My good friend Bob Brooker wrote a review of a recent Kate Rusby concert. I'm sure he won't mind me quoting it here as it was circulated to a wide circle of local folk fans:
I had the ultimate pleasure of seeing Kate Rusby at the Arts Centre last night. (I just have to tell someone!!) I can honestly say that in fifty years of enjoying music in one form or another - this was the highlight of it all.
Her band that included John McCusker and Andy Cutting plus a superb guitarist from Orkney and an equally brilliant double bass player, along with five members of the Coldstream Guards, ("The Brass Boys!"), gave such a polished and professional performance - it is little wonder she has just won the 'Best Live Act', (it is safe to say that no other act stands a chance!), plus many other acolades. Many of the songs were from the album 'Little Lights' with a splattering of older and newer material. There's not a female singer in the whole world can equal this natural talent, plus the talents of her accompanying musicians.
If you get the chance to see this 'Autumn Tour' then go! If you hate folk music - you'll love this gig!
The review inspired one person to respond - 'so it was OK then?'
I've seen Ms Rusby on an earlier tour and she is definitely one of the best young singers in the UK folk scene (and beyond) - plus a good, media-friendly 'ambassador' for the folk movement.
Bob's final comment - 'if you hate folk music...' - highlights the continuing debate about what is folk music and what do people think is folk music? I haven't seen members of the Coldstream Guards perform on brass in a local folk club although my own band's music sessions often attract two very fine cello-players who fit in well with the more traditional fiddles, banjos, bodhrans and guitars.
Kate, John, Andy & co. clearly appeal to a much wider audience than those who regularly frequent folk clubs by drawing on 'tradition' to produce a very 'popular' form of music. They are also great originators within the genre, writing some superb songs and tunes. But much of their popularity also lies in how they perform and I wonder if this indicates a major difference between 'folk' music as performed in the 'amateur' environment of a folk club, and 'popular' music, as performed in a professional 'showbiz' environment.
The former usually focuses on the song or tune itself - who wrote it, where it came from, etc. - while the latter usually focuses on the performance - how the song is sung, how the artist relates to the audience, all the stuff they look for in the X-factor.
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Kate Rusby folk image folk clubs folk tradition popular music
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