“The Festival circuit has missed a trick here; as these cats could easily be the second on the bill to anyone; but with the caveat that they could easily blow many a headliner off the stage” – Rocking Magpie Mag

“Too good to be underground. You are listening to masters at work” – Andy Thorley -Maximum Volume

“Live 55 presents Grays’ unique take on Texas country Rock” – Maximum Volume Music Mag

“Texas Rock Yorkshire Style!” – Vive Le Rock Mag

“Very Americana gasoline fuelled opiate”- Folking.com

“Una buena noche apoyado en la barra del bar con una pinta de cerveza bien fresquita en la mano” – (“A good night waning against a bar with cold beer”) Ruta 66 Tiempos  de Rock N’RollI

“Outstanding Americana…bringing magic to the simplest of songs”- Americana  UK

“Wonderful uptempo Country Rock…this is the sound of musicians in a room having a good time”- Northern Sky Magazine

“Warm expressive vocals and gorgeous melodies”- American Roots

“Modern and fresh..Gram Parsons in the 70s..Ash unites the contemporary with reverence for his musical heritage” Peter Tomkins-Rock And Reel Magazine

“Gray is an engaging storyteller…an artist who makes old time music feel effortlessly contemporary”- JH – Country Music Magazine

“Cosmic country vibe crashing into West Coast psychedelia”- Dave Franklin-Dancing About Architecture

“Gravitating between an easy going singer-songwriter approach and harder hitting,electrically drenched, country rock”- Christopher James Sheridan- Folking.com

 

QUICK BIO

THE LONG STORY

ASH GRAY

ASH GRAY: TEXAS TROUBADOUR

Ash Gray is a troubadour in the truest sense.

Born in US East Coast steeltown of Pittsburgh, the middle son of expat Yorkshire parents, he’s had an eye on the highway practically ever since he was old enough to play a gig.Raised in Austin, Texas – the Live Music Capital Of The World – Ash cut his musical teeth on the vibrant East Sixth Street, South Lamar and beyond, playing for tips in roots-rock bands like Roosterbilly and The Self-Righteous Brothers. It was with this latter mob that he headed to London with in the late 90s, where he was welcomed onto the nascent alt.country scene, quickly becoming a draw at such iconic venues as The Weavers, The 12 Bar and the Kashmir Club.

As visits increased their regularity, the band was reshaped with an Anglo-US line-up as The High Class Family Butchers. Achieving notoriety (and airplay) with their back-porch covers of pop classics and guerrilla-gigging, the Butchers have continued over the years with a flexible line-up including members of Menlo Park, The Ralfe Band and Seth Lakeman’s band. For a time they even included Harper ‘Son of Paul’ Simon.

Maintaining Stateside operations, Ash also found time to travel up the West Coast to San Francisco and Portland, before settling for a number of years in New York City. Initially scratching that hard-rock itch as guitarslinger with legendary Epic recording artists The Cycle Sluts From Hell, Ash shifted gear, forming the acoustic folk-pop harmony band Ash Gray & The Girls, celebrating the album Born In The Summer with a four-night stand at SXSW in Austin in 2012.

Pinballing between NYC and his Texas hometown, Ash finally bit the bullet, recording his debut solo album Once I Got Burned, with such Austin luminaries as Dave Biller (Dale Watson, Wayne Hancock), John Hagen (Lyle Lovett) and producer Chris Burns (Asleep At The Wheel, Jerry Jeff Walker, Dale Watson).

Returning to the UK, Ash decided to rediscover his roots, eventually setting up base in Sheffield. Falling in with the Steel City’s own acoustic and Americana scene, Ash has been gigging regularly across the UK, both solo and with his band The Burners, performing three separate shows at the 2016 Tramlines Festival, including a set from his Austin rock band Couch Fire.

Ash continues to divide his time fairly equally between Austin and Sheffield (and London and NYC as time allows). His latest activities, though have involved a new destination: he’s been active in helping to promote the creative partnership between Austin and its ‘sister city’, Angers in France, which involves a series of reciprocal events in both cities.

Taking his lead from one of Texas’ greatest musical sons, it seem Ash Gray just can’t wait to be on the road again.
-Gerry Ranson,

Thanks for exploring Ash Gray Music! Visit here regularly for upcoming tour info and other live events. Also see other links to get latest music,buy CDs, and free downloads.

 

CHICKENWIRE ALBUM REVIEW

Texan songwriter Ash Gray returns in the New Year with his second solo album Chickenwire. Having relocated over the past decade from Austin to Sheffield via New York City, Ash is, in the truest sense, a troubadour, falling in with likeminded folk wherever he ends up.

Nowhere is this better exemplified than on Chickenwire. Ash recruited friends from the Sheffield music scene to lay down the basic tracks, later inviting musicians from back home in Austin to add their own touch. Ash then collaborated with noted Austin producer Chris ‘Frenchie’ Smith (Meat Puppets, Datsuns, Dandy Warhols etc) on the final mix. The end result blends country and bluegrass with untertones of psych, rewriting the grand Austin tradition of the ‘cosmic cowboy’.

Born and raised in the US, Ash began travelling to the UK at the end of the 90s, where he formed punkgrass outfit The High Class Family Butchers with future members of Menlo Park and Kings Of The South Seas, doing brisk business at the forefront of the London alt.country scene. Winding up in NYC, he took the guitar job in legendary biker band The Cycle Sluts From Hell, before forming the psych-pop ensemble Ash Gray & The Girls, releasing the acclaimed album Born In The Summer. Later retracing his Yorkshire roots, he finally released his debut solo album Once I Got Burned in 2014. Most recently he’s been helping facilitate the musical twinning of his hometown with the city of Angers in western France.

“Ash has a penchant for a killer melody” Beat Surrender
“Convincing and effective” RnR
“Indie country with a blazing attitude” Maverick
“Without characters such as Ash Gray the music business would be the poorer”
American Roots UK

https://ashgraynews.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ashgraymusic/
Tweets by Ashgraymusic

plus support from one of sheffields newest bands on the rise.

Tom Marrison – Vocals/Guitar

Greg Deller – Keys/Vocals

Jack Marrison – Guitar/Vocals

David Green – Drums

Jack Copson – Bass Guitar

Bone Broke Kings are a blues rock band based in Doncaster.

Inspired by sounds such as The Black Keys, Black Pistol Fire, The White Stripes, Cream, The Doors, The Zombies, Supertramp, and Led Zeppelin;  their music lives in both the dark and the light. Songs such as ‘Blow Em’ Out’, ‘Basement Blues’, and ‘Emily Rose’ are driven by energetic guitar riffs , hard hitting drums and ground moving bass. These are contrasted by a lighter retreat into mellow, melodic tracks such as ‘Five Foot Angel’ and ‘Shine A Light’ where the rhythm section becomes, paradoxically, a soporific yet mesmerizing, sonic backdrop to the sounds of Fender Rhodes pianos, Hammond Organs, and an exploration of the higher melodic end of the bass guitar.

For those who like it dark and slow then the vocal and piano driven ‘Ruby Sunset’ and the pseudo-psychedelic ‘Don’t Wait For Me’ are a must listen. Whatever your flavour, every Bone Broke Kings song is laced with exquisitely phrased vocals and guitars that, at times, seem to switch from Hendrix to Harrison with seamless dexterity amidst a whirl of unique sonic power.

Bone Broke Kings have previously released singles ‘Blow ‘Em Out’, ‘White Queen’,  and ‘Emily Rose.’ They are currently busy recording their second album, as well as a host of new Singles at Superfly Studios in Ollerton, Nottinghamshire.

Their debut album ‘Ruby Sunset’ is AVAILABLE NOW on CD, Vinyl Pre Order, Digital Download as well as all major streaming platforms.

Singles ‘Emily Rose’ and ‘White Queen’ taken from the album have already been released. Their first single, ‘Blow em out’ has been re-recorded and re-released in its new form.

Also available is a live version of the albums lead single ‘Ruby Sunset’, filmed on location at Superfly Studios.

The band regularly gig in and around the South Yorkshire and East Midlands area and have become regulars at venues such as The Leopard, Vintage Rock Bar, West Street Live, The Imperial, The Church House, and The Navigation to name a few.

Industry Quotes 

‘White Queen’ – Contemporary Blues/Rock at its best” 
Rock Shotz Soundz

‘They must be the finest band in Doncaster, in my opinion’ 
Doc Mason – Peterborough City Radio

‘Its fresh, its funky, I really like it.’ 
Sound Pylon podcast (on white queen)

Bone Broke Kings