x

John and Sheila Ludgate / Blog

Nomination At 2015 Hamilton Music Awards

...just saw that our CD "Northern Soul" was nominated for Folk/Traditional Recording of the year at the 2015 Hamilton Music Awards. Also noticed that our boy's band - Beautiful Nothing - was nominated for Alternative/Indie Rock Recording of the year. It's interesting because "Northern Soul" was a kind of "family fusion" project with our boys - Luke, Anthony and Shane Ludgate - all making major musical contributions to the project. They can go from Folk to Alternative Rock in the blink of an eye! Also thank you to David Lum for his stellar contributions to the recording.

Radio Stations Playing John & Sheila Ludgate

...just took a look at the FOLKDJ database and discovered that the following radio stations are playing John & Sheila Ludgate music. It's still a thrill to hear your song on the radio. 104.7 Woodland, California 105.1 Truckee Tahoe, California 1380 AM Brantford, Ontario 88.3 FM Camino 88.3 FM Oakland University Radio aircheck.us Boston Free Radio Bumps Radio CFMU, Hamilton CHES, Erin, Ontario CHMR, St. John's NL CiTR - Vancouver, BC CIUT, Toronto, Ontario CJTR, Regina, Saskatchewan CKUT, Montreal, PQ Homelands Radio Jewel 101 FM, Winnipeg, Manitoba KBOO, Portland, Oregon KGIG 104.9 California KGLP, Gallup, New Mexico KONR 106.1 FM Alaska KUAR, Little Rock, Arkansas KUSU, Logan, Utah KVMR, Nevada City, California KXCR 90.7 FM Oregon KZFR, Chico, California KZMU, Moab Utah Neopa Community Radio Ohio Sword Radio UK The Global Voice WBGU, Bowling Green, Ohio WCVF, Fredonia, New York WDBX, Carbondale, IL, WFDU, Teaneck, New Jersey, WHDD, Sharon, Connecticut WIUP, Indiana, Pennsylvania WKZE - Millerton, New York WLRN, Miami, Florida WMCB, Greenfield, Maryland WMUC, College Park, Maryland WNMC, Monroe, CT WNMC, Traverse City, MI WRFG, Atlanta, Georgia WRKF, Baton Rouge, Louisiana WSCS 90.9 FM New Hampshire WSKG, Binghampton, New York WSLR, Sarasota, Florida WSLU, Canton, New York WSPN, Saratoga Springs, New York WTBQ, Warwick, New York WVPE, South Bend/Elkhart, Indiana WXOU Auburn Hills, Michigan WYAP 101.7 FM West Virginia

Live Review - Brantford Expositor (August 28, 2014)

"The excellent folk duo of John and Sheila Ludgate opened the outdoor show with some well-crafted original songs on topics such as travel, power struggles and a wedding song. One piece told of the demise of the fishing industry. On another tune the audience was encouraged to get up and dance an old fashioned waltz. The Ludgates closed their portion of the concert with the title song, Northern Soul, from their new CD, a beautiful tribute to Canada and its wonders that you observe travelling from sea to sea. As well as providing a full guitar accompaniment, John also added some well-placed harmonica choruses on some tunes. Sheila displayed some great bass work and vocal harmony.

A Couple Of Really Nice Reviews By Joe Falletta and Jason Hooker

John and Sheila have been at this for a while, and it shows ...very thoughtful lyrics put to a nice mix of acoustic folk and electric folk-rock, all backed by some very creative instrumental work. It’s no surprise “Northern Soul” has already garnered some very favorable attention in Canada and the USA. Put the headphones on, kick back, and take it all in. (Joe Falletta, September 25, 2013, Reviewer for Bluegrass Now, Bluegrass Unlimitede, Tricopolis Records)

There are very few times that I hear a new album and be immediately able to “see” those songs playing out in my mind’s eye. Northern Soul happens to do that very thing. This is a great album from top to bottom and one which I will enjoy listening to for years to come. Most of the time, artists get into a rut on an album either stylistically, musically, or lyrically. John and Sheila Ludgate surprise and thrill with very well-written lyrics accompanied by great instrumentation and a constantly changing style. (Jason Hacker, Reviewer for bluegrassworks.com, October 1, 2013)

Wow! A Five Star review of our new CD "Northern Soul"

Wow! A Five Star review of our new CD "Northern Soul" just appeared in Roots Music Report. (The same review also appears on the CDInsight.com website.) That's four positive reviews out of four reviews so far - maybe we should just stop reading them now while we're ahead. Here's a quote from the review:

The Ludgates' songs are insightful, and some are quite profound ...with a variety of approaches to their expressive and reflective music, the Ludgates are troubadours with a keen ability to blend introspective thoughts with melodies and instrumentation that complement their messages. These voyagers have a good handle on life, and we'll all find meaningful relationships with their friendly music that invites you into their intimate space. I always enjoy their pleasant grooves, perspectives and energy. Rating - 5 out of 5 stars (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report and CD Insight, September 2013).

http://www.rootsmusicreport.com/index.php?page=reviews&search=single&id=712

http://cdinsight.com/2013/09/john-and-sheila-ludgate-release-northern-soul/

Songs From The Heart Winner

..."Northern Soul" has won the Multicultural Category Award in the prestigious Folk Music Ontario's 2013 Songs From The Heartcompetition. What an honour!

http://www.ocff.ca/about-ocff/awards/

Another CD Review From England

June 22, 2013 - Hey, they're "digging" it in England ...another (mostly) positive review from the British Isles (this time from NetRhythms) of our new CD ..."the sound of mid-period Beatles" - I like it! http://www.netrhythms.co.uk/reviews.html#johnsheila

Hamilton Musician Commentary

June 14, 2013 - From Hamilton Musician - "A Video Story Of A Man On A Journey". Hey, wait a minute - that's me! http://musicbizbites.blogspot.ca/2013/06/john-and-sheila-ludgates-never-too-late.html

Another Review Of Northern Soul

June 14, 2013 - Here's another nice review of our new CD - Northern Soul. This time from FolkWords out of England.

There's one thing missing though - it says every artist on the CD bears the ‘Ludgate’ name. David Lum, who contributed some great guitar, doesn't bear the Ludgate name although we have talked to him about changing his last name to Lumgate...

http://www.folkwords.com/latestreviews_86611.html

First Review Of Northern Soul

June 12, 2013 - Here's the first official review of our new CD - thank you to our wonderful sons - Luke, Anthony & Shane - as well as the incomparable David Lum, for all the talent and effort you poured into this project!

http://blueshamilton.blogspot.ca/2013/06/new-john-and-sheila-ludgate-cd-nothern.html