American singer picks Ticknall pub garden for free gig

Brooklyn-based Annie Keating will play at the Chequers this coming Sunday afternoon (29th) and 'pass the hat around'

American singer-songwriter Annie Keating is interrupting her eight-date tour of Britain to play a one-off free gig in a Derbyshire village. Keating will bring her English touring band to the garden of the historic Chequers Inn in Ticknall on Sunday, September 29 – should the weather intervene, they will be inside the pub’s cavernous marquee.

Everyone is welcome to attend and although there is no obligation to pay to watch, the band will be “passing the hat around” in the hope of covering their costs. The idea for the concert came about when a proposed ticketed gig in the area fell through.

“We’d rather be playing than not and I love to fit a gig like this into the schedule,” says Brooklyn-based Keating, who has toured this country most years since first coming over to promote her breakthrough album, Belmont, in 2008. “Often, I’ll do a private garden event for a fan and that’s how we started out with the idea for this one – but it’s evolved into something a little more.

“It will still be informal and fun and I hope the sun shines and lots of people who’ve never heard of me come along and listen – as well as friends who have heard of me, of course.”

Keating is not your average “rock star”. She was well into her mid-30s before she made music her career and maintains a busy schedule as she makes up for lost time. Since her debut, a dozen albums have appeared and she takes a novel approach to marketing, being inclined to drop a line to people on social media who follow artists she’s been compared to: “You might like this, too!” she will write. A cynic might call the approach naive. It’s also charming and honest and so are Keating’s songs.

Americana is perhaps how best her music would be described but, especially live, she ranges from tender ballads and tales of lost love and connecting with people to straight ahead rock and blues.

“Honestly, I don’t strategise about or ‘craft’ any marketing approach, I keep it real and direct,” says Keating. “I love communicating with listeners/fans and I do try to take the time to do it and respond to direct messages. Making music and putting it out into the world is the first step.

“How it impacts or moves listeners is the next step and it’s kind of just as important to me – engaging with people who engage with the songs. For me, music is about connection. Ever since I was a kid, songs held the power of making me feel connected, like there was a shared feeling or understanding of being human.”

Legendary TV and radio presenter Bob Harris is a big fan and they always meet up when she is here: “Bob asked me to appear on his BBC radio show,” she says. “Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to play on his show a few times and these days I’m here most years – twice this year, for the festival season in the summer and again now. I always love coming to the UK and feel wonderfully received here playing old and new songs.”

She has settled, too, on a trusted English band, with rising star Joe Coombs on guitar, Jamie Dawson on drums and Scott Warman on bass: “They’ve become good friends and they’re the guys who’ve embraced and embellished my songs in a way no-one else here did before,” she says.

The gig at the Chequers, where licensee Tony Matthews was only too happy to say yes to the opportunity to be the host, will start at around 4.30pm. See: www.anniekeating.com