Rachel Newton & Lauren MacColl - 14 September 2022

A lucky co-incidence saw us in the Joan Knight Studio at Perth Theatre with a paltry 40 or 50 others listening to a beautiful set from two Scottish folkies. We had seen Rachel Newton briefly at the Cardiff Harps gig and I found out she was doing her only mainland Scottish gig at the start of an islands tour just 25 miles from our holiday accommodation. Rachel on harp and vocals was joined by Lauren on fiddle and vocals. The first set was from their back catalogues and I loved the opening number a gaelic traditional song (Mo Chubhrachan) -I think. They took it in turns the next song that stood out was 'The Fairburn Calf'.The third tune that I remembered particularly liking was 'The Changeling Air' andat the break I managed to secure all three tracks on CD. The second half was new songs on the subject of the Scottish Witch Trials of the 16th and 17th Centuries with video accompaniment and words written by a separate writer. The whole thing was just brilliant - but where was the audience?

The Handsome Family - 2 September 2022

Another of the much delayed gigs, this was a bit of apunt as I didn't know their music too well and it was a new venue. The venue turned out to be a disappointment, no character, no nice bar area, uncomfortable and very hot. The gig also a bit underwhelming. First up was a weird but funny singer songwriter who played an electric piano and sang downbeat songs. The Handsome Family seemed a little ill at ease, mainly because the singer and rhythym guitarist Brett Sparks was not well - he obviously had a virus of some sort and was not a happy bunny. The music was interesting and enjoyable. The lead guitarist was a mixed bag - early on I found him a bit jangly on some songs but he played some great stuff towards the end particularly on 'Far From Any Road' and the following song - 'Owls'. The drummer was good and With Rennie Sparks playing some harmonious stuff on banjo or bass the overall sound was excellent on most songs. Enjoyable but could have been better.