Some of my favourite gigs are listed below...

Washington Folk Festival - June 6th, 2010

We had an utterly epic time playing the Washington Folk Festival. It was a balmy day, as in boiling 90+ temperatures and high humidity. The thing that made Washington Folk Festival so epic was that it is an entirly Voluntier run organisation. Yet, everything was so proffesional, from the artists, to the sound engineers, to the stage management, to the catering. We played three songs, sharing a stage with some other stunning local musicans. Rowena flew over from Britain so she could join us, and we were joined by Donna Smith on fiddle. We played three rocking tunes, a new song called "Stars in the Sky" and our old favourite, Shifting Sands. It was definitely the highlight of our mini "tour". See the photos below for more.

Click for pictures from the day...

Indian Neck Folk Festival - Saturday, May 7th, 2010

I just returned from an epic weekend at the Indian Neck Folk Festival in Conneticut. The term "Festival" turns out to be a bit of a misnomer, since it is invitation only (due to very limited numbers), everyone pays, and everyone plays. In any other circle, it'd be called a Conference. The weekend is a big session from start to finish. I dropped my bags in my room, and headed straight out and into my first jam session. I was up playing until it was light on both Friday and Saturday nights with British Ex-Pat John Roberts with whom I also was bunking.

Saturday night was the evening of the big concert, with everyone getting to play exactly *one* song. I set myself a challenge that I would write a song in the 30 minutes that I had before my slot. As you can imagine, it was a bit of a push to get it finished, but god-willing I had it ready. In the end I chickened out and played Shifting Sands instead, mainly because I didn't have time to write out all the words! The rest of the evening was spent with about ten to twenty others boisterously singing Sacred Harp shape-note songs.

If you were there and have any photos and/or recordings from the weekend, please do drop me a line!

Sheffield Folk Festival - 1st November 2008

My friend Rowena Gee and I played up in Sheffield as part of the Sheffield Folk Festival. We did two gigs (afternoon and evening) and were up late into the night with an open session! It was an utterly cracking day, and we met some great musicians, notably Fidola and the Workshy Profits, both of which we ended up having impromtu sessions with!

Big Session Festival :: June 2008

Oysterband was kind enough to give me a slot on the HUGE Marquee stage at the Big Session Festival in DMH, Leicester. My mate Rowena Gee and I played a forty minute set of my folk-rock material, infront of an ever increasing crowd, that topped out at 350! Quite an incredible experience!

Hackers Conference, CA - 8th November 2008

My Godfather, Kirk McKusick and I lectured about folk songs at a technology conference. We hope to post videos at some point in the unspecified future. For now, here are a couple of recordings from our gig last year. Both are audio with appropriate slides.

1.) Waltzing Matilda - Explained :: The story of Australia's most famous Folk Song

2.) Old Halls Creek :: A song that Kirk and I wrote when we were travelling around Western Australia, whilst staying in a ghosttown called (unsuprisingly) Old Halls Creek.

BBC Sky at Night :: December 2007

I was on the Sky at Night for a second or two, firing rockets at MSSL's 40th Birthday Party. I also got to meet Patrick Moore, who was a very cool guy.

National Space Centre :: 27th October 2007

I went up to the National Space Centre in Leicester to be interviewed in their new "new space" gallery. I didn't find out until after I'd signed up to do it that they had decided to call it "An audience with Glyn Collinson", and put a huge picture of me up for about half an hour before the gig, both of which were very disconcerting. I was up on stage for about twenty minutes, after which a 10 year year old girl came up to me, and (clutching her mother's hand), said "when I grow up I want to be a scientist".

It was all worth it, just to hear that.

BBC London :: 11th October 2007

I got interviewed for BBC London News, which was a truly terrifying experience. I believe that I am officially now the only person ever to call Jupiter's moon of Europa "sexy" on prime time TV. My friends assure me that if I actually moved to Europa, I might actually live that one down someday. I was half expecting a BBC outside broadcast van, with camera man, sound man with a big hamster on a stick, makeup girl, lighting bloke, etc. In the end because of budget cuts to the BBC, it turned out that there was only one bloke, the news reporter, who had to do the job of all three. In the end, I don't think that I came off too badly. See for yourself and let me know what you think. Now that I am a famous TV star, of course, I am now fighting off armies of women with a stick.

"You might call Glyn the future". If I am the future, we are all in very, very big trouble.
 

Pond Life - One Night Only :: 13th March 2007

Listen to a live recording of this gig! (Thanks to Rob Eggington!)

• The Sound Check Song (Not recorded)
• West End Musical - Mitch Benn
• Bob! And the Kazoo*
• The British are Coming!*
• Close Your Eyes
• Beetleman
• All I got for Christmas
• Mr Mould*
• (This Song Has) Brackets in the Title*
• Raise your Hands to the Broccolli
  

My old Bristol Uni band were invited back by Livesoc to play one last time. We really pulled out all the stops, including four new songs, constume changes, and, of course, Free Brocolli. Our friend Ian Hallam stepped up with his violin to play with us for the last three songs. In our final song, the audience gaped when the entire front two rows stood up and sang the chorus in four part harmony (thanks to Ian's arrangement).  

Some of my Favourite gigs from my Uni Years...

The Big Climax :: July 2005

1. Anthony Noel
2. Katzenjammer
3. The New Root
4. Standup Comedy
• Iszi Lawrence
• Phil
• Will Voelker
• Simon
5. The Fast and the Spurious (UoB Improv. Comedy Society)
6. Joe Hollywood
7. Pondlife
• The Sound Check Song
• We Like the Music
• All I got for Christmas
• Gecko Hunt
• Close Your Eyes
• It's the Baliffs!
• Raise your Hands to the Broccolli
• Death
8. The Francos
   • Mixed Up
     

A party that I threw in the University of Bristol Student's Union to celebrate the end of uni, the end of exams and my 24th birthday. I booked out a bar, got a late licence, and invited all my extroverted friends up to play.

On stage with "The Paperboys" :: 17th April 2004

• Living Proof - The Paperboys

I went down to Southampton to see The Paperboys live in concert, and was having a grand old time, so I decided to request a song. Not only did they play it, but half way through I was invited onto the stage to help them finish it! I'd had a few beers and had been singing loudly over the P.A. all evening so I probably sounded terrible, but I can think of nothing cooler in the entire world than getting to sing lead vocals for one of your favorite bands!  

Xmas 'Redneck' Session :: December 2003