Charles Esten - "Love Ain't Pretty" tour
Peter Anderson • Apr 18, 2024
"in addition to making such great music,
he [Charles] is one of the great people of the world."
Bob Harris on Radio 2
Multi-talent Charles Esten released his independent debut album "Love Ain't Pretty" back at the beginning of the year, which prompted the quote above. Esten, who will be returning to the UK in April for a headline run of shows, wrote all 14 songs on Love Ain’t Pretty, in tandem with hitmakers like Jon Nite, Eric Paslay, Gary Burr, Leslie Satcher, and more.
The album explores life, love, and the passing of time through the lens of a travelled and tested everyman, who has never lost his innate sense of wonder, or his wide-open soul. Vividly detailed and filled with the emotional daring of a celebrated storyteller – both onscreen and onstage – Charles dives into wide-ranging themes of earth-shattering romance, big-picture reflection, and more.
“The throughline of this album is right there in the title: ‘Love Ain't Pretty,’” Esten shared “Life can be hard, and there are moments when it can wear anyone down. In those times, you need strength and maybe a little more faith. So, there's some real seriousness throughout." Love Ain’t Pretty, produced by Marshall Altman (Frankie Ballard, Marc Broussard, Matt Nathanson) to sculpt a calm, controlled, and beautifully contoured sound, blending the forward momentum of Country Rock with Rootsy small-town charm, and a warm, soulful vocal.
It is a culmination of a lifetime of growth, and like its title suggests, it hasn’t always been pretty, but it has been a beautiful ride. Now it is a journey that takes Charles on a trip around Europe, beginning with a concert on April 20th at Edinburgh's Usher Hall and finishes at the end of the month at Birmingham Town Hall. For further information, please check out his website & social media
charlesesten.com Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube TikTok
Image above (c) Kirsten Balani
Catfish lead vocalist and guitarist Matt Long was diagnosed with bowel cancer a year ago, and recent scans revealed that the cancer had spread to his liver and stomach lining. Matt’s mum Fiona Long has also set up a GoFundMe page aiming to raise £100,000 for private treatment in the US for his cancer treatment. As a result of this significant and global support for Matt Long and his family, the blues, rock, and music community will be coming together for a series of five special benefit shows across the United Kingdom with each being held at a different venue and location which holds a special place in Catfish’s heart. A description on the Crowdfunder reads: ‘ Matt has been battling bowel cancer for just under a year and despite surgery and chemo, his latest scan shows that the cancer has spread into his liver and stomach lining. His cancer team have said although there is the option of trying a different type of chemo, they don’t hold out much hope that it will cure him and is likely to at best extend his life a little.' ' There is an option to have a sample of the tumour sequenced which will give us the maximum amount of information on its make up, which will then show the cancer team exactly what drugs to use to damage it - to either slow it down, or there is just a small chance that they may be able to kill it.' ‘ Obviously, we want to give him access to absolutely everything that might give him a chance. The only access to this treatment is via the private route which is going to be expensive - just the sequencing, which involves sending a sample of the tumour to the USA to a specialist lab, is a little under £3k and any drugs will apparently be about £3k a month after that. We will fund what we can as a family, but obviously any ‘fighting fund’ you can give us would be very much appreciated.' ‘ Without any treatment, his cancer team have told us he won’t make it past the end of this year. With the access to sequencing, if it turns out to be something specific they have drugs for, he may have a 15% chance of survival. That has to be worth a shot .’ To Donate to the GoFundMe visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/matt-long-cancer-treatment-fundraiser All funds from all the shows will go directly towards Matt Long’s medical treatment fund. A different multi-talented lineup (as well as some unannounced special guests) will perform at the following (Lineups subject to change): Wednesday 8th May 2024 – The Wrotham Arms, Broadstairs, Kent Zac Schulze Phil Woolett/John Doe Trio Katie Bradley Nigel Feist Dave Good Dudley Ross Please Call Jackie on 07814 344 969 for tickets and more information. Sunday 19th May 2024 – Thameside Brewery, 1 Hale Street, Staines, Surrey, TW18 4UW Laurence Jones Greg Coulson True Strays Mike Ross Alice Armstrong Bad Influence With Jess Hayes Martin Abrahams Band Thomas Heppell Ticket Price: £30.00 Each Timings: Doors at Noon Music from 1pm Till 10pm (UK Time) Ticket Link: https://thamessidebrewery.co.uk/data/ETBooking.php Saturday 1 st June 2024 – The Bear Club, Mill Yard, 24A Guildford St, Luton LU1 2NR John Verity (Argent) Del Bronham (Stray) Robin Bibi The Big Wolf Band (UK Blues Award Nominees 2024) Ticket Price: £20.00 Each Timings: Doors 6.30pm / Music 7.30pm Ticket Link: https://www.the-bear.club/whats-on/stand-together-against-cancer/01-06-24 Friday 28th June 2024 – The Forum, Borough Rd, Darlington, DL1 1SG John Verity (Argent) Ash Wilson Rebecca Downes Andrew Pipe Emma Wilson Lorna Fothergill Plus The Forum House Band consisting of: Jamie Pipe on Keyboards (The Mentulls & Danny Bryant) Steve Amadeo on Bass (Aynsley Lister, Ian Parker and Ben Poole Bands) Alvin Sephton on Drums (More T Vicar & The Defenders) Ticket Price: £25 Each Timings: Doors: 6.00pm Showtime: 7.00pm Ticket Link: https://theforumonline.co.uk/events/fundraising-concert-for-matt-long-catfish Sunday 30th June 2024 – (Low Ticket Alert), Jim Marshall Auditorium, The Stables, Stockwell Ln, Wavendon, Milton Keynes MK17 8LU Brave Rival Kris Barras When Rivers Meet Will Wilde Chantel McGregor The Cinelli Brothers Ben Poole Alice Armstrong Ticket Price: £49.50 Each (Price Includes Fees) Timings: 6pm Showtime until 10pm Ticket Link: https://stables.org/event/stand-together-the-concert-for-matt-long Matt Long Photo ( c) Silfan van der Kaap
Bethlehem Cultural Festival has announced a new international graffiti art project, Palestinian street artist Taqi Spateen is coming to the UK to create large-scale murals with local street artists in five locations. So far, Jimmy C and Ciaran Glöbel confirmed, more artists to come. Spateen has been liaising from Palestine with the artists about the plans, both logistical and artistic, for the murals they will create. The locations are still being chosen, factoring in visibility to the public, footfall - and vitally how long each mural will stay in place before being painted over. Depending on light and weather, the artists plan to paint every day working towards a public unveiling on the final day in each location. Palestinian artist and activist Taqi Spateen is in the UK to work with work with artists and communities in Leeds, Glasgow, Bristol, Stroud and London to create five large-scale murals. Street artists Ciaran Glöbel in Glasgow and Jimmy C in London are already confirmed. More artists and the exact locations for the murals will be confirmed in the coming weeks. Glasgow-based Ciaran Glöbel, with fellow artist Conzo Throb, was behind the fake Banksy - a rat wearing a union jack bowler and banging a drum emblazoned with the words “God Save the King” - which appeared in the city last June. The stunt was intended to highlight the hypocrisy surrounding street art and graffiti, where some artworks are praised and valued and others are dismissed and removed. Glöbel was the subject of a 2018 BBC Arts short film, Hands On, about his work as an artist, graphic designer and signwriter. Australian-born and London-based, Jimmy C (James Cochran) was a vital part of the development of the graffiti scene in Adelaide, known for his aerosol art murals and his work in city and regional communities across Australia. His urban realist narrative paintings often depict marginalised humans in the context of the urban environment. On 8th May, Spateen arrives in Leeds to begin working with a group of local street artists in collaboration with East Street Arts and the Leeds Palestine Film Festival. On 17 May, he travels up to Glasgow to team up with Ciaran Glöbel, one of the artists behind the recent fake Banksy in the city. On 27 May, he heads to Bristol to work with a team of artists as part of Upfest, Europe’s largest street art and graffiti festival. On 1 June, he goes to Stroud to work with Stroud Valleys Artspace (SVA) and the Picturedrome Theatre, Gloucester. From 6 to 15 June, he will be teaming up with Jimmy C in London. Taqi Spateen has created many murals on the wall including The Boy with the Goldfish Bowl, showing a child with what is left after the destruction of his childhood home, a series of portraits of George Floyd, and his collaboration with the brand The North Face, Walls Are Meant For Climbing. Now creating and exhibiting internationally, Spateen draws inspiration from the Palestinian countryside, particularly the olive tree, one of the most famous of all Palestinian symbols. His more recent paintings also include depictions of mass urbanisation and colonial settlements on his precious homeland. Graffiti art is a major cultural force in Palestine. In August 2005, UK street artist Banksy and his team painted seven large murals on a section of the 440-miles-long West Bank Wall, also referred to as the Separation Wall. Since then, the wall has gone on to become a hotspot for the graffiti scene, a major tourist attraction and a powerful work of art in its own right. The Festival’s creative director, Melissa Scott, says: " We are excited to be able to facilitate collaborations between Taqi and UK-based street artists. We hope the resulting murals will be a lasting legacy demonstrating our hopes to eliminate the walls and borders that divide us as humans. We continue to be devastated by the violence inflicted on all our friends, artists and cultural practitioners in Palestine.” For up to date information about the murals in each location and the street artist involved, please got to https://www.bethlehemculturalfestival.com/ Images Taqi Spateen (below); Jimmy C (above)