The Woolverstones Live

The Woolverstones play The Spotted Dog on Saturday 24 October, from 21:00 to 23:00. They're an art-folk outfit with a grassroots work ethic that sees them play more than 70 dates a year across the UK and Europe, and this is one of those nights.

Their debut album, Grey Eyed Dandy, was produced and mixed by Grammy-nominated engineer John Wood, the man behind classics by Nick Drake, John Martyn and Fairport Convention. That lineage sits right at the heart of their sound — the sort of finger-picked folk and carefully layered arrangements that lean more towards the acoustic tradition than the indie charts. They've picked up a BBC Introducing 'Track of the Week' along the way, and praise from members of The Byrds, and they've built a dedicated international following around their live shows.

Their festival record runs through the Cambridge Folk Festival (stage 3), the Howth Roots and Blues Festival and the Cropredy Fringe. On the support circuit, they've played with acts as varied as indie legends Inspiral Carpets and freak-folk pioneer Malcolm Le Maistre of The Incredible String Band, which gives you a fair idea of where they fit in — somewhere between the folk club and the art-rock stage.

It's a free admission gig, so you can get in without spending a penny. The set runs from 21:00 to 23:00 at The Spotted Dog, 104 Warwick Street, Digbeth, B12 0NH.