Catrin Finch - 4 June 2026

It's always worth going to a Catrin Finch gig and this was another one of her projects, a solo show reflecting on her youger self called 'Notes to Self'. She started each track by setting up a loop on the harp then reading some advice to her 13 year old self and then back to the harp to weave the magic she creates on that instrument. It waqs of course outstanding and mesmeric as usual. I particularly liked 'Clear Sky', 'Kin' and 'Mor Arianrhod' plus the last song was pretty special as well 'Angels'. There was an encore of a piece of ancient welsh music. I've already got tickets for next years gig with Oife Ni Brhain at Acapela.

Synergedd (Alaw/Vri/Hannah James) 16 May 2026

What a contrast - Friday Emmylou 2,000 punters @ up to £85 a pop, Saturday 24 punters @ £16. A shame for the six musicians who played at The Met in Abertillery - all important figures in the South Wales music scene who had got together to work up a performance which was interesting, enjoyable and accomplished. There were welsh folk tunes, some spoken words, lots of great vocals and even some clog dancing from Hannah (always a pleasure to watch). All are excellent musicians and we had seen Alaw and Hannah James each a couple of times before and also Dylan Fowler on his own. Each was superb on their instruments - cello, fiddle, accordian, guitar, harpsichord?, plus another type of squeeze box and the vocals were great; mainly Hannah, Jordan Price-Williams and Nia Lynn. The set was a conceptual piece based around Welsh history and events. A lovely evening marred a little by the fact that there only 24 people in The Met watching original music and seemingly most of the rest of Abertillery was in the local Wetherspoons.

Emmylou Harris - 15 May 2026

Billed as her final European tour - and at 79 years old it probably is - it was not to be missed and we managed some excellent seats in the second row. First up was Jim Lauderdale, a name I didn't know but it turned out he used to write songs with Robert Hunter so he had a pedigree. He was an entertaining singer songwriter with a great voice and good guitar skills. Emmylou came on with a five piece backing band who were excellent as was to be expected although they were all new to me. She kicked off with 'Love ' duetting with Jim Lauderdale then into 'Here I am' and 'Orphan Girl'. It was evident that her voice was not quite what it used to be but she knew how to carry a song, played a mean acoustic guitar and the band behind her was very good. It was not long before she played the song that was non-negotiable for me 'Pancho and Lefty' and then the classic EH track 'Red Dirt Girl'. Tracks I was not expecting but hugely enjoyed were 'Going Back to Harlen', 'Kern River' and 'Hickory Winds'. Just great to hear all three of those. Tracks I was expecting and hugely enjoyed were 'Luxury Liner and 'Boulder to Birmingham,. The former featured excellent guitar playing from Will Kimbrough. There was an amazing gospel number 'Help Him Jesus' that really had the band on fire. Throughout Eamon McLoughlin on mandolin and fiddle was outstanding - I am not sure I have mandolin solos as good as his before. I see that the setlist varies a lot between the UK gigs - what a star to do that at 79! Phil Madeira, on keys, Will Kimbrough, guitar, Chris Donohue, bass, and Bryan Owings on drums, Eamon McLoughlin on fiddle and mandolin.

Katharine Priddy - 22 April 2026

Katharine Priddy has impressed on all three times we've seen her - first as a support act, then playing the Acapela and this time headlining at St Georges. Her new album is superb and this gig featured nine of the ten tracks on with a few songs from the back catalogue thrown in as well. This included two standout new songs for me 'Hurricane' and 'Matches'. Of the older songs I remember 'Eurdyce' and 'Icarus' from previous gigs - both great songs. First we had a support act singer songwriter whose name I didn't catch and whose music I thought was meh. Katharine had two musicians backing her - the guitarist was George Boosma who supported her and played with her last time we saw her. He was on electric guitar and backing vocals. There was third musician this time on keyboards, violin and for one song a mandolin. There's not a lot more to say except she is a genuine talent and I enjoyed the gig immensely.

Eliza Carthy et al 5 April 2026

This was supposed to be a farewell tour for Martin Carthy featuring daughter Eliza but it turned out too late for the 84 year old who wasn't well enough to tour so it was Eliza plus friends playing songs of his. We like Eliza who is an excellent fiddle player and she ran the show which had a complement of six musicians and different line ups for each song. Some of it was bit too hardcore folky for me but Eliza was great throughout. I liked a Waterson:Carthy track whose title I didn't catch and the tunes they played and Tim Van Eyken on melodeon, guitar and vocals was good, Nock Hart was an excellent singer and all in all it was an interesting and enjoyable gig.

David Byrne - 2 March 2026

It is nearly eight years since David Byrne brought his 'Utopia' show to the UK - which was a very different gig ouevre in that all the musicians were untethered and constantly on the move, there were dancers/backing vocalists and the stage was empty of equipment. This show was on the same lines with thirteen performers and the main difference was a huge backdrop video screen(s) adding relevant images. The set list was a nice mixture of songs from the new album and Talking Heads classics. The first song that particularly struck me anew was 'And she was' which was third track in. 'This must be the place', 'Slippery People' and 'The apartment is my friend' (the video was of his apartment in New York) also struck home. The finish was barnstorming stuff - 'Psycho Killer', 'Life During Wartime', 'Once in a lifetime', 'Everybody's Coming to My House' and finally best of all 'Burning Down the House'. Special mention for the long-haired drummer (Tim Keiper? who was also on the 2018 Utopia band), the bassist (Kely Pinheiro?), and dancers/vocalists HannahStraney and Tendayi Kuumba. Vids of ICE terrorising American protesters during 'Life During Wartime' was also spot on. Awesome gig

Marshall Gilmour Webbs - 27 February 2026

I was wondering whether I had been sensible to get tickets for this given that driving to the Acapela on a Friday evening in sheeting rain is not fun but they were outstanding and interestingly different to most bands. All four women are accomplished vocalists in their own right and the inclusion of two harps in the band is always a plus. We saw the impressive Webb sisters when they were backing vocalists (and occasional instrument players ) for Leonard Cohen. Louise Marshall has worked with a list of people way too long to include but most recently as a backing vocalist for Dave Gilmour which is where she got together with the Webbs and with Romany Gilmour. The vocals and harmonies whether acapela or to Hattie Webbs and Romany's harps or Charley Webb's guitar or Louise's keyboards or all of the above were incredible. I don't know the names of most of the songs and there doesn't seem to be a setlist so it's difficult to single out tracks but all were excellent. I did of course recognise 'Great Gig in the Sky' which was much more raucus and full-on compared to the Floyd version and 'Between two points' from David Gilmour's recent album. This track was thge highpoint for me, Romany's voice is perfect for this haunting song and as for the whole gig the harmonies and backing vocals were also perfect. I am really glad we made the effort.