Howling Barge

31/10/2025

An absolute wonderful collaboration of minds, talents and boaty attires. I hope you enjoy x

A Neil Young gem reimagined by The Howling Crew: Dan Glendining, Paul Smith, Smudger, Sean McSweeney. Nylon banjo, fan fret guitar, mandolin… a beautiful ens...

06/06/2025

https://youtu.be/0MQJNfJUoOo?si=t4BDH_fEZVh636Hj

Happy Fridays Howlers!
What an absolute treat this is from . Such a beautiful song, meandering with the river and bringing with it musical folk from far and wide. Here we are so lucky to have Dan from Headswim on guitar, Greig from Guillemots on drums and on keys and guitar.

While we were setting up Oriana said to Grieg, ‘The last time I saw you was at Wembley.’ ‘What were you doing at Wembley?’ I asked.
‘Supporting REM’ he answered. Of course!

Dan and Greig have played many of the shows we dream of- Glastonbury, Reading, Brixton academy… Howling Barge. It’s an honour to host this creative community and bask in what they do. Such talented and kind souls pouring their hearts into their art and I think they need as much applause and support as we can muster. So please visit and her music and subscribe and watch and buy her album and be the best audience to encourage more of this from our little floating stage.

Thank you so much Oriana for making this happen. An inspiration in all ways! Paul x

A wonderful live performance from Oriana Bohème, featuring Dan Glendining (Headswim and Blackcar) on guitar, Greig Stewart (Guillemots) on drums and Lost Chi...

15/11/2024

A reminder of the summer and swampy vibes of Rye House with the wonderful Phil Maguire. Hope you enjoy

We host and record live sessions aboard our narrowboat to support and showcase the talents of grassroots musicians. By pledging you will help support musicia...

13/11/2024

A wondrous new song from Dan , accompanied beautifully by Sam Kennedy. Gems from the river

A brand new song from Dan Glendining (Blackcar, Headswim), performed live with Sam Kennedy. We host and record live sessions aboard our narrowboat to support...

28/06/2024

Happy Fridays all! Can you feel that joy?!!! What a wonderful thing this is. The power of music and boats to bring people together, play songs that transcend time is just as good as it gets for me. Thanks a million to the incredibly talented Dan (Blackcar Headswim) and Sam Kennedy ( , ). Let’s keep collaborating! Exciting festival announcements next week.

Hope you enjoy! Please keep sharing, subscribing, commenting and enjoying as it really makes this little thing keep ticking along. Much love, Paul x

Another wondrous moment aboard Violet Mary. Dan (Headswim, Blackcar) and Sam (Death Hymns, Experimental Vesssels) bringing new life to a song from the 60s. W...

21/06/2024

Another absolute gem from Benny Jones. Thank you for all the shares and subscribers- things are flowing in the most beautiful of ways and is very much appreciated. Happy Fridays all and hope you enjoy the sunshine 🌞

Here's the fellow boater and wonderful musician Benny Jones performing his new song 'Distant Fable'. Head over to his Youtube page to watch more of his wonde...

14/06/2024

Happy Fridays all!
What a treat! Headswim meets Nirvana meets Lead Belly through the sublime talents of and . I love the timeless nature to this song- born from protest, a runaway slave, a murder ballad, a sentiment and story echoed and changed through the years but always resonant in its somber tones. It is said Lead Belly originally sang it ‘my boy’, but the record label thought it too risky to represent a runaway slave in this way so he changed it to ‘my girl’- opening a narrative of heartache too.

I hope you enjoy this performance and production as much as I have. My motivation for Howling Barge was to create timeless art that will be enjoyed forever- and this I think will stand the test of time , sitting alongside performances from 1870- and what a thing that is!

Please do check the whole song on YouTube and subscribe and share and spread the love. The channel has over 100 new subscribers since I last shared- the ball is moving but we still need any help we can get. Thanks all. And a special thanks to Dan and Sam- to have 2 world class musicians just step in and play makes me realise something quite magical is happening, and that we are now good friends is just wonderful. Thanks guys, Paul x

https://youtu.be/2iAtEd6b474?si=SnuZagnIaBnNqQV1

Headswim

A stunning version of the timeless classic from 1870. Dan Glendining (Headswim, Blackcar) and Sam Kennedy (Death Hymns, Experimental Vessels) delivering some...

10/06/2024

Happy Mondays- I hope this brings a smile to you all. On a day that rained the music shone! Here’s another absolute gem from Amuse Manouche. Gypsy jazz and Violet Mary are a match made in heaven I think and how lucky we all are we get to enjoy this on a Monday! What unbelievably talented musicians Amuse Manouche are, and what a thrill to bring these timeless tunes that have drifted on rivers in America to our little corner of Hertfordshire.

This Friday I will share another new session and I’ll make it funday Friday every Friday and endeavour to always share a new season each Friday from here on in. There’s a lot of Fridays so wish me luck!

The YouTube channel has nearly 400 subscribers which is wonderful. If you could all share, subscribe, post it wherever you think it would be enjoyed that would be an enormous support for everyone and greatly appreciated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG6w91WjuiM

Here's the amazing Amuse Manouche playing their rendition of Swing That Music live on a narrowboat. What could be more perfect? For more follow https://www.f...

07/06/2024

Amazing session with the ridiculously talented and joining creative forces. They played the most wondrous folk into the eve as a sunset unfurled, we laughed until it hurt and talked all things life and music.

This is what it’s all about! Dan and Sam met through Howling Barge and have amazing projects together on the horizon- as well as us all becoming great friends. I’ve heard so many stories of collaboration, friendship and connection from this little creative lightning rod and I can’t wait for session season to continue.

I have sessions from .bellzzz, and more from coming soon as well as more exciting acts booked in. Thank you all for the support you give and the joy that spreads to us all. Please do subscribe to the YouTube channel (link in bio) and share it far and wide. If I can get it to 1000 subscribers we can help all the more as the platform can monetise!

Much love, Paul x

03/06/2024

Happy Mondays everyone.
Here’s some joy to start your week from the ever-so joyful Benny Jones. Benny lives a life of travel and adventure on his narrow boat and van life with partner Emily and this shines through in his music. For a moment Violet Mary was transported to some other time and place, echoes of early Bowie and Nick Drake, that shruti box drone encouraging the fish to shimmer to the surface of the water, butterflies danced through the Hertford meadow grass that surrounds, and somewhere Benny’s voice flew taking us with it.

Please pop over to Benny’s page and fill your Monday with magic from his musical offerings- and there will be more to share from here too. Please do watch the video in its full 4k glory and length on YouTube (link in story and bio)- give a subscribe and watch a few other sessions to help those musicians be seen and heard.

This is the first session with Howling Barge moving location so stay tuned to see where we are next and who will be joining! Thank you Benny- I just absolutely loved having you over and I hope our watery paths will cross again. Paul x

https://youtu.be/Vu_50cswZ_8?si=Em8HscPVnBDV3Eo-

Here's the fellow boater and wonderful musician Benny Jones performing his new song 'Distant Fable'. Head over to his Youtube page to watch more of his wonde...

31/05/2024

What an absolute joy it was to welcome and Ben&emily. Arriving in a converted ambulance and living in a narrow boat too, there’s a magical charm to everything about Benny’s music. So great to welcome Adam Floating Home to join the fun. For me it’s the best of what social media can be- a pathway for real connections to happen and for real art and joy to be shared.

Thank you all for your support. It’s been such a positive in my life and now that Howling Barge is settled in moving around, sessions will start again in earnest- with new surroundings to look forward to as well as the journeys there. Please do pop over and see for more delights.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Paul x

We host and record live sessions aboard our narrowboat to support and showcase the talents of grassroots musicians. By pledging you will help support musicia...

04/04/2024

Wonderful new session, thank you Marta Per

Performed by Marta PerProduced by Paul Smith for Howling Bargehttps://www.thehowlingbarge.com/Instagram and facebook