The Long Run are taking the not-so-long run from Canvey Island to Chelmsford (19 miles actually) for a headline show.
The Oil City four-piece will play at Chelmsford’s Hot Box as part of Folk Sunday on 26 March. Please click here for tickets. Before the main act, the floor will be open for guest acts to showcase their talent as well. If you play, you don’t have to pay!
The Long Run are following Dr Feelgood’s trail
The Long Run is infused with the Thames Delta Blues of their Canvey forebears. The RnB twang and shuffle of the late, great Wilko Johnson evident in their songwriting. However, the band offer something more dynamic in some ways, particularly through the gravelly, soaring vocals of frontman Darren Jones.
Recalling the glam-folk stylings of The Strawbs’ Dave Cousins, Jones also swaps his guitar for an electric mandolin, which gives the rock elements a Celtic/Folk twist. Their set is heightened by their choice of trad covers. They often provide a startlingly good take on Nic Jones’ version of ‘Barrack Street’. (Jones is an Essex folk legend who is much loved by the band.)
The band formed back in 2005 by a bunch of Canvey schoolmates. Clad in their uniform of denim, leather boots, and beards they do have the look of a proper gang. Their latest album The Land Of Cana’s People is a touching ode to their home turf.
The new LP celebrates the group’s roots
‘Jumping The Jetty’ lyrically recalls Dr Feelgood’s debut album. It is a simple paean to the joys of childhood growing up on the ‘Island’. ‘That’s When I Know’ is a lilting folky love letter to Canvey that namechecks local spots and gives the album a personal geography, which is uplifting and wistful in equal measure. ‘The Ballad of John’, ‘The Smuggler’s Take’, and ‘The Night of ’53’, which charts the terrible flood that engulfed the estuary coastline, hitting Canvey particularly badly, gives the glam prog rock stylings a traditional edge.
So, what are you waiting for? Dig out those long-lost running shoes and hot-foot it to the Hot Box to catch one of the county’s best rhythm and blues acts going.
Preview kindly submitted by Joe Harvey.