Glaswegian singer Daniel Meade and his friends gave a right rollicking Americana start to the evening. The band landed onstage in an enviable array of hats that promised, and went on to deliver a magnificent start to the evening. The folksy foot stomping ‘What you Waiting For’ was a highlight with its references to Glasgow, and left the crowd suitably warmed.
Sturgill Simpson was up next. Originally from Kentucky, but currently a resident of Nashville, Sturgill has been hailed by Rolling Stone as the ‘Saviour of Country Music’ and compared by many to the late Waylon Jennings.
The rollercoaster of a set started slow and hurtled towards an epic ending taking in some frenzied finger picking and awesome slide guitar along the way.
The crowd were knowledgeable and quite clearly fans of Sturgill’s music, and he interacted with them like old friends. When requested to play ‘Hero’ he replied that we would hear pretty much everything apart from this track as it would result in tears in his beard, “instead of us crying we are going to make you cry”. Indeed some of his mournful ballads including a cover by Lefty Furzzels ‘I Never Go Around Mirrors’ and the superb ‘Water in the Well’ from his most recent album, left the audience captivated.
The band were incredibly tight and at some points the set turned into an all out jamming session with Estonian guitarist Laur Joamets and Sturgill taking it in turns to wow the crowd. There were also nods to Sturgill’s Bluegrass roots. Sturgill explained “we sat on our porches and drank a load of whisky and played music that gradually sped up and became bluegrass music”.
Sturgill’s music was new to me, but along with the rest of the audience, I was completely entranced throughout the gig by his effortlessly powerful voice and beautiful soaring melodies. I really don’t know whether Sturgill Simpson is the saviour of country music, but whatever he is preaching I am his latest convert. Highly recommended.
Katy
