Pineapple Folk Yuletide Gathering

Grrrrrr. If this was a blog about work, you would probably see the steam rising from your monitor everytime you point your browser at Tracks and Gigs. Am I having a bad week? Yes. But, this isn't a blog about work so I shall say no more.

Anyway, there is life and there are great upcoming gigs. Recommending a forthcoming gig is a bad idea really. As anyone who has ever seen Cat Power live will know, anything can happen at a gig. But still, all things being equal the wonderfully named Pineapple Folk Yuletide Gathering will be an amazing night.

It takes place at Union Chapel in Islington on 8th December (with additional nights in Glasgow and Manchester. Check local listings for details). Union Chapel is easily my favourite venue. Still a working church, it is such a beautiful place to see a concert and I've seen some great gigs there over the years.....Smog, Low, Iron and Wine and Willard Grant Conspiracy all spring to mind.

The line up for the PFYG is simply superb.

Opening up will be Alasdair Roberts, the Scottish singer and guitarist who plays some lovely traditional folk songs. I have yet to see him live and can't imagine a better place than the Chapel to finally hear him play.

There will also be an hour long set from The Mountain Goats (see the post from last week for more on them), which I am tremendously excited about, especially as they will most likely be playing some songs from their forthcoming new album 'Heretic Pride'.

Headlining will be Micah P Hinson. Micah is a singer-songwriter from Memphis who has led a colourful live and produced two stunning albums of country noir. 2004's 'Gospel of Progress' album recorded with the assistance of the Earlies was a stunning debut. I saw him play live twice that year, a wonderful show at The Borderline (which incidentally was the first gig I ever attended with my girlfriend) and a night at The Union Chapel supporting Iron and Wine. I have yet to see him play a full band show though and have heard these are awesome, so if anyone from Pineapple Folk is reading, will this be an acoustic or electric show??

Anyway, Micah returned last year with 'The Opera Circuit', another collection of gorgeous country, rock and folk songs. Looking forward to seeing him play again.

If none of this is enough to convince you, there will also be a 'Special Guest' and there will be roast chesnuts, mulled wine and other festive treats on offer!

Tickets are on sale now from wegottickets.com
a review of the night will appear here on 10th December.