There really is nothing like a good Hokey Cokey. I get my Hokey Cokey fix at a children's music morning run by the unbelievably talented Jeremy Mendonca of Americana duet The Hallelujah Trails, known as The Music Man by his North London mummy groupies.

For Man Like Me, finding direction is about the content of what gets laid down on the record. Take Squeeze, our current single. People say it's a song about sex or climax, but when I was writing it, it was more a case of looking for words to fill in the blanks and tell an unknown story, which would encourage our listeners to use their imagination.

Two contrasting descriptions of songwriting / recording processes are doing the rounds this week (in very different musical circles), so I thought I'd post them both:

This blog risks giving the impression that the festival manager is responsible for everything, co-ordinating every detail and straining every sinew. While this is exactly what festival management sometimes feels like, in truth running an event like this is more about collaboration, delegation and compromise.

In an era of global revolution, we'll also ask if art has a duty to be primarily engaged in political change whether or not it is at the top of a buyer's wish list. Most importantly, when faced with the realities of an art world slowly piecing itself back together and an economic climate that promises little immediate relief, the transformative power of creativity is worthy of our discussion.

For a festival that celebrates the spoken work, it is a nice irony that perhaps the biggest star at this year's Fringe is silent. Sam Wills, a 32-...

There is something peculiarly British about our love of festivals. Whilst European and American equivalents continue to flourish, the British are almost protective of their festival culture. We are joyous about our weekends of merriment, in which we forge transient friendships and resurrect long forgotten communities.

There’s a mild scandal brewing in Scotland. With thousands of comedians competing for audiences at The Fringe, marketing a show is all-important. Po...

Another festival, another corporate cluster bomb. Or not, as I discovered at the Secret Garden Party.