Live Review: Holly Carter, Newbald Village Hall, North Newbald, Yorkshire – 1st March 2026

There is a sense of civility about teatime concerts on a Sunday. They fit in perfectly with the presumed ambience and relaxed pace. Sunday papers lazily perused, Sunday lunch heartily devoured, and still time for an afternoon nap before grabbing the car keys for a leisurely drive, in the daylight, to one of your favourite venues, knowing the entertainment on offer will be of the highest calibre, and you’ll still be home for Call The Midwife. Yes, these teatime concerts at Newbald Village Hall, a venue that constantly punches above its weight thanks to the tireless work of promoter John Tomlinson and team, are in my view a definite winner, especially when the act on stage is of the quality of this evening’s artist, singer-songwriter and musician extraordinare, Holly Carter, accompanied by her fiancé and equally talented Joe Wilkins.

Bristol-based Holly Carter should require little introduction to regular AUK readers, having already established a reputation as one of the country’s finest finger-style guitarists and one of the UK’s only professional female pedal steel players. Her musical prowess has already been widely recognised within the industry, being the recipient of numerous awards, while her talents have seen her work with the likes of Nina Nesbitt, Lady Nade and Elles Bailey. Late last year, Carter released her debut album, Leave Your Mark, of which our very own esteemed writer Fred Arnold wrote glowingly of her songwriting skills, stating “Carter is destined for greater success”, a view I am sure shared by many.

There was no support for this early evening show, so Carter’s set was split into two, taking to the stage just as the clock struck five. The first thing of note was the array of guitars positioned towards the rear of the stage and between Carter and Wilkins, who sat to her left. There was, however, no sign of a pedal steel, as Carter’s warm manner immediately engaged with the audience, her delivery studious, as if to suggest that, in a different world, she could have made an excellent schoolteacher.

Unsurprisingly, the first set kicked off with two songs from the new album, starting with Follow Your Lead and then Stetson Kennedy, which instantly captured the attention of the local congregation. Carter’s sublime voice was supported by dazzling guitar playing from both musicians, especially on the latter, where Wilkins supplied some delightful slide playing on his Fender Jaguar. In between songs, Carter shone with her insightful knowledge and inspiration for her songs, in this instance, William Stetson Kennedy, an American author, folklorist, and human rights activist who is best remembered for having infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan during the 1940s. Other songs from the new album during the first half included He’s A Man, where Wilkins again excelled, this time on a baritone guitar, which provided just one of the many highlights throughout the performance, while a cover of Gillian Welch’s Elvis Presley Blues was another showstopper. In truth, the comparisons between the duo of Welch and her husband and musical partner, David Rawlings, with the two artists on the stage this evening are palpable, both mining the same musical landscape with songs heavily seasoned with a sense of age and sagacity. There is even a faint familiarity with the vocal delivery of Welch and Carter, though, a possibly more accurate description would be to pitch it somewhere between Rhiannon Giddens and Diana Jones. evoking a strong Appalachian flavour to much of their repertoire.

Midway through the first set, Carter revealed to the audience that she had relatively recently been diagnosed with ADHD, something she had herself suspected for some time, before offering up another number from the new album with Bear With Me, delivering a poignant reminder to us all on the challenges with mental health. The opening half was brought to a close with another of Carter’s historically based songs, this time inspired by Joe Hill, a Swedish-American labour activist during the early 1900s, and a member of the Industrial Workers of the World who became a popular songwriter and cartoonist for the Union before being controversially executed for allegedly murdering two men in 1914. With her song The Ashes Of Joe Hill Carter once again brought history to life, entertaining and educating in equal measure, and I’m sure I am not the only member of the night’s audience who immediately went in search of more information on returning home.

After the usual obligatory interval, during which both Carter and Wilkins were kept busy behind the merchandise desk, the duo returned for the second set, opening with Angel of Apprehension, a song inspired by the 1987 cult film Withnail and I. From there, it was time for the second cover of the night with an excellent version of Redbud Tree, a song by Mark Knopfler that first appeared as the opening track to his 2012 album release Privateering. Along with such luminaries as Chet Atkins, Knopfler has long been an influence on Carter’s playing, particularly for his distinctive finger-picked electric guitar technique.

The second set continued to pull heavily from the new album, with Out To Sea, a song focused on family dysfunction, followed by yet another nod to Joe Hill with Where The Fraser River Flows, which included more delightful fretwork from both Carter and Wilkins. The subtle chemistry, almost telepathic, between the two musicians on stage was tangible, their guitar playing weaving seamlessly, always complementary and on point for each song. Carter announced, prior to the following song, Waiting For You To Come Home, that the couple were due to marry in less than three months, dedicating the song to her partner, which met with much audience approval, before Idle Eyes, a song inspired by her bus journeys through Bristol, and including such imposing lyricism as “Jesus slept on the 309”, provided ample proof that her poetry skills are equal to that of her vocal and musical prowess.

There was still time for a couple more songs, including a cover of Bob Dylan’s A Song To Woody that the duo first performed at The Maverick Festival last year and has now become a staple of their set-list, before the opening track to the album What You See closed the night’s performance. Inspired by the work of Tish Murtha, a photographer best known for documenting marginalised communities, social realism, and working-class life in the North East of England. It is both a wonderful song and a fitting acknowledgement of a woman whose work was not truly recognised in her lifetime, providing the perfect way to close the evening’s proceedings. However, the locals at Newbald Village Hall were never going to let the duo leave without an encore, and after a little confusion as to whether to leave the stage or not, they reconvened to send the audience home happy with one last number.

These may still be early days in the musical career of Holly Carter, but make no mistake, this lady is the real deal. As a musician, singer and songwriter, she has it all, and I wholeheartedly recommend you take the opportunity to catch her playing at your local venue, for on this evidence, it won’t be village halls she will be playing in the coming years; it will be packed-out theatres.