internet. I used to be in a band called Keyless Gentry…we did one show. I spent all my 20s sweating on guitars, I hope to do it all my 30s. I spend most of my time behind a wheel, getting to you. 

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Growing up, my mom played all her country tapes in our ’89 econoline. I love those songs almost as much as our memories. 

 

It was my mother 
Who first took me to the country 
I’m indebted to her 
Not only in Love 
But also in Time 

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Say no to fascism

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-DEARL

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JUDE BROTHERS

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Jude Brothers is a folk derived singer-songwriter from Arkansas, with a penchant for whimsy and tender heartedness. Brothers’ distinct writing style is marked by congenial contrasts: passionate & playful, calculated & relaxed, approachable & quirky. 

Their lyrics communicate a simultaneous existential dread and intoxicating thrill of living and loving, a practice in raw and shameless vulnerability shared through song. All of this is transmitted through nimble vocal frolicking- a shapeshifter voice crawling, leaping, pirouetting through a mystical landscape of their own creation.  

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…Let’s say you are in a forest, and you don’t know how you got there. A strong voice lilts from an autumnal quiet to a riveting loud stream to sing you the spell of their story. Is it a mockingbird? The spirit of an ash tree? A mischievous, but benevolent forest sprite?  

Nay! Tis but your new friend, Jud. Or Jude. Or Judith. With harp, guitar, and sometimes tenor banjo in tow, this freaky little Ozark bard comes bearing gifts- songs from somewhere between the real and the ethereal landscapes of their life.   

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"There's something deeply captivating about Jude Brothers, something that brings all other surrounding noise or rush to an utter calm. Be it through their comforting lyrical storytelling, angelic melodic trills or whimsical performances, the Arkansas artist has a unique charm that's set to take off in 2023.  

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"If you can catch them live then don't miss the opportunity, trust us. Prep for tears and goose bumps, though - Jude Brothers speaks straight to the soul." 
-Ciara Bains, Holler Country 

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"Solo Arkansas singer-songwriter Jude Brothers delivered a mesmerizing set behind their harp. Their voice aches with a high Ozarks mystery, beautiful and haunting, while their songs wind like kudzu through long ballads and existential inquiry." 
-Doug Freeman, The Austin Chronicle 

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“Alternating between banjo, harp, and guitar, Brothers’ emotive performance recalled the likes of Gillian Welch, Joanna Newsom and Karen Dalton.” 
-Jonny Leather, Mecca Lecca 

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“-a powerful songwriting force conveying emotive lyricism, freak-folk stylings and sick-ass harp.” 
-Alex De Vore, Santa Fe Reporter

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TOM BLACKWELL

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Now based on Teesside, Tom Blackwell emerged from the Manchester folk club circuit, where he discovered the country, blues and gospel music that would become the foundations of his work. 

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Between 2010-2011 a succession of homemade recorded demo collections garnered somewhat of a cult following. In 2012 The Viper label of Liverpool (Edgar Jones) released a compilation of these tracks. The record received support from BBC Radio 2 & 6 Music.  

 

After a tumultuous start to 2014, Blackwell found himself embarking on a 3 month pilgrimage of America. Armed only with a guitar and the clothes on his back, he travelled thousands of miles over rail and bus, before a chance meeting in Nashville with sound engineer Matt Wyman led to the recording of Tyrone The Gun. The album found critical acclaim and named as one of Country Music People magazine's albums of the year in 2015

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In 2018 he decided to undertake an archive project to document his early material in the barest of forms. The ‘Memphis Volumes’ were just that, hushed vocal and guitar takes captured in various Merseyside dwellings onto an old Tascam cassette recorder.

 

His second official long player, Regency Cafe was released in the late summer of 2023

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A prolific writer with a visceral and dynamic performance style, Blackwell has been performing across the UK and beyond for the last 15 years, honing his craft both on and off stage.