Live Review: The Black Feathers, The Town Hall, Kirton in Lindsey – 30th May 2025

For many years, three large banners have hung across the back of the stage at Lincolnshire’s premier Americana music venue, each proudly proclaiming the following: “The Town Hall Live. Bringing the best folk, roots, and americana music to Kirton”, a statement that thanks to local promoter Brian Chudley, the venue has more than lived up to. And yet, I would be the first to admit that in recent times, I have paid scant regard to the message, barely noticing the banners, as my attention was rightfully drawn to the performers on the stage. Familiarity breeds contempt, as the saying goes. However, this evening, for reasons that will become more apparent, its declaration reminded me that even within that relatively broad church of folk, roots, and americana, not all music is so easily defined, not all artists so easily labelled or rewarded for pursuing their own path, creating their own unique sound.

The evening’s headline act, The Black Feathers, comprises husband and wife Ray Hughes on guitar and vocals and Sian Chandler on lead vocals. Having collaborated on several musical projects, they decided to join forces both as a musical duo and as life partners back in 2012, and very quickly garnered rave reviews, with their debut EP, “Strangers We Meet”, being listed in The Telegraph as one of the best folk albums of 2014. Their award-winning debut album, “Soaked To The Bone,” was released in 2016, during a time when their songs were enjoying regular airplay on BBC Radio, suggesting a breakthrough wasn’t just tantalisingly close but almost inevitable. However, thanks in part to the pandemic, it would be another six years before their second album, “Angel Dust & Cyanide”, would see the light of day, by which time much of that momentum had been lost. A third album, “Where We Are”, quickly followed, and this evening saw them return to the hallowed stage at Kirton, to which they have been regular visitors in the past, off the back of a recent tour of the USA.

With no support act this evening, the duo played two extended sets, kicking proceedings off appropriately with a cover of Willie Nelson’s ‘On The Road Again’, which was also the opening track of their most recent album. Huddled around one microphone, both dressed head to foot in black and with Hughes’ hair approaching waist length, the duo cut a striking image, one that the unenlightened might associate more with a heavy metal band, but their harmonies immediately connected with the local congregation, who, despite the hall being only two-thirds full, responded vociferously throughout the evening’s performance. The duo’s most recent album figured heavily during the early part of the show, with ‘Another Day’ and then ‘Perfect Storm’, demonstrating that Hughes and Chandler are still at the top of their game as songwriters. Whilst Hughes’ wizardry on the fretboard was, as always, a joy to behold.

During the obligatory re-tuning of guitars, the between-song banter was relaxed and engaging, one member of the audience detecting a slight hint of an American accent from Hughes, a possible reaction to their most recent tour during which the duo were graced with some sagacious words from legendary American folk singer/songwriter Tom Rush, of whom the couple admitting to having never heard of before.

There was still time during the first set for two numbers from their debut album, with both ‘Down By The River‘ and ‘Homesick‘ reminding the audience, if reminders were needed, of the quality of material that enhanced “Soaked To The Bone“. By their own admission, The Black Feathers don’t do “Happy Songs“, finding greater inspiration mining a more intense and darker seam. That said, the closing track of the first set, ‘Golden Hour’, with its uptempo, fist-pumping chorus, had a real feel-good factor to it, proving the perfect way to bring the first half to a close.

Returning for the second set, the duo started off with three songs from their second album, beginning with the achingly beautiful ‘Only The Brave’, their exquisite harmonies quite spellbinding. They followed this with a delightful rendition of ‘Lighthouse On Fire’, which again highlighted some fine fretwork from Hughes before Chandler’s sublime vocals took the lead on ‘Hurricane’.

In recent years, the duo has relocated to Cwmaman in deepest, darkest South Wales, which also happens to be the home of the rock band The Stereophonics. The area, now full of murals of the band, is also one of the cheapest parts of the UK to buy a home. Though most probably a beautiful part of the country, it provided another reminder of the financial challenges today’s working musicians have to navigate and the pressures to remain true to their art, even when the songs or image fall between the safety net of the relevant genre labels.

Along with their own excellent songs, the evening’s performance also included an eclectic mix of covers, offering greater insight into the duo’s musical influences. These included a rather bluesy take on Norman Greenbaum’s ‘Spirit In The Sky’ while making full use of their excellent harmonies to expand Paul Simon’s classic ‘Homeward Bound’. Possibly the most intriguing of these covers was ‘Glory Box’, originally by English electronic group Portishead, which the duo had recorded on their sophomore release. When introducing the song to the evening’s audience, nobody, rather suspiciously, acknowledged having heard of the Beth Gibson lead outfit. Possibly a generational issue but more likely a collective indifference to the musical genre, though to be fair, the duo’s stripped-back acoustic rendition, whilst still maintaining the lyrical tension of the original, was generously applauded.

There was still time for two more self-penned numbers, with the wonderful ‘Goodbye Tomorrow’, on which the duo demonstrated their vocal prowess, holding a single note for what seemed to be an immeasurable time, proving to be one of the night’s many highlights, while the bizarrely titled ‘The Ghosts Have Eaten Well’ proved to be a perfect example of Hughes and Chandler’s other-worldly lyrical narratives. Needless to say, an encore was vociferously demanded and rewarded, with the duo abandoning their microphone and stage to join the locals on the floor for a beautiful rendition of Joni Mitchell’s perennial favourite ‘Big Yellow Taxi’, complete with audience participation, proving the perfect way to bring an excellent performance to a close.

As the night’s congregation made their way to the exit, greeting the night’s air with their enthusiastic chatter of the evening’s event, I found myself turning to look at the empty stage and those three banners with their proud statement and found myself thinking that if Americana music, with all its moving parts, is simply a culture that embraces different musical styles, regardless of image, conveying a message either directly through lyrics or implicitly by the environment it blends, then surely The Black Feathers, with their unique, uncompromising fusion of acoustic gothic folk, belong within this genre and should be embraced accordingly.