Luke Jackson has not been short of plaudits in his short
career and having now witnessed him and his trusty guitars for a an hour and
half, the jigsaw puzzle of praise reveals a talent raw, rare and rapidly racing
ahead of time. It may be a reluctant cliché but this is clearly an extremely experienced
head on such young shoulders with the winners being an audience hooked by the
mesmeric charm of his songs, persona and guitar playing. Respected sources are
potentially anointing Luke as the next big thing in British folk but sometimes
it’s wise to remain in the present and enjoy the moment.
Midlands based promoters Bright Side Music were rewarded for
the foresight to book Luke by a near sell out turnout in the studio venue of
Bromsgrove’s Artrix Arts Centre and those who elected to spend their Saturday
evening supporting live music had the joy of some splendid entertainment. With
two albums under his belt and some new songs to share, Luke is not short of
material and only throws in the odd cover to add flavour to a show by sharing
his inspiration. ‘Beeswing’ by
Richard Thompson allows Luke to indulge in a little folk rock and marry up his
guitar playing skills with eloquent storytelling, while ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’ tantalises us with a dose of Americana.
While this Canterbury based young man is forging a very English path in style, there
are forays into the world of gospel and blues leaving a thought of what could
emerge if Luke ever took a trip down the Delta.
The vocals ride the emotion of each song, whether requiring impetus
or retraction, and the guitar playing exudes the mood of the sentiment. Confidence
flowers in the storytelling and the poise to shake off a broken string,
although it’s always handy to have a part time techie named Doug in the audience ready to
give a hand. Perhaps at this stage of his career it is the song writing that’s
creating waves for Luke and paving the way for opportunities such as a recent
30 date tour supporting Martin Joseph. Many of these enlightening songs have
surfaced on Luke’s two releases to date with an unsurprising slight bias in
this set to the latest one FUMES AND FAITH. ‘Answers Have Gone’, ‘Father and Son’, ‘Sister’ and ‘Charlie in the Big World’ all excelled from
this 2014 album while the title track from 2012’s MORE THAN BOYS took the
honours from his back catalogue. ‘Heart
of Stone’ was one new track previewed and the future sounded very promising
indeed.