DOUBLE DENIM
I have no idea what to expect when I rock up to the prison entrance. Guitar in hand, butterflies in my belly, my only frame of reference for playing acoustic guitar in a prison is Johnny Cash's performance at California's Folsom Prison. I'm sure many of you remember the live album and documentary film that followed? It's the stuff of Cash-legend. As I pass through security, I imagine a similar robust reception waiting for me on the other side of the metal detector. It isn't. Instead, there is a guard who leads me into a side room, a small PA at one end and a single row of chairs at the other. Soon these chairs are filled with inmates. I step up to the microphone, take a deep breath, and lean hard into the first chord. Forty-five minutes later the first group gives way to another. Then another. And another. And so on for the entire afternoon. If I'm honest, it's all a bit of a blur. I try to make each session fit the vibe of the men in the chairs in front of me, so I pluck songs from the ether and singing them as if my life depends on it. This is not my typical folk-acoustic guitar audience, but for some reason every note and every word feels super-charged. It's like I'm discovering these songs for the first time. Jump That Train shape-shifts into a Curtis Mayfield fuelled Gospel song, No Easy Way Back a chilling cautionary tale, Sittin' On Top Of The World a wry-lament of a lover lost, Here Comes The Blues a sobering realisation of life's thin lines. And after all that Never Can Tell and Mercury Blues are a much-needed bit of escapism. The banter's good too. Mostly questions about whether or not I know anyone famous. One fella in the last group says, “Mate, I'm concerned about your look. What's up with the double denim? Have you ever thought to ask yer missus what she thinks?" “I haven't,” I say, “but I will.”
Sunday Morning Hotel Room, Amsterdam (photo by Jo)
TOURS & GIGS WINTER 2025
Here's where & when…
January
18th - 19th Guitar Workshop, Blue Boar, Maldon, Essex
Brooks & Aaron On Tour!
23rd Newport Folk Club, South Wales
24th Cafe No 9, Sheffield SOLD OUT
25th Anteros Foundation, Norwich, Norfolk
28th The Lightship, Blyth Harbour, Northumberland
30th Paisley Arts Centre, Renfrewshire, Scotland
31st Saltburn Arts, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire
February
1st Victoria Hall, Settle, North Yorkshire
Brooks & Boo On Tour!
11th Montrose Folk Club, Montrose, Scotland
12th Glad Cafe, Glasgow, Scotland
13th The Catstrand, Dumfries, Scotland
14th Barnoldswick Arts Centre, Barnoldswick, Lancashire
15th Community Centre, Hunmanby, North Yorkshire
16th The Old Woollen, Farsley, Leeds
19th The Whitham, Barnard Castle, County Durham
20th Temperance, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
21st Folk at the Barlow, Bolton, Greater Manchester
22nd Canopy Theatre, Beccles, Suffolk
23rd Astor Theatre, Deal, Kent
24th Junction 2, Cambridge
25th Hoy At Anchor, Leigh On Sea, Essex
26th TBC Folklore Rooms, Brighton, East Sussex
27th Lyceum Folk Club, Newport, Wales
28th Maldon Town Hall, Maldon, Essex
March
1st Railway Inn, Winchester, Hampshire
2nd Sharrington Village Hall, Norfolk
Brooks Solo Charity Gig!
12th Concert For Addenbrookes Hospital Charitable Trust, Acoustic Music Nights, Newnham Croft Social & Sports Club, Cambridge
Brooks & Aaron On Tour Again!
13th Garstang Replugged, Garstang, Preston
15th Manley Village Hall, Frodsham, Cheshire
17th The Bell Inn, Bath
25th The Blue Room Sessions, Den Bosch, The Netherlands
27th Cultuurpodium De Speelplaats, Jochumhof, Steyl, The Netherlands
…And There's More HERE.
Hard-Working Staff In Office, 2025 (photo by Jo)
NEW MUSIC
A few new songs have been added to the Brooks' Songs archive on my website. The much-requested Big Sky and London Road are among the new songs I just uploaded.
Sharing Ciggies With A Bloke In The Netherlands (photo by Jo)
WELCOME 2025 PLAYLIST
I've put together a 16-minute playlist of songs to welcome 2025 and to send you all well-wishes for the new year. The download code is at the bottom of this email.
