Jess Morgan's Webpage

So, just back from am amazing weekend on the south coast. Not brave enough to get out back on those big waves yet... but but some gorgeous waves were mine as well as the traditional sunburned chin. I've made 'The Coast' by Courtyard Hounds my summer anthem. Funny, I could've sworn this was Sheryl Crow the first time I heard this on the radio- but as usual I was wrong. Anyway here it is:-



The album sounds pretty nifty - thank you Spotify 

Kings Lynn on 25th July not happening. Acoustic Kitchen as a club-night is unfortunately no more I'm afraid. I'm really sorry if anyone from the west (of Norfolk that is) was hoping to come to that one. No plans for a gig that way at all as I'm just not familiar with any venues or promoters.
Any ideas send them this way. 


sorry about that x

sadly not any more... but thanks for the compliment!

What a busy week. Boudicca's Feast at Dragon Hall was a really great way to spend the day capped off by seeing the man, the legen, Mr Robert Cray and his band perform at the Theatre Royal later that evening. I was pretty much brought up to the soundtrack of 'don't be afraid of the dark' so it was totally surreal hearing 'that voice' coming from an actual person rather than a CD (or tape!) player.

Monday night I ended up being drafted in to play at Norwich Arts Centre at a sold-outer for Eve Selis. This was awesome. Fantastic gig - showmanship like I've never seen.

Tuesday was Wymondham Arts Festival. Totally unplugged gig in the old arts forum building with excellent acoustics and with some wicked poetry too from local students.

Wednesday night I had the pleasure  of seeing the lovely Stephanie Lambring play at a house concert including a set from my favourite folk-americana outfit The Proposition . www.theproposition.co.uk - check out their site - new single out soon.

Stephanie played some lovely songs of her own, but I'm particularly grateful to her for introducing me to this one:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKv_vJks2gM

its not the original, but I do love Linda Ronstadt.

I'd been looking forward to Folk and Blues on the HIll at Hindringham ever since it was booked into the diary at the beginning of the year. And it did not disappoint. Along with the Wymondham gig and the house concerts, I've got to love all the wonderful people that turn out to see live music night after night, they (you?) really are keeping the scene alive and making it possible for people like me to do what we do best. The sound set up at St. Martins was wonderful - it was just like playing unplugged - but amplified in such a smooth unintrusive way as was necessary this time as the church building as quite big. I'm hoping to be along in 2 weeks time to see Eddie Martin - maybe see you there too.

Its Newport Pagnell Carnival on Saturday and a set at Esquires in Bedford then I'm having week off. Phew. Heading dwon to Devon for a water-sports infused holiday with the Norfolk Surf Girls! Back in full force soon x

First visit to Cambridge Folk Club on Friday! The open-stage nights take place at The Golden Hind pub conveniently just off the A14, everyone was extremely friendly and there was a lot of talent floating around up there. I'd definitely like to go back.


The next morning I drove down to Crawley for my set at Crawley Folk Festival. It was nice to be able to play a longer set and I really enjoyed myself there - playing stuff off the album and dropping a few newbies in there too. Again, lots of nice people and a really well organised festival. I made a mistake in opting to trade my food vouchers in for a bit of a grim hog-roast ...and the bread and olives lady was a bit of a swindler too. Oh well, thats festivals for you.


Sat Nav and I had a bit of a falling out on the way home as I ended up in the short-stay car-park at Heathrow Airport. Eventually I made it home in time for an episode of Desperate Housewives, phew.


Spent a lot of Sunday helping out at 'Acle Open Gardens' selling tickets out of the boot of my wagon. Got a few songs down though - no slacking!


That night the Norfolk Surf Lifesaving Club hosted an open water swim up at Cromer, so I headed down there to see if I could swim a mile along our North Sea shore. I did it, very pleased, hope it becomes a regular thing.


Now its back to the admin - but some really really interesting gigs coming up as July begins. Please do take a look at my gigs list x

Hallo friends,


Fab weekend. Lets begin with Friday. I drove over to Leicester to be a part of the Big Session folk festival for the first time. 

Thanks to Craig Lewis form The Jitty for the snap and for being my guide for the evening. Read his write up here: http://www.thejitty.com/articles/jess-morgan-interview


We saw Cara Dillon straight after and it was the strangest thing... the ooohing and ahhhing of the football ground separated by paper-thin walls didn't for one mili-second ruin her show. I've never seen someone perform with such grace before... I'm afraid she made me feel like a tomboy from an enid blyton novel!


Managed to meet her after the gig too - hooray for the green room!


Now then, Saturday I was back at DeMontford Hall to watch my good friend Gren Bartley play - and he played a fab set of originals and traditionals with his good pal Tom Kitching.


Up early and on the road. Thanks Gren for doing all the driving. We headed up North to Beverley. Now this is a folk festival I'd been dying to get into for some time. Its crazy to think that having spent the formative years of my singer-songwritering life in York, that I haven't ventured further North than Lincoln for about four years! It was great to see some old faces and friends from the vibrant and thoroughly genuine music scene that I was lucky enough to briely scratch the surface of all those years ago. 


I played my set in a beautiful tent decorated in draped and cushions and buzzing with people collecting for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Gren and I were even privillaged enough to get to perform again (Thanks Miles) at the sort of informal finale bit in the wee small hours. Killing time in the green room we met u with Nashvillian duo Jeni and Billy. Meeting them was possibly the highlight of the day for me. Lovely lovely people and their CD is great!

So that was the weekend - I wish I could tell you more - but I've had about 5 hours sleep in 3 days so I'm not sure I'd do a great job on that.


'All Swell' has been getting some nice reviews lately and its great to know that some people are really just 'getting' the general vibe of the record. Though it won't all go to my head - it is music to my ears. 


Review from R2 mag thanks to Oz Hardwick
and a nice feature in EDP Norfolk Magazine (I wonder if Delia will read it!?)


The review from Maverick remains to be the proverbial fly in the ointment of my weekend! (** I'm putting this down to a bad combination of amateur journalism and mid life crisis ....just wish it wasn't smeared all over my pretty yellow record!)

Its been a little while since I last wrote a blog - thats not to say I haven't been busy... I've been clocking up the miles on my little Agila and many many more to go as Summer season opens up.


Friday night was my gig at High Barn down in Chelmsford. Its lovely to go to a venue with its own tea and coffee making facilities and get this - a full length mirror in the ladies loos! Met some lovely and enthusiastic people there too.


Saturday I have to say I spent mostly in a traffic jam on the M1. Thats what you get for listening to sat-nav - I saw the signs for Cambridge and it did cross my mind to go that way but instead i put all my eggs in my twenty-first-century basket and ended up in a big pile of trouble. Extremely frustrating joining the back of my very first motorway standstill - "with ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go" - as Mr James Taylor put it. Luckily I had his greatest hits (this is not blasphemy as have v.small mp3 player) and The Whybirds 'Cold Blue Sky' to pass the time.


Finally crept up to Bedford and met the talented Mr Jez Brown for a brief photoshoot and pub-grub before winging it back east with Ken Bruce's guide to the Eurovision Song Contest. Arrived back at my place just in time to see some quality stage performances. Niamh Kavanah? I'm sure she was the one who sang Destination Anywhere ... you know on The Commitments when they're all sitting on that bus and Dean (Saxophone / Kim Basenger's nipple) starts blasting it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1_C4lC-wOc&feature=fvsr


Provided a bit of background music at the Great Yarmouth Beer and Cider festival - very nice too. 


Off for a pretty though extremely raining drive up to Fakenham in North Norfolk to meet Mr Mike Coombs for my first ever guitar lesson! I was stuck behind a tractor on the Acle Straight for rather a long time. Lesson was refreshing - left on a high!


Bank Holiday Monday - lots of practising, Wrote a song in open-G tuning, saw Sex and The City 2 and really enjoyed it! SO THERE!!!!!


I hope you had a lovely long weekend too.

Wow. Just touched base after a MONSTER of a weekend.


Went to bed Thursday night preparing for the worst but woke up to find things, as we all grasped, most undecided in the political department....


In the travel department things were a little better than in previous trips - nobody read over my shoulder, talked loudly on mobile phones or hummed er... obnoxiously -? First stop - The Apple Store, Regent Street. This was my slot as part of the London-wide festival 'City Showcase' A weird'n to say the least - playing in a busy London store while people peruse macs, i-phones and all the other modern age gadgets I detest (yet secretly covert.) Played 2 25 minute sets - complete with shop alarms going off at all angles, slightly surly sound guy and a fresh burst of nerves which seem to top up as regularly as my Oyster card... I'm unconvinced that I made much of a dent this time. oh well!


One trip to Pizza express later and I was recharged. Off to the Lexington to see one of Norwich's finest exports - a band called Blighters. Seriously nice venue - no sticky floor and nice enough loos (F*ck I'm old) - nice place. Awesome band they sound as tight as their jeans.


Next day it was back to Apple to play one song in front of a panel who would critique my work. I made some great new friends today - but yet again, shoddy a performance of my song ' The Result' left me feeling disappointed. Nice feedback from Tony Moore (Promotor, The Bedford/Regal Room) Lindsay De Paul (massively successful songwriter) and Tony Christie (Is this the way to Amarillo?) 


A swift half of Strongbow later (budget) and I headed over to Highbury Corner to see The Whybirds support-set at the Garage and actually to see them vastly upstage to main act too... its always nice when that happens... as long as you're not the one being upstaged.


Next day it was to be back on the National Express Coach but heading further south to sunny but a bit nippy - Brighton. Danni Nichols's Americana Unplugged Sunday does pretty much what it says on the tin. No mics, No amps - just keepin' it real! What a fantastic treat. Liberating. I was at last, really happy with my set - it was great to play a few new songs as well as tracks from All Swell. Danni's songs are incredible - if only there had been room to dance! Look her up on myspace. The night was hitched up its final notch by US touring brotherhood - The Black Oil Brother. From Chicago and a treat for the eyes as well as the ears! 


It was a wonderful weekend - so lovely to catch up with friends and I am so grateful to Dan and Nic, Holly and Ben and Joe and his lovely lovely co-dwellers for letting me sleep on their sofas this weekend. Its people like you that indulge people like me our glint of hope in this doomed industry!! We love a bit of doom.


6 hours of sitting National Express later I am home and about to get on my Asics (other sports-shoes are available) and stretch my legs.


I hope you had a nice weekend too - thanks for reading this far - i'm impressed!

Hope you had a nice weekend.


'Let It Come' played by Lamacq on Saturday Night. Thank you Steve.



Seeing family, friends, a little bit of a surf, a sunny drive through North Norfolk, windows down, sunglasses on, with my Eagles tape on full blast, a little bit of photography (see below) and movie night. Sundays don't get much better.


Gearing up for a bit of a jog now.


Then BBC Radio Norfolk at 2pm. 

Had a great weekend in Bedford. Thanks to everyone who showed up to see me play at The Ent Shed and at The Bev-ford Arms. 


Pics up soon (Thanks to Jez Brown) ...when FlickR lets me do another upload. Fascists.

Nothing changes - just like after we played 'Summer of 69' in the School Christmas Concert  or when I saw a spider the size of my hand living in my toilet in Kenya - there's no way I can fall straight to sleep after that.


What a wonderful night!

I predicted disaster after the cold catching, eyebrow over-plucking of the morning and what seemed like millions of "sorry I can't make it" texts through the afternoon but the evening, boy oh.


Thanks SO very much to everyone who came out to support and to celebrate with me. It really was so lovely. (and for the record, the thought that goes into the "cant make it" texts is always appreciated.)


The night was kicked into shape by 3-piece Americana outfit - The Propostion. They are a 3 - piece but between them play Guitar, Bass, Drums, Banjo, Harmonica, Lap-Steel, keyboard, and Mandolin - pretty impressive but always seemless and the band are effortlessly humble about their multi-talentedness. This band are all about the songs - and they had a fantastic stack of them too. When I get to play alongside these guys it reminds me of the things I love about music. When Can I get hold of this e.p. fellas?


Jax Burgoyne had the audience in silence as she read out her short-story 'When Harry Met Sally.'  A beautifully written snapshot into the consciousness of somebody suffering from the complications of old age. This one wowed listeners in America and is my favourite story of Jax's repertoire. 


Then I got up and played songs from my album accompanied by the fabulous Rupert on fiddle. The guys is incredible. We had one rough rehearsal nearly a week or two and he just turns up and plays as if he were a character in the story. I forgot to write Workhouse on the setlist though - one for next time for sure. 


Thanks to Jason and Justin for the sound, to The Propostion for bringing their energy, songs and their following along, to Jax, to Dan McKee, to Ross and Jez for taking lots of picture which I hope to post here soon,a nd to everyone who showed even more support by buying the album. Thank you. 


Launch part two is on Saturday at the Ent Shed in Bedford. If you don't mind a bit of a drive and you want some more  then I'll look forward to seeing you there!


I will attempt to sleep now - and hope for thicker eyebrows come morning.