Luke Jackson last visited the Kitchen Garden on 9th February 2020. The following day he flew to America to undertake a tour, which by the skin of its teeth was completed just as the world closed in. Like so many artists returning to the live circuit in the summer of 2021, the last eighteen months has provided at least an experience even if in many cases this hasn’t equated to productivity. Luke Jackson doesn’t fall into the latter category as a seven-track digital only EP (or mini album, whatever the definition) emerged at the start of the year. Also, while the regularity of gigs is steadily gathering pace for some, he did have the opportunity to play a show in his trio format back in September when invited to appear at the Beardy Folk festival in Shropshire. However, we are now in reset mode for many and Luke Jackson is looking to build on a career that is amazingly well into a second decade.
The last statement is found on an artist starting out exceedingly young and you only need to spend a short time in the presence of a Luke Jackson show to realise there are many years ahead. If what we are witnessing now is only the precursor to an illustrious career, then there are some mighty peaks to clamber up.
This latest visit to Birmingham was one beset with date changes as we lurched from one set of restrictions to another. It was somewhat ironic that the eventual date was on the eve of the pretence that everything would return to normal. We will wait and see on that. So, this show went ahead within some sort of restriction and another opportunity for the Kitchen to showcase its patio performing area. In fairness we were given the perfect evening weather-wise as the 30°C daytime temperature barely dipped a few marks under as night drew in.
Having seen Luke Jackson many times over the years, there is a tendency to separate the new from the familiarity. The latter will always play a part as it often defines an artist, and if they don’t delve into their back-catalogue they are cutting off a significant part of what forms them. To freshen things up, we had several old songs this evening that had been given a new lease of life from the Facebook live shows played during lockdown. One example being ‘Bakers Woods’ from the 2011 debut album MORE THAN BOYS.
The newer element to this Luke Jackson show fell into multiple camps. Four songs were shared off the release OF THE TIME, from earlier this year. ‘Nothing But Time’ opened the show, ‘Blinding’ and ‘Tiny Windows’ were overtly introduced, but all three were trumped in the ultimate received praise by ‘Keep it Down’. Some of these songs were remembered from the festival set last September and they sound as equally stunning in the fuller format as we heard solo this evening.
On the subject of new songs, we were asked to be guinea pigs for a premiere of ‘Hummingbirds in Kingston’, one inspired by a previous US trip. While sounding a little different in style to a lot of the other material, it came across well and presents an enticing side to how his song writing can be developed. We were also informed of a John Prine awakening during the lockdown. The riches of roaming down that rabbit hole as a source of influence will set us up for a few years. In the meantime, we were given a version of ‘Angel From Montgomery’. If we need to start somewhere, why not there!
Of course, we should never shy away of the familiar side to Luke Jackson. The gems from the 2019 album JOURNALS continue to shine. ‘Honeycomb’, ‘Cherry Picker’ and ‘Heavy’ all sounded chipper tonight but were slightly eclipsed by ‘Eliza Holt’ as the strongest performance from the recent past. Other much treasured Luke Jackson moments are retained such as opening a set (this time the second) with the unaccompanied ‘Trouble Now’ and ending the pre-encore part of the show with the popular singalong ‘The Road’.
A quick scan down the future tour dates for Luke Jackson reveals an extensive run supporting Fairport Convention. It is often viewed that he doesn’t neatly fit in any genre box and is driven by ploughing an independent furrow down music’s long winding highway. Although, the folk credentials are intact and will be lapped up on these dates. Putting this future experience to one side, here is an artist driven by the road, whether all over the UK, Europe or increasingly the US. While slots supporting folk luminary raise the profile, he is perfectly adaptable and adept whatever format or size of venue played.
Eighteen months since the last full Luke Jackson show seen and circumstances have strengthened this Canterbury-based performer. Whether fine tuning the powerful vocals, calibrating the picking skills or evolving the writing content, the wheels of independent musicianship continue to gather momentum and a packed career so far is set to get busier. Perhaps, with a little justice, one more successful and lucrative.