The Coal Porters: Led by Sid Griffin at All Saints Church, Pocklington, on September 19
THE Coal Porters, the world’s first “alt-bluegrass” act, play All Saints Church, Pocklington, tonight as one of “two (count ’em) encounters with church-based entertainment venues” on their nine-date tour.
Prominent figures in the UK Americana and bluegrass scene for 17 years, Sid Griffin’s band are back in the saddle throughout this month, performing one Yorkshire concert already at Filey Americana Festival at Filey Evron Centre on September 7.
In a further highlight, eighth-generation Kentuckian Griffin marked his 70th birthday with a special gig at the Water Rats, London, last night.
2025 has been quite a year for Long Ryders and Coal Porters frontman Griffin, both on the road and in the recording studio. “The Long Ryders have made a record and now The Coal Porters are firing up again for this tour,” he says.
Tonight AMA Award winner Griffin leads The Coal Porters at All Saints Church on vocals, mandolin, harmonica and autoharp, accompanied by Grammy winner and Adele string section leader Kerenza Peacock on fiddle and vocals; Paul Fitzgerald on banjo and vocals; Andrew Stafford on bass and Neil Robert Herd on guitar and vocals.
“We’ve played St Mary’s Creative Space, an absolutely beautiful church in Chester, and a deconsecrated church in Glasgow, so we love playing civic buildings of interest in any form or shape, which are worth their weight in plutonium,” says Sid. “If they can’t hear a choir singing the praises of the Lord, they can hear us.”
How does Sid know which of his songs will suit the his long-running American alternative country band The Long Ryders or the fiddle, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar and doghouse bass, four-part harmonies and melodies of The Coal Porters’ alt. bluegrass?
“Some of the acoustic songs are really written in the singer-songwriter/troubadour tradition, and are not right for the scale of The Long Ryders, and likewise some songs need those drums and bass,” he says. “I can tell upon writing a song where it should go – and the audiences hardly ever disagree!
The tour poster for The Coal Porters’ September travels
“There’s a danger that you start writing songs that you know the band can play, and that’s a mistake as you have to challenge them to get out of their comfort zone. You really have to watch that. It’s one of the pitfalls.
“You have to extend yourself, but not too far, you have to be different, but not too far, which seems contradictory. The Ramones and Credence Clearwater Revival managed to do that, but it’s usually the point at which bands split.
“The Temptations changed, ZZ Top changed, but sometimes you can’t do that – and that’s the thing. I’ve always tried to traverse, with The Long Ryders experimenting and The Coal Porters being entertaining – and being told we’re too entertaining for hillbilly!”
Sid takes his point further. “We’ll take songs by Bob Dylan or David Bowie and we’ll ‘Porterise’ them, knowing we’re playing a Dylan/Bowie song but in a bluegrass form, being true to the idiom.
“The bluegrass police don’t like it. It’s like The Stanley Brothers again. People always want it to be better but different, and it’s pretty impossible to square the circle,” he says. “Traditionalists don’t like it but Coal Porters fans love us to death, so the question is, how do you make things better than yesterday?”
Should he shed the optimism in The Coal Porters’ performances, ponders Sid. “That would be a mistake when you have to entertain but also give the audience a mirror of what’s going, but are we giving them respite, an escape, from what’s going on?” he says.
“I take performances at least as seriously as recording. They’re staring at you; you have their complete, undivided attention. They’ve paid their money, they’re facing you, whereas at home they’re not paying as much attention to a screen.
“Live gigs are now so important because no-one’s making money out of albums. Merch stands are important too. People come up to ask me questions when it’s their moment to have that conversation with someone that has influence and they really want to give me their opinion.”
Singer, songwriter, band leader, musicologist, broadcaster and author Sid Griffin has lived in London for 33 years, where music will continue to frame his life. “It’s what I do, it’s what we do, as Robbie Robertson said of The Band. Good times, bad times, I make music. I don’t have riches or fame. I’m just happy,” he says, as he turns 70.
“It’s what I’ve been doing for a long time and I’ll keep doing it. I’m very pleased anyone wants to hear what I have to say. It’s very touching that these middle-aged guys, usually in their Clash and Ramones T-shirts, come with their wives and their kids and say what our music has done for them.”
Coming up next will be The Long Ryders’ sixth studio album, the follow-up to 2023’s September November. “It’ll be out in March/April. No title yet,” says Sid. “We recorded in a little town in the desert with producer Ed Stasium [who has worked with the Ramones, Talking Heads, Motörhead and the Smithereens, among others].
“It was a really great experience to get together with the guys again. It’ll possibly be our last one but it was a lot of fun to do. Now we’ve got to be mix it for release in the spring.”
Hurricane Promotions present The Coal Porters, All Saints Church, Pocklington, tonight, 7.30pm. Box office: sidgriffin.com/tour; Pocklington, ticketsource.co.uk/hurricane-promotions/the-coal-porters/2025-09-19/19:30/t-eaoqmak.