Categories: heritage-and-art, music
Date: 04 May 2010 07:35:24
Maddy Prior and Nick Hennessey are out on a small northern tour at the moment, (North of Skipton or North of Barnsley depending on what you're reading). This gives the opportunity to see Prior (of Steeleye Span fame aswell as an acknoweldged performer in her own right) in intimate venues. Last night I saw them in St. Michael and All Angels in Houghton. This was the first time they had put on this type of gig and it was a wonderful success, and so they are planning to put on some more folky stuff in the church. They don't have a mailing list set up yet and so I think it's going to be a case of keeping an eye on the website at the moment. This is worth doing though, this church has perfect acoustics. The setting is intimate but the sound was as good as at the vast Sage Hall One, which is the last place I saw Prior sing (on the Steeleye Span anniversary tour). Hennessey is a storyteller and folk singer with a harp. Thus he complimented Prior and her wonderful voice beautifully. There were a couple of stories mixed in with the songs and, he may well be my second favourite storyteller now. (John Row will always be my favourite one, but then I guess I am bound to be biased). The first part of the gig celebrated love and relationships, (in the way only folk music can) and the second half mainly celebrated the culture and stories of "the borderlands", this Northumberland site explains a little about the history of the borderlands. If you get the chance to see either Hennessey or Prior take it because I can't recommend them highly enough.