Southern Tenant Folk Union tour, 21 Aug.-2 Sept. 2007

Press release

A new kind of folk and country music is being made around the world today. Musicians that were brought up on punk, new wave, and indie guitar music have been rediscovering the ‘60s folk boom music from America, Ireland, and the UK, and with it their own cultural and music roots. Tired of two guitars, bass, and drums they’re picking up banjos, mandolins, and fiddles, enjoying experimenting with the ballads and rousing drinking songs of the early twentieth century rather than the latter.

London’s Southern Tenant Folk Union are just such a band, looking both forward with their modern lyrical themes and ideas whilst at the same time taking the breath of influence from groups like the Carter Family, Bill Monroe, and the Stanley Brothers…

Band founder Pat McGarvey was born in Belfast but was brought up from the age of four in Liverpool and then London. After learning the bass and deciding on a career in music, this is where he met his musical mentor Sid Griffin (from Los Angeles seminal Country Punk band the Long Ryders) and joined the Coal Porters in 1993.

Touring the world found Sid and Pat supporting artists like Los Lobos, Nick Lowe, & Joe Strummer; playing on stage alongside people of the stature of Bob Neuwirth (co-author of Janis Joplin’s 'Mercedes Benz' and legendary road manager of Bob Dylan in the 60s), Peter Case (from the Plimsouls), Steve Wynn, Bap Kennedy, and many others…

Absorbing all that American music first-hand, alongside his Irish family roots and years of experience, led eventually to the Southern Tenant Folk Union. An exciting new prospect with a highly recommended debut album receiving great radio play in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and worldwide. In Ireland both Sandy Harsch and Ralph McClean have recently played them on their Country shows, Ralph even reviewing it (it got top marks of course and was 'thoroughly recommended').

Pat first toured Ireland with Sid and the Coal Porters as a twenty-one-year-old and the ensuing 14 years found them regularly playing at festivals, arts centres, and venues like Kilkenny Roots, Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival, Letterkenny Arts Centre, the Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire, Whelans in Dublin, the Front Page in Belfast, and countless others. With great memories of Ireland’s enthusiastic music-hungry crowds in the past, it makes it doubly exciting for him to come back and for the STFU to make their Ireland live debut.

Coming up in the near future: as well as this two-week Irish tour, the band have a single out in September, the recording of a new album under way, and appearances scheduled at the Broadstairs Folk Festival, the Summer Sundae Festival in Leicester, the Spitz Festival of Country, and much more as - not only a great studio band - their live reputation grows and grows…

www.myspace.com/southerntenantfolkunion
southerntenant@yahoo.co.uk
+44 20 8838 0804 +44 7986 485048

Available upon request –
Hi-Res photo jpegs
The debut album on cd
Interviews with band members