John Kearney & Lucy Farrell + Luke Ritchie + Richard Burke @ Hare and Hounds, 3rd November 2011
Winter has truly got underway in Birmingham and promoters Moseley Folk present their monthly night The Lunar Society that brings singer songwriters to the cosy candlelit second room of the Hare and Hounds.
The first act to take to the stage is the local Richard Burke who recently released his album ‘An Ocean Full of Broken Stars’, which he was offering to people for the Radiohead style “Pay what you feel”. The first thing that came to my attention was his delicate John Martyn-esque acoustic guitar finger picking. There is very much a raw feel to his song writing, which suits both his voice and guitar playing. A great opener and addition to the bill!
Second on was Luke Ritchie, an artist I had heard about before from his show at the Unplugged Sessions in London. His soft-spoken charm really gave the second room of the Hare and Hounds a great feeling of warmth on this cold night in Kings Heath. The song ‘Northern Lights’ off his latest EP ‘Butterfly’ seemed a perfect start to the winter. Ritchie’s definitely worth keeping an eye on in the future! His debut album ‘The Water’s Edge’ is due for release on December 5th.
Headliners John Kearney and Lucy Farrell brought the evening to a close with their songs about heartbreak and a lyrically downbeat version of the famous nursery rhyme ‘Jack and Jill’. Although a lot of the lyrics would appear to be quite pessimistic and depressing if you sat down and read them, the way they come across in the songs is completely the opposite. Lucy found herself playing a saw during the set, which instantly lead me to the soundtrack for ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and Jonny used his train ticket to transform his guitar into what I can only describe as a harp that looked like a guitar… You can see them again in March next year at the Glee Club!
This night was a joy to be at, moving from London to Birmingham last year made me realise how spoilt for choice Londoner’s have it. But The Lunar Society looks to be making a big difference in Birmingham’s folk scene!
Review & photos – James Hough