Alan Fletcher/Riley Catherall

ALAN FLETCHER/RILEY CATHERALL

Musician Pub 24th July 2024

Last night at The Musician Pub was a total joy... the fabulous Alan Fletcher brought his superb band to entertain for the evening... and they provided a wonderful evening.

I have never seen an episode of Neighbours, but love americana and anyone who cites John Prine as a major influence and love is fine by me!!

The show was opened by Riley Catherall, who had excelled here only a couple of weeks before.

Riley is a superb guitarist ad singer... his voice warm and clear delivering his own high quality songs. He is one of the best singer/songwriters around, between his songs his stories are fun and entertaining and his whole performance is totally engaging... his warmth and charm, as well as talent, had the audience fully with him from the first second.

Outstanding performance.

Headlining was Allan Fletcher with his hugely talented band... The focus is obviously Allan with his guitar paying and great voice...

Riley Catherall was back on stage playing electric guitar with the band... his playing at all times fluent and superb, and the sounds he creates, especially with the slide, simply beautiful and mesmerizing. On bass was brilliant multi-instrumentalist Lachlan Bryan, who also took a turn playing the piano. Allans wife Jen played keyboards and joined Allan up front to sing on several pieces. The drummer (emabarrassingly i cant remember his name) was a perfect complement to the band, playing with subtlety and flair throughout and underpinning the music.

The whole performance was a real joy... Allans songs are all either humorous or gentle and all delivered with warmth and charm and a great deal quality, and his huge personality shines clear through the songs and banter between songs

There are many standout songs in the set, and to pick out highlights i would need to copy the set list!. I must mention though, Allans superb performance of John Prine's "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" (an absolute favourite of mine) but his own songs really merit the same attention

Although the essence of the show is the great amaricana of Allan's songs and delivery, Jen added some lovely polished vocals and the whole band was exceptional... it is always great to see such a high quality band having such a ball on stage... and the audience rightly loving every second.

Five hugely talented musicians and singers delivering a truly outstanding set of americana... up there with the finest gigs ever... loved every second... richly entertaining show and a bunch of really lovely people... doesnt get much better!!

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