Kelly Oliver arrived at Cranleigh Art Centre midway through a sixteen date tour supporting her accomplished new Album “Botany Bay”. A tour that took her musically to Scotland for the first time before heading into England as far as Penzance and finishing where the Album’s traditional folk songs are rooted, in her home county of Hertfordshire.
Her visit to Cranleigh caught her straight off the back of the Album’s official launch at London’s Cecil Sharp House where she was joined on stage by musician and friend Toby Shaer (Sam Kelly and the Lost Boys), and an audience made up of family, friends and supporters.
Cranleigh Arts Centre is a multi-purpose community space with a homely feel fitting for a village in the midst of the Surrey Hills. It’s not always easy for travelling solo artists to adjust to new venues given they differ greatly from purpose-built halls to someone’s front room. For Kelly stepping out to an unfamiliar crowd would have felt quite different to her previous show. There was a slight moment of awkwardness mixed with anticipation as Kelly entered the room and then had to fiddle around getting things ready before introducing herself to the audience.
It’s something that venues can help Artists with, by simply welcoming them on stage and providing a brief introduction. If nothing else, it puts the audience at ease and allows them to acknowledge the Artist’s entrance.
Kelly started her set with the song that begins “Botany Bay”, The Miser & His Daughter. The song immediately showcased the pureness of her vocal and established the tone and theme for the rest of the evening.
The audience was appreciative of Kelly’s raw talent, and each song was greeted with increasing support. The show’s highlight based on audience response was undoubtedly the acapella version of Lady Margaret. Kelly explained that the recorded version uses a vocoder, which does provide an echoey depth to the vocal on the Album. However, in this live environment the vulnerability of Kelly’s performance, taking away her guitar was wonderful to witness. It’s been written that Kelly’s voice is what makes her such an important folk artist to follow and this rendition proved this.
She demonstrated that she is an accomplished guitar player, taking the time to retune between songs and often using the time to deliver an antidote to a song’s background. Without hitting a wrong note, her playing tended towards chords using more integrate finger work as songs transitioned between chapters in the stories she was telling.
She joked that for an Album taking its inspiration from traditional Hertfordshire songs there is an awful lot about sailors for an inland place. Even the Album’s title track seemingly takes its name from a coastal town in Kent. The great song collector and discoverer Lucy Etheldred Broadwood is well known in the Surrey Hills and is referenced as the source for some of the song selection on Botany Bay. However, It is clear from Kelly’s own explanations about her own material that she is a keen researcher as well. She likes history, evident in her song Bedlam which she played from her second Album about a madhouse, or from the more personal Miles to Tralee about her grandparents falling in Love and spending a Life together and the care given in old age. Her wide range of influences became apparent through the concert, a case in point being Bob Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather” which was very well received.
Kelly’s website suggests that her sound has pop or indie references, but this was definitely a folk evening and performer, in everything from the venue, crowd and delivery. There was a moment midway through Boots of Spanish Leather where her voice found a different dimension. There is a sense that with the right songs we could see her develop a vocal range and style not yet heard in the recorded format which is more than an exciting feeling!
There was an honesty and sweetness in her manner, and she was grateful as she thanked those who had chosen to spend their Friday night with her. Maybe sensing that for many this was the first time some visitors to Cranleigh’s Art Club had heard her songs. In the end, it was the audience who thanked her as they recommended local takeaways and pubs for after the show.
Kelly Oliver is an artist which having seen her Live will benefit from her research led third Album and exploration of the Folk back catalogue. Her vocal clarity and strength was evident, and the stripped back production of the show only enhanced this. On the new Album the nearest example of this is on the track The Trees Do Grow High. It was a shame not to have this included in the set, but that is a minor quibble on what was an outstanding and intimate show. Her tour continues, so try and see her if you can and savour her tone and style in what should be considered as an important stage in her career.
Upcoming Tour Dates
OCTOBER
16 – DEVON -Bradninch Folk Club
19 – PENZANCE -The Acorn
25 – LEICESTER The Musician
NOVEMBER
2 – SUFFOLK – Hadleigh Folk Club
3 – CHESTER – House Concert
8 – MILTON KEYNES – The Stables
9 – LINCOLNSHIRE – Market Rasen Festival Hall
More details here http://kellyoliver.co.uk/