Robert Lane and Kyshona Armstrong at Kitchen Garden Café, Birmingham - Interview

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Tue 06 Jun 2017 - Sat 17 Jun 2017

Birmingham-born singer/songwriter Robert Lane plays a hometown gig at the Kitchen Garden Café , Kings Heath, on June 7, 2017, as part of a co-headline UK tour with American vocalist Kyshona Armstrong . They first met when Robert was the support act on Kyshona's Nashville in the Round tour last year.



He explains more in a conversation with Weekend Notes:

1. What is your musical style and who are your influences?

%%This is a tricky question! I find it easiest to describe it as singer/songwriter because people seem to understand what that means, but I'd say there are shades of folk, blues, country, soul and a bit of jazz. People like to put music in boxes but I've never listened to music based on how it's categorised. I love old blues artists like BB King, a lot of 60s/70s rock like Led Zeppelin and The Who, the great writers like Carole King, Motown and Stax artists like William Bell and Otis Redding and, to be honest, I am big fan of really good, well crafted pop such as ABBA and Haim.
%%
**2. You opened the Nashville in the Round tour – how does it feel to now be co-headlining with Kyshona Armstrong?
**
Nashville in the Round was a fantastic show and it was wonderful to be involved in it as the support act at venues around the country. The three performers involved - Sarah Darling, Jenn Bostic and Kyshona Armstrong - are fantastic singer/songwriters and quickly became my great friends. The tour was Kyshona's first trip to the UK; she went down amazingly with the British crowds and from chatting to her I knew she was really keen to come back again. I plucked up the courage to ask if she would be prepared to join me on a joint headline tour and I was thrilled when she said yes! It's incredibly exciting to be performing alongside her again.



**3. What format will the shows take? Will you be duetting with Kyshona?
**
%%There will be a set from each of us. To know anymore you'll have to come along to a show!
%%
**4. What music do you currently have available for fans to buy, and what are your plans for future releases?
**
%%I've put out two albums so far, 'Robert Lane' and last year's 'Ends and Starts', which are available for download and in physical form from Fish Records and at all my gigs. I'm planning to put out some singles over the summer.
%%



**5. What is your career highlight so far?
**
%%A couple of years ago I went on a songwriting retreat hosted by one of my great heroes, Ray Davies (The Kinks). To spend a week focused on nothing other than writing songs, sharing them with one of the greatest songwriters of all time and having him treat my work with respect, was a massive highlight.
%%
6. What is your ambition?
%%To be able to continue playing concerts and recording music, and making friends with fantastic musicians like Kyshona.
%%
7. Favourite Birmingham venue?

%%Genuinely, and not just to sell tickets, Kitchen Garden Café!
%%



8. Any plans to play in Nashville?

I'm hoping to make my first visit later this year…



**Robert Lane/ Kyshona Armstrong 2017 UK tour dates:
**
**June 6: Green Note, London;
June 7: Kitchen Garden Café, Kings Heath, Birmingham;
June 11: The Musician, Leicester;
June 13: The Stables 2, Milton Keynes;
June 15: Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Maidenhead;
June 16: Festival Hall, Market Rasen (triple header with Jonathan Byrd);
June 17: The Manor House, Sedgefield.
**

#shows
#pop_culture
#music_venues
#music
#kings_heath
#interviews
#folk_blues_music
#concerts
#bands
#south_birmingham
#june
!date 06/06/2017 -- 17/06/2017
%wnbirmingham