“Outstanding Americana…bringing magic to the simplest of songs”- Americana UK
“Exciting cinematic country rock”- Rocking Magpie
“Warm expressive vocals and gorgeous melodies”- American Roots
“Gray is an engaging storyteller…an artist who makes old time music feel effortlessly contemporary”- JH – Country music Magazine
“Modern and fresh..Gram Parsons in the 70s..Ash unites the contemporary with reverence for his musical heritage” Peter Tomkins-Rock And Reel Magazine
The songs and music always change. With the Burners I’ve been focused on a bigger country rock band sound, with the new recordings I’d like to reflect a more scaled down, soloist approach but still involve other players to fill out songs live and also allow me to play a little more guitar but keep things vibrant and moving “
While as begins to record new material he will be releasing several tracks in the coming months recorded with him and earlier lineups of The Burners
To capture this new sound, Ash is heading back to Austin, Tx and getting back in the saddle with studio mate Cris Burns and
“I've been living abroad for some time now and felt now more than ever I'd like to spend a little time in Texas while moving onto something musically different.”
“In the past I've always worn classic influences like The Byrds,Tom Petty and seventies honky tonk country on my sleeve. With the last few years I've been consuming everything from old Southern gospel music to Leonard Cohen,James Mcmurtry and Red Sovine to Mose Allison. My influences have always been varied but I've branched out into some writing that feels a little funny and slightly more verbose. The words sometimes feel an inside joke to me” , informs Gray.
"I prefer to stretch myself into less familiar territory and have some fun with it too. I think i've achieved that on the upcoming material"
BACK STORY:
Ash Gray is a troubadour in the truest sense.
Born in US East Coast steeltown of Pittsburgh, the middle son of expat Yorkshire parents, he’s had an eye on the highway practically ever since he was old enough to play a gig.Raised in Austin, Texas – the Live Music Capital Of The World – Ash cut his musical teeth on the vibrant East Sixth Street, South Lamar and beyond, playing for tips in roots-rock bands like Roosterbilly and The Self-Righteous Brothers. It was with this latter mob that he headed to London with in the late 90s, where he was welcomed onto the nascent alt.country scene, quickly becoming a draw at such iconic venues as The Weavers, The 12 Bar and the Kashmir Club.
Ash created a new band with an Anglo-US line-up as The High Class Family Butchers. Achieving notoriety (and airplay) with their back-porch covers of pop classics and guerrilla-gigging, the Butchers continued over the years with a flexible line-up including members of Menlo Park, The Ralfe Band and Seth Lakeman’s band. For a time they even included Harper ‘Son of Paul’ Simon.
Maintaining Stateside operations, Ash also found time to travel up the West Coast to San Francisco and Portland, before settling for a number of years in New York City. Initially scratching that hard-rock itch as guitarslinger with legendary Epic recording artists The Cycle Sluts From Hell, Ash shifted gear, forming the acoustic folk-pop harmony band Ash Gray & The Girls, celebrating the album Born In The Summer with a four-night stand at SXSW in Austin in 2012.
Pinballing between NYC and his Texas hometown, Ash finally bit the bullet, recording his debut solo album Once I Got Burned, with such Austin luminaries as Dave Biller (Dale Watson, Wayne Hancock), John Hagen (Lyle Lovett) and producer Chris Burns (Asleep At The Wheel, Jerry Jeff Walker, Dale Watson).
Returning to the UK, Ash decided to rediscover his roots, eventually setting up base in Sheffield. Falling in with the Steel City’s own acoustic and Americana scene, Ash has been gigging regularly across the UK, both solo and with his band The Burners,
