Tag Archives: Elizabethan Session

Nancy Kerr & Sweet Visitor Band at Cecil Sharp House 20/11/14

Folk music, Live reviews, , , , , , , ,

One of the most distinctive voices on one of the most significant folk collaborations of 2014, Nancy Kerr’s incredible song-writing and memorable performances on the Elizabethan Session have already made it a folk classic. And she does bring something unique to contemporary folk. No-one loves the pure, crystal clear vocals from the likes of Sandy Denny and Jacqui McShee more than me. They were always an intrinsic and essential feature of the late 60s folk revival in England and their influence rings out to this day. But as beautiful as those voices are, I’ve often wondered how many female vocalists in past centuries really went around delivering folk renditions in Received Pronunciation. Nancy Kerr, on the other hand, has a different vocal style altogether. Earthy and wonderfully expressive, with echoes of an old-time music hall singer thrown in, her voice is no less beautiful and utterly enthralling.

Tonight there is a good turnout for Kerr and her band in the main Kennedy Hall at Cecil Sharp House. The band begin with Never Ever Lay Them Down, the opening track from Kerr’s new album, Sweet Visitor. Described by the vocalist/fiddle-player as a song about city life and love in and age of austerity it is the perfect vehicle, not only for Kerr’s distinctive voice, but also for the rocked-out folk backing from her incredibly talented band. Joining Kerr on fiddle and lead vocals are James Fagan on guitar; Tom Wright on drums, electric and acoustic guitars; Tim Yates on double bass; and Rowan Rheingans on fiddle.

Other highlights tonight include Where Jacaranda’s Grow, Kerr’s reflection on the increasingly hysterical immigration debate in Australia whose lyrics, she noted with sadness, were now also equally relevant to Britain. She also gave us fabulous renditions of a couple of songs she was commissioned to write for the BBC ahead of the 2012 Games. The first, Apollo on the Docks, talks of the coming of the Olympics to the “banks of the Lea” and “Old Silvertown”. With its catchy melody and instantly memorable chorus, even though its subject matter is only a little over two years old, it sounds like it could have been written a hundred years ago and could well become a modern sing-along folk classic.

Kerr reflects warmly on her experiences as part of The Elizabethan Session earlier this year and one of the songs she performs from that tonight is the brilliant Broadside. Those expecting a carbon copy rendition of the original, however, are in for a surprise. This is very much the heavy metal version and Fagan lets rip on guitar. “Why try and compete with Martin Simpson?” he explains.

The band encore with Now Is The Time from the new album, a secular hymn for all those campaigning for a better world, with poignant harmony singing from the whole band. To experience such an illustrious band, talented singer and wonderful songs at Cecil Sharp House, the iconic home of English folk music, is a real delight. The main hall is in need of a bit of TLC these days (there is a restoration appeal) but when the house lights dim it provides a wonderfully atmospheric setting for a very memorable performance from Nancy Kerr and the Sweet Visitor Band.

http://nancykerr.co.uk/

10730912_322054187919205_576961296745325526_n

Related reviews: The Elizabethan Session and The Full English

The Elizabethan Session at Cecil Sharp House 22/3/14

Folk music, Live reviews, , , , , ,

It could almost be an idea for a trashy reality TV show. Get eight musicians confine them to a country house and set them the challenge of writing some songs that they would all perform live together a week later. Oh, and the musicians would all be folk musicians and the music would be inspired by the music and personalities of the Elizabethan era…. In some ways I was wondering what I was letting myself in for when I saw this advertised. But catching sight of the line-up of musicians involved I had little doubt that it was going to be something worth watching. And it was. An absolutely stunning evening.

I can’t pretend I know much at all about sixteenth century music. But anyone thinking an Elizabethan session was going to involve an evening of twee songs about Merrie England, perhaps performed in the style of the theme music from Blackadder, would soon be disabused by the first song.  Shores of Hispaniola, a haunting but beautiful song reflected on Elizabethan England’s gruesome and sordid involvement in the early transatlantic slave trade. Remarkably, we were told, Nancy Kerr had the thing written before breakfast on the very first morning, following a talk to the musicians from an esteemed Elizabethan historian the night before.

The Elizabethan Sessions project was initiated by those behind the Folk by the Oak folk festival working with the English Folk Dance and Song Society. They brought together an amazing line-up of established and up-and-coming artists: Martin Simpson, Nancy Kerr, Jim Moray, Bella Hardy, John Smith, Hannah James, Rachel Newton and Emily Askew.  A packed out main hall at Cecil Sharp House was there to see them.

As well a great collection of new songs, including ones evoking Shakespeare, a “feminist sea shanty” and Martin Simpson’s beautiful song about “brawling, murdering, gay, atheist playwright” Christopher Marlowe’s untimely death in a Deptford bar, we also got some amazing instrumentals, too. Early English music specialist, Emily Askew, brought out and played a weird and wonderful collection of Elizabethan-era instruments throughout the evening.

It was incredible to think that a week before the performance at Cecil Sharp House none of these songs or tunes even existed. But hearing them for the first time and ordering the soon-to-be-released live CD of the sessions immediately after the show, I do know that the music performed tonight was going to become just as familiar to me over the coming months as the songs from another recent stunning folk collaboration, the Full English, have become.

http://www.folkbytheoak.com/TES

Elizabethan