Award-winning live Americana at the Electric Palace

Coming up on Friday 4 October, enjoy award-winning country-tinged folk rock at the Electric Palace cinema in Hastings Old Town. In advance of the show, Annie Waite speaks with the performers – a trio of big names in Americana: Danny George Wilson (aka Danny Champ), alongside his long-time friends and musical collaborators, Hastings-based husband and wife team, Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou.

Rounding off a mini joint headline tour of the UK this Autumn, Trevor & Hannah-Lou and Danny will be performing songs from both their extensive back catalogues in an acoustic format that will delight long-time fans of these much-loved acts.

If you were lucky enough to witness the previous time Danny George Wilson paid the Electric Palace a visit, back in 2015, playing alongside folk rock heroes Peter Bruntnell and Neil Halstead, you’ll know what a thoroughly vibrant and joyful show to expect this time round.

“I really loved playing at The Electric Cinema a few years ago with Pete and Neil, so it’s a thrill to be returning. I’m a fan of Hastings and have quite a few friends living in the area these days. Myself and Trevor & Hannah have made a lot of music together over the years and I’m a big fan of the pair of them, musically and as great friends, so it seemed like a lovely idea to hang out and play some gigs. The show will be pretty easy going…no costume changes or stage monsters…but I imagine we’ll be doing a few songs together…it’ll be fun.”

From Maiden Voyage to Champ Camp

Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou have crafted a rich tapestry of folk-laden songs over a number of years, from their time fronting Indigo Moss through to last year’s critically acclaimed ‘Fair Lady London’ masterpiece, recorded for Wilson’s own Maiden Voyage Recording Company label.

Danny is always evolving, busy with new projects and touring tirelessly with various bands including, most recently, the Americana Music Association UK award-winning band Bennett Wilson Poole. He is the frontman of Danny and the Champions of the World (and before that, the acclaimed Grand Drive), co-runs a music label and also the Union Music Store in Lewes. So, what else can we expect in the next few years… Strictly Come Dancing?

“Ha, yes I’ve been approached by Strictly, but they didn’t think that my particular take on Dad dancing would cut the mustard,” Danny jokes. “There’s a new Champs album in the works and a new Bennett Wilson Poole album pretty much done so there’ll be at least a couple of new albums out after the New Year at some point. We have discussed doing a little mini festival at some point, working title ‘Champ Camp’…we’ll see!”

Documenting tours on film

As part of the first incarnation of Danny and The Champions Of The World, Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou and Wilson’s musical paths have crisscrossed a number of times over the years, and these shows provide the latest instalment of their combined creative journeys.

The gig night in Hastings will open with a short film by Trevor Moss – There’s Something Happening Somewhere. The film documents The Magic Numbers’ Runaway Tour, on the road with Danny Wilson and Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou in the UK in 2011.

There’s Something Happening Somewhere was the first film Trevor made, and documents the band on tour, along with Danny, supporting The Magic Numbers. The title is taken from the Springsteen song Dancing In The Dark – “a dressing room warm-up we all used to do,” says Trevor, “which corresponds to the disjointed and disorientating nature of the film, where place and time can be hard to follow, which is what touring is often like.

“I’ve made a few short films,” he continues. “They are tour documentaries made by shooting short bursts of film for only a few seconds at regular intervals to compile a stop-motion montage in-camera of the journey in real time. It was inspired by discovering all my mother’s old Super 8 film, where every special occasion, owing to the cost of the film, was captured for but a few seconds, so the years rattled by, Birthday, Holiday, Christmas, Birthday, Holiday, Christmas.”

The film describes the reality of touring, Trevor says, as the shows are given as much or as little respect as all the hanging around, motorways, service stations and so on. “It is also a practical solution to documenting a tour, by not coming home with hundreds of hours of film to edit,” says Trevor.

Americana exodus down the A21 to Hastings

Hastings (and the South Coast in general) has become something of an Americana hotspot in recent years. Trevor and Hannah-Lou run the monthly Lantern Society acoustic open mic evenings at Printworks in America Ground, having started the club in London a decade ago. Other players like Pepe Belmonte and Jason McNiff who used to frequent the London club have now moved to Hastings, too. Jason runs his Sundowner session at the Jenny Lind pub every Friday evening. “Hastings is a town where artists can survive and dedicate time to what they do, and good songwriting takes time, so it will continue to attract artists forever, I hope,” says Trevor.

Other local names on the scene that Trevor and Hannah-Lou also recommend are songwriters Tim Hoyte and Hayley Savage, who “deserves to be a superstar.”

A few songs about Hastings you can expect to hear on Friday include Up Mercatoria, Minds On The Run and Two Strangers, written by Hannah-Lou after the pair first visited Hastings and stayed for a couple of days in the Jolly Fisherman B&B, back when it was Foyles.

Cinema tips for the season

As this show will be at a cinema, can you share some of your cinematic favourites coming up that you suggest readers really should see?  Hannah: “I can’t wait until the annual Electric Palace showing of It’s a Wonderful Life at Christmas. Classic!”

…You can book for the film now on the Electric Palace website, when you snap up the remaining tickets for the live music show on Friday 4 October!

Book now: Danny George Wilson and Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou live at the Electric Palace, Friday 4 October

Check out the bands:
www.tmandhl.com and www.dannyandthechamps.com

 

Also in: Film

« New jass quartet: Quad Squad
Marcio da Silva, music director of the Hastings Philharmonic Choir and the Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra »