Jodie Marie goes down well in Newbury

Jodie Marie at ACE Space, Newbury on Saturday, November 25

Review by SIMON COATES

THE Welsh singer/songwriter Jodie Marie paid her first visit to ACE Space when she added a last minute stop off in Newbury to her M4 Corridor micro-tour, and given how well the concert went, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there will be many more visits in the future.

I will admit that, prior to being invited to attend the concert, I’d never heard of Jodie.

But after a fortnight of Spotify binge-listening, I could hear why ACE Space were so excited to have booked her – a performer with a crystal clear alto voice that could slip comfortably between the folk, jazz and soul genres, and a songwriter who could match thoughtful and emotional lyrics with beautiful melodies and harmonies.

I was excited to see if she could possibly be as good when performing live.

Yes. Yes, she could.

Jodie was joined on stage by a trio of backing singers – Rona MacGregor, Daisy Borthwick and Eline Brun – who are, clearly, all supremely talented musicians in their own right.

Together they performed a stripped back array of Jodie’s songs, either a cappella or complementing Jodie’s keyboard or guitar playing.

The harmonies – be they two, three or four part – were slick and, without exception, pitch perfect, and together they made the songs sound even better than they do recorded.

It was also great to see how the group genuinely get on well with each other – lots of laughter, jokes and easy rapport with the audience, and this all just made the whole evening all the more enjoyable.

I’d been trying to remember who Jodie’s voice reminded me of. One of the other audience members mentioned Norah Jones; while that wasn’t who I was thinking of, it is a fair comparison.

I would urge you to keep an eye out for her – she’s a rising star with, all being well, a very big future, and given she seems as nice as she is talented, it would be well deserved.