‘Flatlands’ is the upcoming new album from KB Bayley: ten songs recorded on solo weissenborn guitar and voice - sparse, emotional, confessional. Released November 4th 2022
Cold Rain from the album Little Thunderstorms - BVs by Claudia Stark - Video editing by Nick Ross - Filmed at St. Anne’s Church, Lewes
Blood Red Lullaby from the album Little Thunderstorms. KB - acoustic guitars and vocal; Ben Glover - chorus vocal; Dean Parker - electric guitar. Video by Nick Ross.
‘Little Thunderstorms’, released Feb 2021: ‘Atmospheric playing, dusty guitar and some compelling songs. There are comparisons to Austin and Nashville, but the feel is far more the bleak beautiful coast of the North East. His songwriting influences range from James Taylor and John Prine to, most obviously, Tom Waits, but he wears the influences lightly and they never dominate the songs…’
KB - dobro, lap steel guitar, acoustic & cigarbox guitars, piano, voice
Players: Claudia Stark - Jim Cozens - Charlie Jonas Walter - Ben Glover - Dean Parker - Brin Heywood-Snell - Gavin Thomas- Glen Vaal - Adiescar Chase - Simon Small - Marc Reynolds
Songs by KB except 10 (trad.) and 11 (J. Foucault)
Recorded at home during lockdown, Spring 2020 - Mastered by George Shilling - Artwork by Will Rutt
Pic by Blackham Images @ Splash Point, Seaford, 10/20
KB Bayley
KB’s songs are a mix of influences past and present: from the early ‘70s Laurel Canyon troubadour era to contemporary Nashville songwriters; and from traditional fingerstyle folk to the rainswept seaside towns of modern Britain.
Born a Geordie and raised in the South, for many years his life in music was about making sounds and songs for other people: sessions, co-writes, live band adventures.
Somewhere early in the last decade, roots songwriting began to push hard again. “I followed the advice of my heroes - Waits, Isbell, Moreland, Peters, Foucault, Glover - and went back to the songwriting lathe.” Armed with an open-tuned Taylor, a dobro, a Weissenborn and a self-built cigarbox guitar, KB turned on the vocal mic and went from sideman to soloist.
New album ‘Little Thunderstorms’ was recorded at home during 2020’s lockdown: it’s the sound of dusty acoustic instruments and a creaking chair, with lyrics that speak of changing times, shifting sands and silent streets outside the window… “it’s an album that will take some beating as a highlight of the year.” (Americana UK)
The players on ‘Little Thunderstorms’
2021 live dates will appear here…keep the faith!
“To write a song you need three things: a place, the weather, and something to drink.” (T. Waits)
“Just because I wrote it doesn’t mean I can play it.” (J. Walsh)
