My birthday present to myself

[oliverjbgray]

... but I would like you to join me!

We're having two special Swiss Cottage shows on 2 and 3 September.

The first is an artist I have always adored - Lee Bains from Alabama. Revered as a punk poet (He's played twice before for us at the Railway), this is a solo acoustic performance - Lee has a book of poetry out this autumn.

Lee Bains is a songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama, who, since 2012, has released four studio albums of what Rolling Stone once called “Southern gospel punk." His music has received acclaim from the likes of The New York Times, NPR, Mojo, Uncut, Sonic Magazine, and the Guardian. His most recent album, Old-Time Folks, was released by Don Giovanni Records in 2022, and explored stories of People’s movements in the Deep South. He will release a live solo album on Don Giovanni in 2026. He has collaborated in live performance and on recordings with artists including Lonnie Holley, Moor Mother, Pussy Riot, and Algiers. After first having his poems published by The New Yorker in 2021, Lee will see his debut poetry collection, WORK LUNCH, published by Hub City Press in October 2026. In addition to touring around the U.S. and Europe, Lee has lent his music to support striking coal miners, immigrants’ rights groups, abortion funds, and anti-racism organizations. He has performed and read at Emory University, the University of Mississippi, Tulane University, Auburn University, and The Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden).

PRESS FOR 2022'S OLD-TIME FOLKS

"The latest from Alabama singer-songwriter Lee Bains is a roots-punk

masterpiece."

- Rolling Stone

"Lee Bains and the Glory Fires are known for their Southern punk rock bangers.

But ... their latest album also includes country-adjacent ballads and dad rock — if

your dad is an anti-capitalist preacher on unionized resistance and anti-racism."

- Washington Post

“Bains… specializes in erudite, poetic protest songs. The band's fourth album,

Old-Time Folks … is its magnum opus, across which Bains' sweeping, anthemic

songs become a channel to the South's past and present. He explores how the

region has been misrepresented and sabotaged, and he pays tribute to those who

have resisted oppression, from Indigenous tribes defending their land against

settlers to union workers putting their lives on the line to strike. With Old-Time

Folks, Bains offers his most profound work to date - an entire record that musically

reflects the depth of emotion that he pours into his songs. He draws a line of

solidarity that straddles Southern past and present, a reminder that no one is

above those who came before.”

- No Depression

For some reason which I haven't understood, tickets aren't selling well for this show. Please do us a favour if you can and book online soon, to stop us worrying!

The same applies to GREAZY ALICE on the next day (Sept 3). They achieved a full house at the Railway recently so we're expecting a sell-out for this too, as they are back over to play at End Of The Road.

Here are the ticket links. Please tell your friends too.

LEE BAINS: https://wegottickets.com/f/21412

GREAZY ALICE: https://wegottickets.com/f/21410

Thanks,

O and B