Sunday saw the latest in a series of collaborations between MWRBC and our friends from Brecon Folk & More Club – another memorable evening bringing together some of the best in folk, blues and acoustic/roots music, in the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the Brecon Muse.
Kicking off the evening, it was a pleasure to host a return visit from Chepstow’s finest, Don’t Tell Johnny.
A very accomplished trio of musicians, they treated us to some lovely harmony singing and delicate reverberating guitar accompaniment, in an eclectic mix of their own folk-inspired songs and some wonderfully authentic Americana.
Samantha Brown‘s singing was lovely – particularly impressive when summoning up the slow, delicate melancholy of Gillian Welch’s ‘Dark Turn of Mind‘ and the country swing of ‘Elvis Presley Blues‘.
The rootsy country influence continued through Jon Marsden‘s sensitive singing of Walt Aldridge’s ‘Ain’t No Ash Will Burn‘, and Tim Brown‘s tasteful rendition of Townes van Zandt’s ‘No Place to Fall‘. Tim’s elegant, swooping violin and Jon’s delicate guitar fills added melodic depth to many of the songs, creating an overall sound that was wonderfully rich and relaxing.
They didn’t confine themselves to Americana, however. Their own songs drew upon more local themes and folk influences, most notably the nostalgic ‘Severn Princess‘ (summoning up the sad fate of that boat in 1966) and ‘Caitlin’s Daughter‘ (a wistful evocation of Dylan Thomas through the voice of his daughter). They joked about finishing up their set with ‘three songs about death’ – but their overall performance was immensely uplifting and life-affirming.
Then it was our pleasure and privilege to spend the rest of the evening with Steve Ferbrache – always a most welcome return visitor to Brecon.
Steve is one of those rare performers with an uncanny ability to capture the attention and the hearts of an audience immediately, with a kind of quiet and thoughtful charm, and a delicate intelligence to the lyrics of his songs.
It’s really not very often that the entire Muse audience falls into complete spellbound silence during an artist’s very first number, but ‘Don’t Be Fooled‘ is a real beauty of a song, with words that demand your full attention.
Many of his songs (such as the deeply sad ‘Thinking of My Own‘) seem to step delicately through the pain of early traumas and losses, but always with a wistful yearning to be “coming home”. His gentle plaintive lyricism in ‘After the Goldhawk‘ was even a little reminiscent of an early Paul Simon.
However, Steve explained that the late, great Wizz Jones was his biggest influence, and he did full justice to the rhythmic folk-blues of ‘Corrine‘, with the appropriately painful thumb-slapping technique… Wizz would surely have approved!
A few of the old favourite Achievers numbers are always welcome… the delicacy of ‘No One Remembers‘ contrasting superbly with the delightfully raunchy ‘Careful Sabrina‘.
And – just in case we hadn’t already realised – Steve again demonstrated what a truly excellent guitarist he is, with some rousing Gospel-drenched versions of ‘The Cuckoo‘, ‘Mary Don’t You Weep‘, and finally Eric Bibb’s ‘Don’t Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down‘, sending us all back out into the drizzly Sunday night with our feet stomping.
Steve really seems to enjoy playing in Brecon, and it’s an honour to have him. If you can possibly make it to his next gig in the Brecon Tap on 24th April, with Rufus and Jack from the Achievers, then you can be sure that it’ll be a great night.
This truly was a wonderful evening, with a friendly and warm atmosphere that only really comes with such excellent and original live music. Grateful thanks to all the performers. Also many thanks as ever to everyone who made it possible, to all at the Muse for hosting us, and to everyone who came along to support live music.
https://www.facebook.com/donttelljohnny2016
Photos by Barry Hill
Review by Jim Kerslake
