ROADWORKS UK is on the road again, this time bringing Adam Masterson, right, Astrid, Bodixa and Gina Dootson to Fibbers in York on Sunday.

With funding from the Arts Council of England, Roadworks was set up by like-minded music industry bods who believed a new platform was needed for singer/songwriters. Tom McRae headlined the first tour in 2001 with Thea Gilmore in support; Ben & Jason and Carina Round were on the 2002 line-up.

Such names indicate the value of an acoustic tour that will visit London, Leeds, Glasgow and Italy too in February and March. Masterson, a 22-year-old Londoner who played Fibbers last year, was part of the panel that chose Astrid Williamson, the former Goya Dress vocalist, and Leeds five-piece Bodixa for the Roadworks dates from a blind-tasting session.

"It was all done in a very fair way," says Adam. "The panellists weren't allowed to know whose music they were listening to, or if you did recognise it, you had to say you did."

To tie in with the tour, Adam will be releasing a new version of Sunlight Song as a single on March 8. This track from last year's debut album, One Tale Too Many, has been re-recorded with producer Richard Causon, the English songwriter and keyboard player who worked on such albums as Ryan Adams's Gold, Kings Of Leon's Youth And Young Manhood and Whiskeytown's Pneumonia.

"I got some gigs with the Stereophonics at Earls Court and the Millennium Stadium last year and I needed a keyboard player, and a friend of mine mentioned Richard, who was working with Gary Jules at the time, and we ended up working together for a day or two on Sunlight Song," says Adam.

He is now writing songs for his second album. "I might try out three or four a night on tour and see which ones go down well, doing different ones each night," he says.

He is also planning a working trip to America. "I'm looking to go out to Nashville; just go over there and hook up with some people I know over there. I did a Gram Parsons tribute event and met a few people who said they'd put me up and maybe help with the song writing," he says.

Tickets for Roadworks UK at Fibbers, York, on Sunday cost £7 in advance, £8 on the door.

Updated: 15:48 Thursday, February 19, 2004