2019-03-20 FULL CONCERT - BLACK WATER COUNTY, IRON ROAD LIVE, MARCH 31, 2018

Day 22/23. Black Water County live at The Iron Road, Evesham, March 31,2018. Sorry, no sound till 2minutes 42 seconds.

One concert every day till tomorrow (March 21, our 10th anniversary)

If you missed a gig, click HERE

 

2018-07-15 VIDEOS - CAPITAINE RÉVOLTE, CELTAS CORTOS AND BLACK WATER COUNTY

The latest additions to our YouTube channel. Subscribe!

Capitaine Révolte - Gros ménage
 


Celtas Cortos - Silencio



Black Water County - Under Skies of Black and Blue
 




 

2018-02-23 VIDEOS - TEMPEST, LENNON KELLY, BLACK WATER COUNTY, Mr.IRISH BASTARD, FINNEGAN'S HELL, THE REAL McKENZIES AND RAWLINS CROSS

Seven vids that have been added tou our YouTube channel during the last 3 days!!!

Tempest - Thirty little Birds



Lennon Kelly - Mio Fratello



Black Water County - Rise and Fall



Mr. Irish Bastard - We are the Drunks



Finnegan's Hell - Shane MacGowan's Grave



The Real McKenzies - One Day



Rawlins Cross - Rock Steady



 

2017-12-10 VIDEOS - RAWLINS CROSS, BLACK WATER COUNTY, THE FEELGOOD McLOUDS

These are the latest videos that have been added to our YouTube channel. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel or follow us on Facebook. Then you'll be able to watch all the new videos before they are posted here.

Rawlins Cross - Hold You Tonight



Black Water County - Memories from Another Life



The Feelgood McLouds - State of Unrest

2017-06-02 VIDEOS - THE CROOK AND THE DYLAN'S, BLACK WATER COUNTY, LORETTA PROBLEM

Some videos that have recently been added to the Celtic Folk Punk YouTube channel. Don't miss any update, subscribe!

The Crook and The Dylan's - A Drink with the Devil



Black Water County - The Painful Truth (Lyric video)



Loretta Problem - Welcome to the Circus

 

2017-04-27 ALBUM REVIEW - BLACK WATER COUNTY "Taking Chances" (2017)

Black Water County "Taking Chances"
Release date: February 3, 2017
Running time: 44:20, 11 tracks

We have been following Black Water County from their earlier stages. Their first EP “Welcome to the Black Water County” reached the fifth slot at our Best of 2013 and their second EP "The Fellowship of the Craic" was our Best EP of 2014. Finally, after a couple of videos and a single, their debut album "Taking Chances" has been released in 2017. The five piece band is now a sextet thanks to the addition of new member Rusell Scagell on fiddle, guitars and backing vocals. Not only has he rounded the band’s sound with his fiddle, but he has also helped with the songwriting. Besides, Shan has taken a bigger “responsibility” sharing vocal duties with Tim.

“Start Something New” is the album opener. It’s a mandolin driven number that has a slight So-Cal feel. Listening to this track, everybody will be aware that Black Water County are at the forefront of the English Celtic/folk punk scene together with the likes of Roughneck Riot and Mick O’Toole.

The next cut is called “The Painful Truth”. It runs at a lower speed than the previous song, but, at the end of the song, Black Water County speed up.

“Way Down Low” is one of the highlights on “Taking Chances”. It starts with acoustic guitar and then tin whistle. Tim sings first and then Shan sings too, perfectly backed by the banjo. The last half of the song is spotless, with banjo, tin whistle and amazing fiddling.

“If Only You Were Here” is a badass number. This fast-paced song starts with great drumming and fiddling. Shan shines on lead lead vocals.

The following track is my fave, “Rise and Fall”. Firstly tin whistle and acoustic guitar. A 1-2-3 shout and Shan sings with the rest of the band backing perfectly. Banjo and tin whistle lead the theme. Shan slows down backed by the acoustic guitar and banjo and another 1-2-3 counting is the starting point for a fast-paced end.

“One More Beer Won’t Hurt” is sung by Tim and it has a punk edge. Towards the middle of the song there is a banjo, tin whistle and fiddle part backed by a Brit-pop sounding drumming. Tim sings again and the vocals become angrier and then the punk twist comes again.

Track no. 7, “Memories from Another Life” have grown on me. I liked this slow number sung by Shan, but after some spins I can say that I really love it. Acoustic guitar, female vocals, fiddle joins and then Tim sings with Shan. Andy makes a great job on drums too.

“Rambling Johnny”, a song from their previous EP, is revisited on “Taking Chances”. The new version features guests Neil Doherty on trumpet, Nick Smith on tenor sax and Géza Molnár on trombone, adding the full ska flavor.

The horns can be heard too on the next number, “No Regrets”, a song with a Brit-pop from the 80´s feel.

“Under Skies of Black and Blue” is another standout. Shan sings lead vocals on this Flogging Molly infused number. In other words, banjo and fiddle are excellent.

The album is over with “Seeing is Believing”, a ballad sung by Tim backed by tin whistle and acoustic guitar, apart from some backing vocals. Even at their slow numbers these boys and girl don’t fail.

“Taking Chances” comes in a jewel case and the eight page booklet provides all the information about the CD: line-up, guests, studio credits, lyrics and songwriters. The artwork has been made by Bradley and Shan.

Black Water County have grown up. They’re better musicians and they write better songs. But their sound is not “adult”. Quite the contrary, they’ve kept the fresh and young attitude and their songs are always catchy and addictive. A must have album.
 

Track listing:

1. Start Something New 3:01
2. The Painful Truth 3:39
3. Way Down Low 3:40
4. If Only You Were Here 3:25
5. Rise and Fall 3:50
6. One More Beer Won’t Hurt 4:23
7. Memories from Another Life 5:38
8. Rambling Johnny 3:54
9. No Regrets 3:53
10. Under Skies of Black and Blue 4:35
11. Seeing Is Believing 4:22

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Soundcloud

Click to buy

Band's store

Review by Kinksmarkham

You can also check out the album review that our friends from London Celtic Punks posted.

2017-01-22 VIDEOS - BLACK WATER COUNTY, THE REAL McCOYS AND HARLEY McQUINN

More videos have been added to our YouTube channel. Don't forget to subscribe!

Black Water County - Start Something New



The Real McCoys - Salaries & Wages



Harley McQuinn - Order of St. Viskar

2016-05-19 BLACK WATER COUNTY "One More Beer Won't Hurt" VIDEO AND FREE DOWNLOAD

Black Water County has released a new single and a video for it: "One More Beer Won't Hurt". The song is available at Bandcamp (Name Your Price, link at the bottom). If you are not familiar with this band, check out our reviews and their previous videos HERE.

Black Water County - One More Beer Won't Hurt



DOWNLOAD:


Bandcamp

THE LISTS OF THE BEST CELTIC PUNK-ROCK EPS AND SINGLES - 2014

This year I’ve decided to split the short recordings list into two lists:

a) A list of EPs and mini-albums. Recordings between 4 and 8 songs

b) A list of (digital) singles. Only 1 or 2 tracks that have been released as digital singles or videos, but they cannot be found for the moment on a full album.

I guess that this approach is better than that of the previous years.

Further comments:

1) As usual, this post is titled as “the best of”. However,  this is not  a competition, but a sort of a game. I’d say that, IMHO,  this is the list of the most enjoyable EPs/mini-albums and singles of 2014.

2) Important: Please remember that it’s a list of EPs/mini-albums and singles, not a list of bands.

4) Only the EPs/mini-albums and singles that have been received for review/airplay purposes and/or that have been shared for free by the bands have been rated. Other recordings were released in 2014, but unfortunately no copy was submitted.

5) As you can see, some recordings were released in 2012 or 2013. I’ve decided to rate them on the 2014 list ONLY after having checked that they were not reviewed on any other Celtic punk/rock e-zine in 2012 or 2013. I’ve got them in 2014 and I feel that a lot of fans didn’t notice that they were released before having read my posts about them. Then, I’ve considered them as 2014 releases.

6) No Live/radio sessions EPs have been taken into account.

7) A lot of these songs have been added to the streaming radio along the year and they are regularly played.

http://www.radionomy.com/es/radio/celtic-folk-punk/index

http://celtic-folk-punk.playtheradio.com

8) To the fans: feel free to share your comments below.

9) To the bands: it’s extremely difficult to rank every recording and I guess that some people won’t be happy. However, I really appreciate and respect the hard work by every single band. The quality of all of the recordings has been very high.

10) I’m looking forward to listening to the debut albums by most of these new bands!!!

So, these are the final lists:

EPs and Mini-albums

23 EPs/mini-albums from all over the world

13 from Europe (3 from Germany, 2 from the UK, 2 from France,1 from Austria, 1 from Hungary, 1 from Italy, 1 from Russia, 1 from Sweden, 1 from The Netherlands)

5 from North America (3 from the USA and 2 from Canada) 

1 from South America (Brazil)

2 from Asia (Indonesia, Japan)

1 from Australasia (Australia)

1 from Africa (South Africa)

01 - Black Water County "The Fellowship of the Craic"  (6 tracks) Review

02 - Captain Jack's Army "Royal Arms" (5 tracks) Review
03 - Dirty Glass "Drunken Summer Night" (5 tracks) Review
04 - Robbing Vikes "We Are Pirates" (5 tracks) Review
05 - The South Shore Ramblers "Bare Knuckle Blackout" (6 tracks) Free Download
06 - The Moorings "Nicky's Detox" (5 tracks) Review
07 - Katies Randy Cat "For the Green" (4 tracks) Review
08 - Sisters of Murphy "Holy Show (remastered 2014)" (6 tracks) Band of the Month
09 - Six Pints Left "Rebellious Radio" (6 tracks) Review
10 - Blunderbuster "s/t" (5 tracks) Free Download
11 - The McNaughstys "s/t" (4 tracks) Review
12 - Lennon Kelly "Lennon Kelly" (7 tracks) Review
13 - Shambolics "Pogue Mahone" (6 tracks) Review
14 - The Fourth Well "EP" (4 tracks) Review
15 - Middle Class Bastards "Rebel to the Core" (5 tracks) Free Download
16 - The Irish McDrinkers "Welcome to Whiskeytown" (6 tracks) Review
17 - RATS "EP" (8 tracks) YouTube videos
18 - Jolly Jackers "Call the Captain" (5 tracks) Free Download
19 - LQR "A Taste of Liquor" (5 tracks) Free Download
20 - Muirsheen Durkin and Friends  "Drink with the Irish" (5 tracks) Review
21 – (Michael & The) Wolfhounds "Wolfhounds" (5 tracks) Free Download
22 - Restless Feet "Almost Irish" (6 tracks) Review
23 - Seagulls Are Drunk "Next Round is on Us" (5 tracks) Review

(Digital) Singles

12 singles from all over the world

8 from Europe (2 from France, 2 from Hungary, 1 from the Czech Republic, 1 from Germany, 1 from Italy and  1 from Romania)

2 from North America (2 from the USA)

1 from Asia (Indonesia)

1 from Australasia (Australia)

01 - The Rumjacks "Blows & Unkind Words / Plenty" (2 tracks) Songs on Streaming

02 - Transpher "In the Night" (1 track) Video
03 - Cheers! "Drink'n'Fight" (2 tracks) Free Download
04 - Selfish Murphy "Drinking Song" (1 track) Video
05 - The Scarlet "Phoenix" (1 track) Video
06 - Toxic Frogs "Toxic Frog / Rock the Stage"    (2 tracks) Video
07 - Belly Bluster "Bucaneers" (1 track) Video
08 - LochNesz "The Cape of the Good Hope" (1 track) Video
09 - The Pubcrawlers "Kalimotxo" (1 track) Video
10 - The Ceili Family "Keep Calm and Have a Ball with The Ceili Family" (2 tracks) Videos
11 - The Waxies "Down with the Ship 2 track Sampler" (2 tracks) Free Download

12 - Black Rawk Dog "Shine & Fun" (1 track) Free Download

Thanks to all the bands for sending their music to Celtic Folk Punk and More. Special thanks to Dirty Glass for mentioning my name on the “thanks section” of their CD!!!

Enjoy!

VIDEO - BLACK WATER COUNTY "The Parson's Daughter"

Black Water County video for "The Parson's Daughter" off their second EP "The Fellowship of the Craic"

Black Water County - The Parson's Daughter"

REVIEW - BLACK WATER COUNTY "The Fellowship of the Craic" (2014)

Black Water County "The Felowship of the Craic" EP, self-released
Release date: 15 August 2014
Running time: 22:23, 6 tracks

Black Water County first work was an EP released in 2013. It showcased a young and fresh band with a huge potential: a couple of interesting covers and several kick-ass self-penned songs. Later, they released a video covering The Pogues and then it was clear that Tim Harris (lead vocals, bass), Shan Byron (vocals, tin whistle), Gavin Coles (banjo, mandolin), Bardley H-Clarke (rhythm guitar) and Andy L Smooth (drums, percussion and acoustic guitar) were moving in the right direction. This amazing band is now offering their new opus to all the Celtic punk fans and, to tell you the truth, "The Fellowship of the Craic" has every single thing I want to find on a folk punk album: no covers of overexposed standards,  but a bunch of original material; slow ballads; pub anthems to sing-along and instrumental stuff. And no sappy lyrics, but updated versions of traditional folk themes.

The EP first track is titled “Roving Man” and it gets an intimate acoustic treatment.

The following song will make you jump. Tim and Shan share vocal duties on “The Parson’s Daughter”, and awesome number on which Gavin’s banjo shines again. Black Water County moves to a territory mastered by the likes of Irish Moutarde and Celkilt.

Ska beats can be heard on “The Ballad of Ramblin’ Johnny”. Tim vocals are perfect and Shan and Gavin’s performances on tin whistle and banjo are high voltage.

“Brandy” is a ballad that I would link to Joe Dolan “The Foxy Devil”, a song which was recorded by Christy Moore. Excellent vocals by Tim and Shan again.

The next number is the sing-along on the album. If you liked Callanach “Irish Pubs”, this is Black Water County’s answer: a fun song in the Dropkick Murphys vein playing tribute to every single pub in Wimborne. By the way, all the pubs that are mentioned on the songs are real, you can find them here , here and here.

Finally, Black Water County makes me happier with a tune: “The Leaky Barrel Jig”, an instrumental with a reggae part at the beginning and brilliant mandolin.

Once again, Black Water County EP package is wonderful: a "Lord of the Rings" inspired artwork, a jewel case and a 6 page booklet including all of the lyrics and credits. And the “Parental Advisory” sticker is there too ;-)

I don’t like the term “new" wave, since it becomes old soon . There is always a new wave coming, so the previous one is not a new wave any longer. So, if you like the British Folk punk second wave (or was it third?) with bands such as Roughneck Riot and Smokey Bastard, you should know that there are a bunch of young bands pushing hard, and Black Water County is at the forefront of that wave. Come on, join The Fellowship of the Craic.


Tracklist:

1 - Roving Man 2:56
2 - The Parson's Daughter 3:32
3 - The Ballad of Ramblin Johnny 4:05
4 - Brandy 4:09
5 - All the Pubs 4:30
6 - The Leaky Barrel Jig 3:09


Website
Facebook
Reverbnation
Twitter

Click to buy

Band's Store

Review by Kinksmarkham

THE JACK RATTS - ST. PATRICK'S GIGS 2014

The Jack Ratts are preparing all the Irish classics in time for their St Patricks day celebrations.

The series of dates will start with a local gig @ The Anvil in Bournemouth on 1st March, the ‘St Paddy’s Day Whiskey Warmer’ with smashing folk punk maestro’s Smokey Bastard from Reading & kicking local Celtic Rock band Black Water County.

Then two further dates ‘The Rocky Road to Weymouth’ (Saturday 8th March @ The Lugger Inn) and Southampton ‘St Patrick’s Day Weekend Special’ (Saturday 15th March @ The Lord Nelson) will be traditionally Irish based & lead nicely up to the Jack Ratts grand finale…

ST PATRICKS DAY – Monday 17th March @ The Thomas Tripp; Will be the Jack Ratts third year in a row at the lovely spacious old age pub in Christchurch. With a lively, enthusiastic, fun loving crowd & all the finest grog on offer, the Ratts are smashing out all the best Irish reels, jigs, polka’s & ballads on banjo, mandolin, accordion & fiddle… to make St Paddy’s day extra special for all you lovely people…

THE BEST CELTIC PUNK-ROCK EPs/SINGLES LIST OF 2013

This is the list of the best Celtic punk-rock EPs/singles of 2013.

Some remarks:

1) Even if this post is titled as “the best of”, this is not  a competition, but a sort of a game. I prefer to say that, IMHO,  this is the list of the most enjoyable EPs/singles of 2013.

2) Please remember that it’s a list of EPs/singles, not a list of bands.
 

3) It’s been a little bit difficult to rate every recording, since some of them have only two songs and other recordings have 3, 4, 5 or more songs. Therefore, I’ve tried to give priority to those having more self-penned songs. Then, some singles can be in a lower position only because they have two songs and one of them is a cover. Anyway, they’re kick-ass singles.
 

4) I have rated only the EPs/singles that have been received for review purposes and/or that have been shared for free by the bands.

So, this is the final list: 20 EPs/singles from all over the world:

9 from Europe (2 from The Netherlands, 2 from Italy, 2 from the UK, 1 from France, 1 from Hungary and 1 from Ukraine)
6 from North America (5 from the USA and 1 from Canada) 
3 from Australasia (Australia)

1 from Africa (South Africa)
1 from Asia (Thailand)

Thanks to all the bands  for sending their music to Celtic Folk Punk and More

1 - Vagrant Nation "One for the Gallows" Review
2 - Brick Top Blaggers "Plastic Paddy" Review
3 - The Royal Spuds "Start Your Engines" Review
4 - The Sunday Punchers "Sea Monsters"
5 - Black Water County "Welcome to the Black Water County" Review
6 - O'Hamsters "Celtic Crew" Free Download
7 - Craic "Hold the Penny" Review
8 - Error 99 "EP" Review
9 - Fox'n'Firkin "Roppongi" Review
10 - Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards "Up the Bastards!" Review
11 - The Ramshackle Army "Anchors Aweigh"
12 - The Black Shamrocks "EP" Free Download
13 - The Scally Cap Brats "Don't Look Back" Review
14 - The Maggie Whackers "Naoned Whisky" Free Download
15 - Tullamore "Eire-Celtic Punk" Review
16 - Pirate Copy "The Shape of Piracy to Come" Free Download
17 - Fox'n'Firkin "To Hell and Back" Free Download
18 - The Scarlet "Demo" Review
19 - LQR "Boxpok" Free Download
20 - The Toilet Cats "Shamrockin' Irish Tunes" Free Download

Enjoy!

VIDEO - BLACK WATER COUNTY ft. WALK THE NIGHT

Black Water County and Walk The Night release their version of The Pogues awesome Christmas song "Fairytale Of New York" in support of the brilliant charity 'John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation' - helping young people achieve their dreams and ambitions. Released shortly for download via all major internet retailers.

Black Water County ft Walk The Night - Fairytale of New York

REVIEW - BLACK WATER COUNTY "Welcome to the Black Water County" EP (2013)

Black Water County "Welcome to the Black Water County" Self-released
Release date: August 17, 2013
Running time: 22:16, 6 tracks

2013 is a fantastic year for the Celtic/folk punk scene from the South West of England. This is the third review that I post about a band from Dorset: firstly The JackRatts, then The Devil’s Rejects and now Black Water County.

The quintet from Bournemouth has some points in common with their neighbours The JackRatts: both of them are very young and both of them have written some pirate songs. Anyway, Black Water County have their own sound and their instrumentation is a little bit different: guitars, banjo/mandolin, tin whistle/melodica, bass and drums.

“Welcome to the Black Water County”, their debut EP, consists of 4 self-penned songs, one Ewan MacColl cover and one Irish standard. The band is really tight if we take into account that they were formed at the beginning of the year. I would like to draw your attention to their banjo sound, which is in line with the likes of BlackEyed Dempseys and Vagrant Nation, two new bands from the USA.

Track one and track two are a couple of booze songs. As it has been said, they featured first class banjo picking together with great chorus. “Happy Drunk” is about a guy whose driving force is drinking . “Steaming” is the usual tale: older people blame on young people because they only think in booze and girls, but they behaved the same way when they were young.  I love the end of the song with banjo, whistle and guitar.

“Folk Sh*t Up” is another excellent lively banjo number. It has a slight The Skels influence and, IMHO, is the best song on the EP. Kick-ass number with an enjoyable end: guitar, banjo, clapping and “wo  wo wo” sing-a-long chorus.

I feel that “Pirate Song” is the second best song on “Welcome to Black Water County”. This is a mandolin driven number that everybody should be singing on “Talk Like a Pirate Day”.

Normally I prefer original compositions to covers, but I understand that new bands need time to write their own songs.  Fortunately, BWC have chosen the right track order and the covers have been placed at the end of the EP. The two covers on the EP are OK, but I feel that BWC are not as comfortable as they are when they play their own tunes. “Dirty Old Town” is fair; it’s also a mandolin number and it features an interesting guitar work on the “I’m gonna make me a big sharp axe” part. “Irish Rover” is better. It’s an upbeat banjo version and lead vocals are shared by  Tim (boy) and Shan (girl).

The following sentence is stated on the liner notes“ As with every good thing in life this EP starts with a pint of stout”. BWC are right, grab your pint and enjoy this fine EP. I’m looking forward to drinking more pints when their debut album is out.


1 - The Happy Drunk 3:31
2 - Steaming 4:10
3 - Folk Sh*t Up (Wo Wo Wo) 3:49
4 - The Pirate Song 3:38
5 - Dirty Old Song 3:28
6 - Irish Rover 3:37

Tracklist:

http://www.blackwatercounty.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/BlackWaterCounty
http://www.reverbnation.com/blackwatercounty
https://twitter.com/WelcomeToTheBWC

Click to buy "The Pirate Song" from iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/the-pirate-song-single/id692977264
 

Contact the band to buy the EP

Review by Kinksmarkham

VIDEO - BLACK WATER COUNTY "The Pirate Song"

Dorset based Celtic folk/punk band Black Water County are releasing their debut single  'The Pirate Song' on 19th September 2013 otherwise known as 'International Talk Like a Pirate Day'. This swashbuckling cracker is the first single from BWC and is lifted from their new 6 track E.P. launched recently at Mr Kyps in Poole. Since forming in February, Black Water County are setting the local music scene ablaze with their exciting foot stompin' live performances, featuring superb renditions of Irish classics and popular songs from bands such as the Pogues and Dropkick Murphys, as well as a smattering of skillfully crafted original tunes. This is the video to accompany 'The Pirate Song' .

Black Water County are a 5 piece band featuring the combined talents of:

Tim Harris (age 18) - lead vocals/bass guitar - reading Engineering at Portsmouth University
Shan Byrom (age 18) - lead and backing vocals/tin whistle/melodica - studying Fine Art at Bournemouth and Poole College
Brad Hutchings-Clarke (age 19) - rhythm guitar/backing vocals - designer
Gavin Coles (age 19) - lead guitar/mandolin/banjo/backing vocals - technician
Andy L Smooth (age 19) - backing vocals/drums/percussion - musician

www.blackwatercounty.co.uk
www.facebook.com/BlackWaterCounty/
www.twitter.com/WelcometotheBWC/
  
BWC takes it's name from Ireland's famous 'black water' i.e. Guinness/Murphys, which the band enjoys at every opportunity!

Shan and Brad's family provide the Irish connection, with Paddy, Brad's Dad a.k.a. The Shirt, assisting with graphic design (check out the flag on the Pirate Song artwork) as well as additional lyric ideas.

All original songs are collaborative writing efforts, with each member of the band contributing to the end result

The band's motto's of 'Folk Sh*t Up' and 'Love the band, hate the floor' are becoming well-known in East Dorset, encouraging audiences to stamp their feet and sing/dance along with the band

Each original tune on the EP tells a tale:

'The Pirate Song' is BWC's first release - to coincide with International Talk Like A Pirate Day and evolved from a whimsical riff created by Gavin, with lyric input from 'The Shirt'
'Folk Sh*t Up' (aka The Wo Wo Wo Song) is the band's version of stadium folk
'Steamin'' and 'Happy Drunk' were written to celebrate the band's roots in local pub culture


Black Water County - The Pirate Song (Official Video)