Part of the mission statement here at Uncut is to bring you new and seldom-told stories from the past 60 years of music. This month, I’m especially proud to run Dave Simpson’s brilliant interview with Misty In Roots. It’s a powerful tale – rest assured, I won’t spoil the details for you here – and not one that I recall being told in the mainstream UK music press before. In many respects it’s a story that still feels vital today, and despite the tragedies and travails that unfold, there is something ultimately deeply nourishing about the band’s celebration of community and, critically, the unifying power of music. As one fan, Pete Townshend, tells Dave, “The music… this rose above the troubles, the violence and the sadness.” I’d also recommend Rob Hughes’ piece on Davy Graham – I’m ashamed to admit, I think this is our first deep dive into the gifted guitarist’s life and music. Rob is helped in his task by a bevy of admirers and friends, from Shirley Collins and Roy Harper to Ray Davies. It’s another great read, I hope you’ll agree, in a packed issue.
I’m also very pleased that we’re able to follow-up Weyes Blood’s Album Of The Year win back in 2019, for the sublime Titanic Rising, with a grand reveal of her excellent new album, And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow. Jaan Uhelszki joins Natalie Mering at home in the tiny town of Altadena, California, to go deep into this new record. Elsewhere, Sam Richards checks in with Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd to recall the high times and sonic breakthroughs of The Flaming Lips’ Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots as it turns 20.
The main event, of course, is Bob Dylan’s return to the UK this month for his first tour here in five years. As Nick Hasted confirms, in his hot-off-the-press report from Dylan’s Stockholm show he witnessed on September 27, the Rough And Rowdy Ways Tour has proved full of surprises. In addition to Nick’s piece on Dylan live in 2022, a number of our writers and a few friends relive some of their favourite Dylan shows for us from the past seven decades: Richard Williams kicks us off with an elegant report of Dylan at Sheffield City Hall in 1965. You’ll also find a host of musicians sharing their memories with us of touring with Dylan down the ages. If there’s one constant throughout, it’s Dylan’s endless capacity for reinvention.
Bob Dylan and his band, in show and concert. Don’t you dare miss it!