My festival season began with a baptism of fire this year – a warmup show at Southampton Joiners playing with Willy Mason, The Mariner’s Children AND Emma Gatrill, three hours sleep in a Travelodge on the M3 before an 8am ferry over to the Isle of Wight festival to perform with Willy Mason before getting the hovercraft (yes, HOVERCRAFT!) back to the mainland and a train to London Waterloo arriving just in time for soundcheck with Woodpecker Wooliams for Yoko Ono’s Meltdown Festival.

Now I’m in the studio with Campbell Austin, AKA T.S. Idiot. He’s a fantastic songwriter but he keeps taking the piss out of me for having a website. I know you’re reading this Campbell: GET WITH THE TIMES, MAN.

Besides Campbell, it’s been an absolute pleasure to play with a load of exceptional musicians for the first time: Sam Walker on the multiple keyboards / shaker / cape, Anisa Arslanagic on viola and violin, Hannah Miller on the cello, Ollie Austin on the drums, Bjorn Dahlberg on bass clarinet and Jim Mortimore on bass. I’m looking forward to playing with many of them on the Moulettes recording sessions, which take place immediately after these in the same studio with the same producer (Joe Gibbs). It’s nice to be working Monday to Friday with these guys then three or four festival appearances each weekend for the next month or so – good to have some kind of routine.

Also off to Corsica Studios tonight (great venue) to support Landshapes at their album launch. I’ll be playing with Eyes & No Eyes, and also played trumpet and tenor horn on Rambutan, the album that Landshapes are launching.