Everyone’s had the fantasy of dropping your day-job to become a musician, right? No-one actually does it, of course, but it’s nice to dream. Well, don’t be so sure. In 2015, Chester’s Alx Green did just that. Since touring Europe in a second-hand van, he has attracted the attention of BBC Radio 2, Radio Merseyside and more, and doesn’t plan on letting go of the limelight any time soon. His floaty acoustic folk tunes are inspired by the likes of Ben Howard and Bon Iver, which do wonders for his 2016 EP, ‘My Way Home’. Alx is playing Telford’s Warehouse on June 22nd for Chester Live, so we caught up with him to get an idea of what to expect.

Hi, Alx! What have you been working on recently?

Alx: I’ve just released a new single and music video just over a week ago and I’ve found out I’m going back into the studio in July to do another record as well!

Will you be playing this new single as well as your EP at Chester Live?

I will be. The songs are already part of my set, pretty much. Actually, I’ve been thinking of possibly recording my Chester Live set as well. So I might see if I can get a live recording out of it and put it online for everyone. It could be quite cool.

You’re playing Telford’s Warehouse for Chester Live. Do you play there often?

I do! I’ve toned it down a bit… I used to play the open mic night every single Sunday when I was starting out! I’ve now gone to hosting it every couple of months. But I still go there; it’s like my local bar so I’m always in there.

What is your favourite thing about gigging in Chester?

I think it’s the actual music community. It feels like a really welcoming community of musicians and there are so many talented people that are coming out of Chester. I think it’s in a really good geographical location as well, in between big cities like Liverpool and Manchester. Yeah, I always enjoy playing in Chester, not just because it’s my home town and I know people, but it feels like a really welcoming community. I’ve been to some places – I won’t say where – but they’ve been the opposite. They’ve been a bit stand-offish for musicians. But it’s definitely not like that in Chester.

Are there any plans for a future tour?

I can’t say too much at the moment I guess, because it’s still in the works, but after recording this next record in July I will be organising a tour for that record. It’s probably going to involve the UK and Europe. I’ve done a Europe tour before so it would be good to go back out and see the people I saw last time.

Sounds really exciting! So, you’re going to be sharing Telford’s with Peaness and Campfire Social. Do you know them? Would you recommend them as bands to see?

Yeah I’m friends with all of them.  I’ve been friends with Campfire for a long time since they were in a band called Shy & the Fight. I’ve seen them many a time and I’ve supported them, they’ve supported me, we know all each other’s songs, so you never know… there might be a guest appearance doing backing vocals for each other. It’s happened before!

 

What sort of energy are you going to bring to the crowd on the night?

So it’s going to be an interesting one, I think. People that are used to seeing my music… normally seeing me, predominantly just on my own with an acoustic guitar… but because I’m bringing my full band [to Chester Live], which consists of drums, cello, another guitar, me and a double bass, it’s definitely an interesting sound. I’d been working on it for quite a while before I actually wanted to start gigging it because I wanted it to sound right, but I’m really happy with it. I don’t know, it’s kind of hard to classify it in genre because it does flick from one thing to another, but it kind of has Ben Howard-y feels and a couple of my new songs have really John Mayer-sounding feels so it should be really interesting, I’m really looking forward to it!

Finally, what would you like to say to get people hyped for your performance?

If you like seeing live bands and you want to be part of a special night, then I think it definitely will end up being one! I mean, like I say, I might turn the evening into a live EP so you might be able to hear yourself screaming in the background of my live EP!

Cheers, Alx!

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You can listen to Alx Green’s EP ‘My Way Home’ on Spotify, or Purchase it from Amazon, iTunes and Google Play. His gig will be on Thursday 22nd June at Telford’s Warehouse. Don’t miss it!