New Year update: work in progress

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Jo Jukes and Rick Wilson’s next album “Being Human’ is scheduled for release in May 2025.
Recording is in process the moment.
They will be showcasing it at Hermon Arts on Friday May 9th at 7.30pm
In the meantime, they will be interviewed about their instruments and music making processes on Radio Salford City on Tuesday February 21st at 2pm and will be playing a truncated set at Dolgellau Rugby club on Friday March 14th.
You can now find Rick and Jo’s recent releases on Spotify. Look out for their latest news on Instagram and Facebook.

When Mountains Meet on tour

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The Scotland-wide tour of When Mountains Meet is now under way, with performances in Edinburgh and Lerwick already getting an enthusiastic reception from sell-out audiences. An extra date has been added at the end of the tour in Paisley,  on 31 May: the full tour list is below, just click on the venue name for booking links.

Here’s a taster of what people have been saying about the show:

Photo: Robin Mitchell

“raw, alive and thoroughly accessible, driven by the presence of live musicians… a roaring success, full of vigour, colour and music” (All Edinburgh Theatre). “The atmosphere of a cross cultural ceilidh fills the room.” (Herald Scotland) “The show’s superb musical credentials pay off from the start…the celebratory atmosphere never falters, and the story remains clear from start to end.” (Quintessential Review)

 

 

 

 

STV News featured an interview with Anne Wood, with Rick’s percussion as backdrop, on their “What’s On Scotland” slot. You can catch up on the interview on the Where Mountains Meet Facebook page.

 

If you can’t make it up to any of the performances, you can still enjoy the music. The Where Mountains Meet CD is now available to listen, buy or download on Bandcamp.

 

 

 

 

But of course, it’s best experienced in person!

The remaining tour dates are:

Aberdeen, Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 May

​The Lemon Tree (Rise Up Festival): Box office: 01224 641122

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Ullapool, Friday 10 and Saturday 11 May

​MacPhail Centre (Ulluminate): Box office: 01854 613336

 

​Stirling, Wednesday 15 May

The Albert Halls: Box office: 01786 473544

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Crieff, Friday 17 May

Strathearn Arts: Box office: 01764 655556

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​​Glasgow, Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 May

Cottiers​: Box office: 0141 357 5825

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Castle Douglas, Saturday 25 May

​Town Hall: Box office: 030 33 33 3000

 

​Melrose, Tuesday 28 May

Corn Exchange: Box office: 01896 822463

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​Paisley,  Friday 31 May

Paisley Arts Centre: Box office: 0300 300 0250

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Rick writes…

The last few weeks have seen me spending a lot of time in recording studios, first finishing my album with Jo Jukes and, latterly, recording all the music for the forthcoming Scottish tour of When Mountains Meet.

In mid- February Jo and I spent a couple of days at RMS Studios in south London doing post production work on our new album ‘The Ancestor in Me’. This involved inspecting closely all the 14 songs and ironing out any technical shortcomings that might exist –  there are usually a few.  After that, we worked with Andy, the resident engineer, on making the artwork for the album. The material for this was largely Jo’s work and, together, we fashioned a very attractive and informative booklet and lyric sheet. Since then, everything has gone to the manufacturers and we are now awaiting the final product. There will be 200 physical CDs, with online access through bandcamp.com.

The official launch date for the album is 20th March, but because of prior commitments the  launch performance at Hermon Arts, Oswestry will not be until Friday June 28th.  Special guests are planned – book now!

At the end of the month, I journeyed to Scotland to record all the music for the upcoming Scottish tour of the exciting large- scale theatre/ music production of When Mountains Meet. All the music has been written by Anne Wood and the piece tells the true story of her going to find her estranged father in Pakistan.  Six musicians contributed to the recording sessions which were held at the wonderful Castlesound studios, south of Edinburgh. The recordings, now completed, await final mixdown and then manufacture into CD form, ready for the tour which begins on April 30.

It’s going to be a busy few months ahead! In addition to the performances mentioned above, on Sunday March 17th Rick will be running an initial Drum Circle at Hafren yr Afon in Newtown, Powys. This venue is a very ambitious Arts Centre under the adventurous stewardship of Barry Edwards, who previously ran the Hermon Chapel in Oswestry.

For more details including booking information about Where Mountains Meet click here. The tour dates confirmed so far are:

Thursday 25/Friday 26 April  Edinburgh, The Studio at Capital Theatres

Tuesday 30 April                        Lerwick, Mareel

Saturday 4/Sunday 5 May (as part of the Rise Up Festival)    Aberdeen, Lemon Tree Arts

Friday 10/Saturday 11 May      Ullapool, MacPhail Centre

Wednesday 15 May                   Stirling, Albert Halls

Friday 17 May                            Crieff, Strathearn Arts

Tuesday 21 /Wednesday 22 May             Glasgow, Cottiers Theatre

Saturday 25 May                     Castle Douglas, Town Hall

Tuesday 28 May                      Melrose, Corn Exchange

Friday 31 May /Saturday 1  June                     TBC

 

two hand drums with a hand on each drum

2024 Collaborations

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Rick and Jo Jukes’ new album ‘The Ancestor in Me’ is 90% completed and is scheduled for post-production in February before a proposed release on March 20th. The 14 songs show a significant development from their last very well received offering ‘Weaving the World’.  Audience members at their Hermon Chapel gig in December enjoyed a sneak preview of some of the songs.

 

 

 

 

At the end of February, Rick will be journeying north of the border to record the music for ‘When Mountains Meet’ before later rehearsing  and touring  major venues in Scotland with this theatre / storytelling / music epic.  Watch this space for tour dates and more details!