Classic Clips: Kathleen Edwards – Live at Massey Hall, 4th May 2018

First off, I’ll have to admit I’m cheating here since this is less of a clip and more of a five song set, but I was so inspired by seeing Kathleen Edwards herself just a couple of weeks ago that this had to be my choice.

When I saw her – supporting Craig Finn in Liverpool – she did a stellar 11-song supporting set (which has to be a record for the most I’ve ever seen an opening act do). It wasn’t just singing, though, she also interjected with a lot of interesting, and often humorous, stories surrounding the songs; at some point, she got onto the topic of the times she’s been able to perform at Toronto’s Massey Hall and what a wonderful venue it is – even if, in the unjust musical landscape in which we live, she admitted she doesn’t think she’ll ever be big enough to headline it alone – so you can see why when I came home, one of the first things I did was search YouTube and find this video.

Originally performed on the 4th May 2018 when Edwards was supporting fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Matt Mays, this Massey Hall set wasn’t actually released officially until May 2020 as a way to help Edwards’ promote her new at-the-time album, “Total Freedom”, because it was, as I’m sure you’ll all remember, impossible for artists to play to a physical live audience at the time.

In my humble opinion, the full 30-minute video, with the classics ‘Six O’Clock News’, ‘Empty Threat’ and ‘Asking for Flowers’, plus the more recent ‘Ashes to Ashes’, is worth your time – but if you would like to stick to the true meaning of this feature and cut it down to a single clip, I’d say the joyous version of ‘Options Open’ at 26:42 acts as a very suitable highlight.