Last Sunday evening, Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman returned to the intimate setting of Reese Memorial for fun folk music in the heart of beautiful Swaredale.
This year, the couple – two-time nominated BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Best Duo- celebrated 30 years of music together and released their first live album on Circus entitled Another Day.
Reeth Performance was a lovely balance of traditional and contemporary materials, including songs from Sungs Most Sunset albums such as the 2023 Ropedancer.
The evening began with a traditional song, Torime's Visit song, before the self-written number “The Fall of the Lion Queen.” Roberts explained that this story of the female Lion Tamar came from a lion's perspective and was inspired by the museum exhibitions they saw in Rochester.
It was a great example of how the pair could draw inspiration from the most unlikely sources.
Another example is 52 HERTZ, a song that touches the species, with a news article about whales looking for companions, unconsciously broadcasting their calls at the wrong frequency, preventing potential companions from hearing.
Similarly, a visit to the Poison Gardens at Alnwick Castle and a stressful trip to the lesser known example of the Back First Abbey with young children reflected on Kathryn's desire throughout history to ingest the substance to change our perceptions. This led to the writing of Poison Club, a disturbing rag number that warns you that “it's not enough to get to be a member.”
Roberts played keyboards and occasional flutes, her songs were fascinating, and Lakeman's guitar playing was extremely skilled, whether finger-picking a gentle melody, but powerfully performed with more up-tempo numbers.
Sean's charm to everything Napoleon's thing – he was still excited to see the standard for Wellington's Battle from Waterloo the day before Halifaxminster – was on display in Bonnie's defeat, telling of the days of Napoleon's exile on the plains of St. Helena and Suilla.
Rusalka, a story of a Russian river dwelling, observed that Sean on their trip was clear that local folklore suggested that an astounding number of rivers appear to have stories of mythical creatures.
Of course, there is no murder ballad and no folk evening where the horrible child Auwlett is not in line with the bill. Centuries of incest, betrayal and murder stories feature a wife who tricks her husband with the belief in robbing him and stealing his revenge by tearing him into Moore's horse.
Pew Toh was the last song of the evening, a spiritual, meditative song about his favourite parts of Dartmoor near their home.
It concluded the magical night of musical storytelling in a true grassroots venue.
For more information about upcoming events, please visit Reethmorialhall.weebly.com
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