That Flemons and Simpson are able to rework and revive the tensions and turmoils that fester in blues and folk music is the deepest tribute a musician can pay to their forebears, as well as the only way to bring those ghosts back to life.
We catch Laura Cantrell at the dramatic St. John The Evangelist Church in Oxford as part of her tour in support of both the 16th anniversary vinyl edition of her debut album and the new At the BBC On Air Performances & Recordings 2000-2005.
This is music with an edge: tough and palpably volatile…Terse in approach, but richly contoured musically and with a scale that feels cinematic – Bloodline goes after an atmosphere and realizes it vividly.
Kate Rusby and her band led by Damien O’Kane provided an evening of top entertainment at Oxford’s Playhouse Theatre – surreal, hypnotic and wondrous…they did not disappoint.
