First gig of the year was a Birmingham trip to catch the annual Transatlantic Sessions gig. It is always a treat - you are guaranteed superb musicianship from the 'house band' and the featured soloists are often new talents that you are delighted to be introduced to. That was definitely true this time - I had not heard of any of the five 'soloists' before the gig but I would probably go to see each of them if they toured here. Perhaps pick of the bunch for her all-round musicality and the strength of her songs and vocals was Rachel Sermanni who in the first half sang 'Breathe Easy' and the a Robbie Burns song 'Ae Fond Kiss'. Before her were firstly Cahalen Morrison whose second song 'Wealth of Sorrow' was a tour de force vocally, secondly Cathy Jordan who has a classic Irish voice and sang a beautiful Gaelic song and thirdly Sierra Hull,- American mandolin player and singer whose first song 'How Long' was a brilliant combination of vocals and mandolin. Following Rachel Sermanni was a dynamic performance from Australian (that's a first for Transatlantic Sessions) guitarist Tommy Emmanuel who entertained first by playing some seriously fast tunes that had the Scottish contingent right on their toes determined not to be outdone by an Aussie and then by covering 'I'm on Fire' from the Boss. Of course there were also tunes from time to time and various fronting performances by members of the band including a Phil Cunningham air featuring Mike McGoldrick, a mandolin special from Russ Barenberg, a John Doyle led song and starting the second half a Jerry Douglas/Tommy Emmanuel instrumental that was of course a highlight. The second half included further songs from the featured soloists including another stunning song from Rachel Sermanni ('Eggshells'). Perhaps the best moments of the night were saved for the encores - a spine-tingling rendition of 'The Old Churchyard' with the three female vocalists singing harmony above just an accordion accompaniment from Phil and then a riotous tunes finish form the extraordinary band that included the amazing Aly Bain, John McCusker, Donal Shaw, Daniel Kimbo, James Mackintosh as well as everyone mentioned above. Always a pleasure and a 2020 was a very good tour.
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