Newbury cheers for the Beer, one of the most important and influential musicians in British folk music

Phil Beer with support Odette Michell, at Ace Space, Newbury, on Saturday, March 12. Review by BRIAN HARRINGTON

Phil Beer is, in my view, one of the most important and influential musicians in British folk music. A hugely accomplished multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter, his compositions have been widely covered. He is possibly best known as a member of The Albion Band and as half of Show Of Hands as well as being a solo performer who is in great demand.

Tonight's show had been in the making for more than two years, but delayed repeatedly by the pandemic.

Odette Michell opened with a 30 minute set of simply sublime folk music, accompanying herself beautifully on acoustic guitar her vocals were truly stunning. I would love to see a longer set from her. I particularly enjoyed The Great Old Northern Line, a song about making up narratives about fellow travellers on train journeys, St Helens Morning, a song dedicated to the life of her three-times greatgrandmother who travelled from Ireland to settle near Liverpool, and The Rolling Shores of England, an ode to the British coastline.

Phil Beer connected wonderfully with the audience via a series of witty and entertaining stories, both in his songs and his ongoing commentary he proved himself to be a wonderful storyteller. The Banks Of Newfoundland was superb, as was April Morning, a traditional ballad, which Phil described as the perfect quintessentially British folk song, and which he and Show Of Hands partner Steve Knightley, set to music.

Odette Michell joined Phil on stage for a few songs before Phil sang Transported , a humorous track about some of his nefarious neighbours in a remote area of Dartmoor.

A couple of blues tracks reflecting Phil's interest in the genre as a boy followed, before a brilliantly rearranged cover of Chris Rea's Road To Hell as well as an equally inventive cover of Little Feat's song Willin.

A truly eclectic and varied set which held the audience spellbound. Well worth the two-year wait.