24 Sep Summer 2026 festivals all done!
September 2026 Update!
Thanks folks for returning to my website – It has been an eventful time since my last update – with simultaneous good and less good news.
Before that, a quick thank you to all who have purchased physical copies of my book – it has now sold out of the second print run, and instead of printing more, I’m offering print-identical digital copies on my shop page here: https://www.alistairrussell.co.uk/shop/
Now to the less good news – back in springtime, we had to sadly cancel all of our Rogues gigs around St Patrick’s Day, because my ongoing carpal tunnel/elbow/neck nerve issues prevented me from completing the kind of non-stop, hell-for-leather gig sets required. But I was pretty sure at that stage that ‘normal’ concert or festival gigs would be possible for me because of the less hectic pace involved.
So, to the good news – that did prove to be the case and I not only managed to do my usual festival stage management /compering duties, but also turned in some really enjoyable performing spots at
Southwell, for the Dylan/Dolly Parton tribute concert
Ely, a great duo reunion with Chris Parkinson
Wickham, a return to my customary spot opening the main stage at the start of the festival
and Whitby Folk Week, 3 performing spots.
Here’s a nice review for our duo set at Ely from Danny Neil, Fruit Tree Records
“Over on the main stage Alistair Russell and Chris Parkinson, both with storied CV’s that include long term participations in Battlefield Band and The House Band, among many others, cover the arena in hazy Sunday evening ambience playing Irish and Scottish music with an inclusive charm and particularly strong musicianship.”
And here’s another for my solo Wickham spot from Music Scene Magazine:
“Our first artist of the festival was Alistair Russell, a performer who has been immersed in traditional music since his teenage years and has spent decades captivating audiences with little more than a guitar, a voice and exceptional storytelling…… There was nothing forced or theatrical about the performance. Alistair simply trusted the song to tell its own story. Conversations faded. For a few minutes it felt as though everyone was sitting around listening to a secret being quietly told.”
A photo from that review:
And others (with photographer credits – thanks!)
So, here we are now in September and in a few days’ time I’ll be going for my first quick carpal tunnel procedure, which will nevertheless involve up to 12 weeks’ recovery time. That will be followed at regular intervals by 3 more small operations with recoveries in between.
That makes gig bookings uncertain for quite a while – so I’ll post up anything which comes along just as soon as I can.
Thanks for reading this far and keep enjoying the music!