Son Henry, plus Paul Keddle and Steve Shipman

It was a change of venue this week for the Mid Wales Rhythm & Blues Club, as we enjoyed the hospitality of Brecon’s excellent Two Dogs Coffee & Tea Emporium.

Cosily nestled in beside the rows of coffee bean dispensers, and intoxicated by their seductively heady aroma, we were treated firstly to a highly enjoyable and entertaining set from two of our regular club favourites: Paul Keddle and Steve ‘Shippy’ Shipman.

Paul initially showcased the breadth of his songwriting, with brief forays into jazz and country styles, with a delicate finger-style guitar accompaniment which worked very well in the intimate atmosphere of the venue. Then before too long it was time to swing on back to the blues, with Shippy’s wonderfully expressive harmonica blending perfectly with Paul’s many excellent stomping songs of romantic woe.

Particularly impressively, Paul brought out the resonator guitar for the last couple of numbers, ‘Ball and Chain’ and ‘Blues to the Bone’, and he and Steve together conjured up a wonderfully rhythmic blues shuffle. You could certainly tell that these two musicians have played together for years, they were so well in-step with one another.

After a short break it was time for Son Henry to take his place centre-stage in front of the giant coffee bean roaster.

He charmed the audience immediately, with the wonderfully plaintive American blues atmosphere of his song ‘Sackcloth and Ashes’ – the lonesome sound of his lap steel guitar complementing the regretful weariness of the lyrics perfectly.

Swapping to the electric resonator guitar, he spoke to us about his early musical influences – especially the legendary Son House – before then treating us to some of his own authentic Delta Blues – the excellent ‘Hole in my Soul’ conjuring up dusty images of a bygone America as he bemoaned his “worried and windswept mind”.

Moving on from that, ‘Queen of the Pines’ delivered a wonderful concoction of folk-tinged country blues mixed with some excellent modern songwriting. You could sense him drawing upon his own roots and influences, from Aberdeen to Alaska.

As the set drew onwards, it was perhaps the quality of Son Henry’s gentler love songs that impressed the most: “People aren’t writing enough decent love songs these days”, he complained – but he more than makes up for that single-handedly. His songwriting is intelligent, sensitive and soulful, as he summons up romance from the most improbable things… desolate bus stations, kids on the beach, tangled sheets, and a rusty old porch swing – all of them provide memorable and evocative imagery, imbuing the songs with heartfelt and poignant emotion.

Remarkably, there’s never a cliché in any of his lyrics: everything feels authentic, perfectly constructed, and “deep not complicated”.

There was one final nod to the blues as he joined forces with Mr Shipman for a stomping rendition of ‘She’s my Home’ – which was followed by the desperate urgency of a lovelorn ‘Katie’… then a final encore of “What a Wonderful World” which brought a parting tear to the eye, as the audience left knowing that they had experienced a performance of rare quality, in the ideally intimate atmosphere of the Two Dogs.

We wish Son and Carolina every success and safe travels as they continue with their UK tour, and we also warmly thank John and Sian Bowen of Two Dogs for their hospitality for this memorable evening. And thanks as always to everyone who helped to make this gig possible, and who came along to support live music of this quality.