Mabon - 2 March 2019

Another opportunity thanks to the 'Nights Out' programme that subsidises bands to gig at village halls. This time it was Jamie Smith's Mabon at Catbrook. They are a great band to see mainly because they are excellent musicians but they also bring a nice ambience with clear enjoyment at playing in front of village audiences. The music is Celtic with plenty of reels, jigs and airs but with world influences with an occasional polka and the like. Jamie plays accordion, Ollie Wilson-Dickson fiddle, Iolo Whelan drums, Matt Downer Bass and Paul Rogers guitar. The gig was a sort of retrospective celeb rating the 20 years the band has been together so there was old stuff and new stuff. I enjoyed the dancing bear tune that featured both soulful and lively fiddle and accordion, the 'Drum and Breize' tune with its Breton influence, the polka, the frenetic 'Accordionist's Despair' and the encore track that started out as 'Foxy Lady' but morphed into something else and everything really! Great Night out.