MARTHA TILSTON/NATHAN BALL
Musician 2/IAC: 23rd October 2024
My first visit to the Musician 2 at International Arts Centre delivered a really superb performance.
First up was Nathan Ball, a hugely accomplished singer/songwriter. Nathan writes top class songs that hold the attention and sings well and expressivley. His guitar playing is high quality, at times deceptively simple and other sothers remarkably intricate with, i felt shades of flamenco and jazz woven into the picture.
Headlining was the return to Leicester of the fabulous Martha Tilston, ably assisted on bass and bouzouki by MATT TWEED.
From the moment Martha stepped up to the microphone and smiled out their was a warmth and joy in the air...
The first song confirmed the mood as her pure beautiful filled the room... by the chorus she stepped away from the mic and had the room singing the chorus with her... the bulk of he set was Martha's own lovely songs, but early on she delivered a traditional a superb version of the traditional song "Willie O'Winsbury", (which, as Martha said, contains one of the greatest lines in folk music history!)
As the set continued she delivered more of her own beautiful songs, and her voice and the warmth of personality filled the room... frequently getting the audience joining in by a gesture or a step to the side of the mic...
Towards the end she invited Nathan back onto stage to deliver together a wonderful piece they had co-written...
Then all too soon we were into the last number... it felt like 20 minutes, but was a good hour and a half...
For the encore Martha asked if the audience wanted to hear a traditional song or a love song... the decision inevitably was both!! Martha then stepped intot he audience to deliver a sublime version, acapella and with no microphone, of "Silver Dagger|" which had the whole audience transfixed, before picking up her guitar and bringing Matt out into the audience with his bouzouki and delivering a beautiful though simple song of love which had the audience singing quietly and respectfully to the end.
Martha is a fine guitar player, and on one song she also showed her ability on the piano, a writer of superb songs but above all she has a magnificent voice and is a superb singer. Throughout her personality and charisma shone as brightly as her smile...
Superb captivating performance by a superb artist.
Loved every moment of the show
Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venue
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