The Coal Porters

The Coal Porters are embarking on their 4th British tour with their exciting new line-up additions: Paul Fitzgerald on banjo and Adele’s fiddler Kerenza Peacock sawing the strings.

The Coal Porters started playing acoustic music around 2002 in London when ex-Long Ryder Sid Griffin decided to turn away from electric music. Since then, the band’s unique combination of folk/indie/bluegrass/Celtic music has demonstrated the power of fiddle, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar and doghouse bass when matched with sweet harmonies set against strong melodies and they have taken this sound around the world.

The Coal Porters have wowed audiences at numerous UK and European arts centers. They have done no less than four North American tours and performed to tens of thousands at festivals such as Glastonbury, HebCelt, Stagecoach (USA), Larmer Tree, Didmarton, LaRoche (France), Cork Midsummer Fest (Eire), Wombwell and Hultsfredsfestivalen (Sweden).
The Coal Porters are Sid’s dear friend and band co-founder Neil Robert Herd on guitar and vocals, the aforementioned Paul Fitzgerald on banjo and harmony vocals, Andrew Stafford on doghouse bass, and the classically trained Kerenza Peacock on fiddle and vocals. Herd is a songwriter of note, Paul Fitzgerald invented his own banjo technique copied by many in the UK, Andrew Stafford is music business litigation expert and fiddler Kerenza Peacock has recorded two hit classical CDs, recorded with Paul Weller and Eric Clapton, and is currently on a World Tour in Adele’s band.

Their new album, No. 6, is produced by John Wood, the legendary British folk-rock mastermind who recorded the classic albums of Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, Beth Orton and Squeeze. No. 6 is a bit of a departure for the Coal Porters as it pushes their musical boundaries further than ever before.

The album features Kerenza quadruple tracking herself into a string quartet, Andrew on a ukulele, Sid’s trusty autoharp and mandolin, both Neil and Paul on dobro, a Byrdsy acoustic 12-string guitar, and very emotional, long, sweet trumpet solo by Cuba’s noted “son y mambo” music virtuoso Eikel Venegas. There has never been music like this before. And already, the album’s opening track, Sid’s “The Day The Last Ramone Died,” is being hailed as a classic (and a much viewed video on YouTube).

No. 6 is out Sept. 2 in Europe via Proper Music Distribution. In January it’s likely to appear on many Best Of The Year lists. And should you sadly miss their September UK dates they have just added a special performance at Rough Trade East the evening of Sept 27, Tuesday, 2016.