Hi!

Thanks to four days spent in a field I feel a little worse for wear this week.

But, as they say, the best cure for illness is writing your weekly newsletter on a Friday afternoon.

As mentioned in last week’s “Gig Edition”, we have a number of upcoming gigs.

GIGS

• 30/09/2026 Manchester Café Blah supporting The Hobknobs w/ Tinfoil Underwear

• 04/10/2026 Leeds Mabgate Bleach supporting Pavement/Silver Jews Bandeoke w/ the Fool

• 17/10/2026 Leeds Wharf Chambers supporting The Nature Kids

• 28/10/2026 York Golden Ball (halloween variety night)

• 03/11/2026 York Fulford Arms supporting Tracey Nelson

• 15/01/2027 Leeds Hyde Park Book Club supporting Kiran Leonard

• 10/02/2027 Manchester Gullivers supporting Champion Trees

I want to stress that some of these are not announced yet. But, because this is my newsletter, what I say goes. And when these bands announce their gigs on their fancy Instagram pages, you can say you heard it here first! on the Rowan and Friends newsletter!

CD UPDATE

The CD sleeves for Go On! Roll That Old Boulder Away were returned to sender by the Royal Mail.

I called the unnamed CD sleeve company about this and they said they’d send me my sleeves again. However I haven’t recieved them yet.

I am going to call them a second time after writing this email to figure out what is going on. Hopefully by the time this email sends (Monday 8am) I will have CD sleeves and will be selling loads of CDs.

Apologies to those who have already ordered.

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE

I’ve been spending some time updating the Rowan & Friends website. Feel free to check it out.

I have even compiled a number of Recommendations from this newsletter into a single page.

I like a good HTML website. Basic AF but gets the job done.

So without further ado, here’s the

Recommendations: WEBSITE SPECIAL

KIRAN LEONARD’S WEBSITE - I became aware of Kiran Leonard’s website before listening to his music I think. It has lots of neat corners including some autofiction about growing up in the North of england.

THE HOBKNOBS’ WEBSITE - this is my platonic ideal of what a band website should look like. Straight to the point: here’s our latest album BAM here’s our tour dates BAM here’s how to book us BAM.

THEMOUNTAINGOATS.NET - I’ve never been sure whether this was a fansite or official or a bit of both. Whatever it is, its amazing and includes chords for nearly every Mountain Goats song both released and unreleased.

STEPHINSONGS.WIW.ORG - the best source for Stephin Merrit/Magnetic Fields chords up until 2012, which is when the website stopped being updated. Still amazing though. And quite prettily laid out.

CLASSICALNOTES.NET - they have a really great piece on Wilhelm Furtwängler, conducter of the Berlin philharmonic during Hitler’s Germany. & lots of good classical music articles.

That’s

it for this week.

See you on the flipside

- Rowan. : ~ )