Going toe to toe with the songs: 2012 gigs, and writing and recording plans...

 

(Performing Walking Down the Line, live onstage at the Pavilion last Sunday as part of the Lagan Sessions)

DETAILS OF a string of shows have just been posted on the SHOWS page of the website, if you'd like to know what Anthony has in the pipeline, performance-wise, for the next few months. 

There are a series of solo performances in the spring, including dates in Ards, Downpatrick and Belfast. Plans are also afoot for some In the Round gigs later in the year. And there are a clutch of gigs from now to the summer with the Ronnie Greer Blues Band, too, everywhere from Armagh to Portrush.

As the door of 2012 swings open, Anthony is working on some new material, and though there are no immediate plans to record, he confesses that he has recently been itching to start putting some things down on tape.

'I have some strong song ideas coming through,' he says. 'Strangely this time it's all lyrics and no tunes yet, but some things are starting to come together and I'm hoping to get some home demos done in the next few months, to sharpen the songs up for recording, maybe later in the year.'

And how does the material sound? 'Strange and stripped,' he says. 'Lyrically darker than ever and musically cut back to the bone, with elements of blues poking through. I'm longing to get the time to sit tight with this music in a room for a few days and beat the songs into shape.

'Either that... or they beat ME into shape.'

We'll let you know when the bell rings.