With the bulk of January’s grey days already disappearing in the rear view mirror I made my way for the first time this year to Lincolnshire premier Americana music venue, the Town Hall at Kirton in Lindsey. The evening’s concert saw the return of Canada’s folk/country harmony trio, Good Lovelies, who for well over a decade have been gracing this stage and enthralling the local congregation with their brand of exquisite melodies, and intricate harmonies all wrapped up in thought provoking songs. The trio would reveal later in the evening that throughout their regular sojourns to these Isles tonight’s venue is the one they have played more than any other in the UK, another reminder of the great work done by local promotor Brian Chudley. Tonight’s performance was dedicated to the memory of another local hero of Americana music, Nick Lawson who sadly passed away last year. Nick’s passion and support for the music he loved was almost legendary, attending roughly a hundred gigs a year, acting as tour manager for Rachel Harrington, as well as attending all Good Lovelies shows on these shores and on at least two occasions travelling to Canada to see them perform in their homeland. In doing so he built up a great friendship with the trio who during the early part of tonight’s show took it in turn to pay a fitting tribute and share a few of their stories and memories, while members of his family listened on in the audience.
The Juno Award winning trio, are made up of Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough, and Sue Passmore. They first met at primary school, before coming together to form Good Lovelies back in 2006 and are currently on tour to promote their most recent studio album release ‘We Will Never Be The Same’ which received glowing reviews, including in these pages, on its release last October. The night’s proceedings kicked of with ‘In The Morning’, the opening number from their 2015 album ‘Burn The Plan’, immediately setting the tone as the three voices seamlessly weaved and entwined their magic, with Brooks, ably supported by Ough, handling guitar duties whilst Passmore displayed her musical dexterity covering bass, keyboards and percussion. Next up was the Canadian chart topping single ‘I See Gold’, originally from 2018’s album ‘Shapeshifters’, before the trio turned the focus on the new material, firstly with ‘Not A Lost Cause’, that saw Passmore deliver the ultimate in multitasking, consummately taking lead vocals whilst supplying keyboards and percussion. Ough took over on vocals for ‘Baby I’, before handing responsibilities over to Brooks for ‘All My Days’, and ‘Find Our Way Home’. Between numbers the trio took it in turn to interact with the audience, sharing personal stories, little anecdotes, and light hearted banter, offering a perfect mix of humour and intimacy. The first set was brought to a close by three older songs, starting with ‘When The City Settles’, which saw the three musicians venture to the front of the stage with acoustic guitars and sang without the microphones to a hushed hall that hung on every word, before ‘Torn Screen Door’, and ‘Lie Down’, brought the first half of the show to a close.
After a short interval during which time the audience were able to avail themselves to the most recent release ‘We Will Never Be The Same’, along with a good selection of the trio’s back catalogue from the merchandise table, Good Lovelies returned to the stage opening with ‘Sleepwalking’, which originally appeared on their eponymous debut album back in 2009 with tonight’s rendition highlighting some excellent guitar playing from Brooks. Another couple of older tracks followed with Ough taking lead vocals on ‘Best I Know’, her pristine voice perfectly capturing the intimacy of this heartfelt number before collectively they slipped effortlessly into ‘Waiting For You’. Up next was the first cover version of the night, and, as they had earlier in the evening the trio returned to the front of the stage for a stunning unaccompanied, other than for a gently picked acoustic guitar, rendition of ‘Wayfaring Stranger’.
For the remainder of the second set the focus was firmly on the new album which exhibited a greater sense of maturity within the songwriting craft exploring the topics closest to their hearts, relationships, family and friendships, with all the hopes and anxieties of life’s changing roles. Starting with ‘I Should Tell You More’, and culminating in two of the album’s numerous highlights ‘Tip To Toe’, and ‘Young At Heart’, Brooks, Ough, and Passmore combined to cement the emotional connection they had garnered through the evenings performance with the local congregation, who, as the trio departed the stage, burst into such tumultuous applause that the very walls of the sold out venue seamed to visibly shake. Fortunately there was time for one more number as Good Lovelies returned to the stage to pay homage to one of their greatest countrymen and inspiration, the legendary singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, performing a sublime cover in waltz time, of the seasonally appropriate ‘Song For A Winter’s Night’, which coruscated as brightly as the star filled January sky.
One can’t help but feel that if Messrs Lightfoot and Lawson were looking down on the night’s proceedings there would be a tip of the hat and a broad smile just as there was with the audience as they left the hall with the infectious chorus to ‘Young At Heart’, still gently flowing from their lips. Let’s hope that the relationship between Good Lovelies and the Town Hall at Kirton in Lindsey continues to thrive and it won’t be long before they return to this hallowed stage.
