From Beardy bubbles to sold out signs, it has been a crazy couple of years in the music life of Warwickshire-based folk musician Ellie Gowers. The first of these markers is a little niche and personal, but the second was enabled by those cramming the Kitchen Garden to celebrate a landmark show on the debut album launch tour. While Birmingham may not be quite the hometown show, it is increasingly becoming a fertile ground to increase a fanbase, and subsequently more and more are tuning into the wide reaching talents of an exceptional performer. Throughout the two sets this evening, Ellie put her confident and assured demeanour on full show to strip bear a passion and aptitude for curating a special song that etches a deeper mark on the local folk music landscape.
For a little preliminary context, Beardy bubbles refers to the miraculous socially distanced festival held in September 2020. From those first gently strummed chords at Beardy Folk festival where she was discovered, there was a sense of a blossoming talent set for a bright future providing a positive trajectory was maintained. Fast forward two years and this has unequivocally happened culminating in the outstanding release of DWELLING BY THE WEIR in September. Those lucky to snap up a privileged ticket here had the beauty of all the songs played joined by material from earlier mini recordings, folk exploratory pieces and a cover road tested at this very venue earlier in the year.
Ellie Gowers explores her musical odyssey through a combination of spectrums. She balances writing original tunes with spinning a different slant on the work of others alongside honouring the folk tradition of re-working the lyrical prose of the past. She effortlessly moves between a gentle acoustic guitar accompaniment and relying purely on her crystal vocals to paint the elegance portrait of a song. On two occasions the a cappella delivery froze a captivated audience, first in the opening number 'The Snow It Melts The Soonest' (an unrecorded traditional song regularly called upon) and later with 'A Letter to the Dead Husband of Mary Ball', an original composition off the new album. As a live performer she flits between solo and trio format where practical and viable. This evening was almost entirely solo bar two guest performances from colleagues Michelle Holloway (vocals) and Emily Dore (violin) on 'Women of the Waterways' and 'Poor Old Horse'. Both interesting tracks from an album heavily influenced by traditions sourced locally in rural and urban Warwickshire.
Urban Coventry threw up the track that made the greatest leap from record to stage in 'Ribbon Weaver'. Many listens had already confirmed the worth, but listening to this live and unfiltered ascended the reception a few more tiers. It was fitting that the album title track was kept to the encore slot as 'Dwelling By The Weir' is the adhesive that binds the theme by harking back to the original name of the town of Warwick.
As per se with standard folk gigs, the inter-song chat was highly informative. A vast majority of songs had a revealing insight shared. Too numerous to go into detail, but always a selling point for a future Ellie Gowers show. 'Brightest Moon' and 'The Last Warwickshire Miner' from the new album had the full treatment here, with the latter firmly fixed as a live favourite from early renditions via the summer festival circuit and support slots for Blair Dunlop earlier this year.
While Ellie Gowers is first and foremost a folk musician, there are shades of 'This Ground' that reach out across the tracks to musical meadows not so hung up on the genre. The infectious melody attached to this track (a strong candidate for show and album pinnacle) could almost stray in country, Americana and singer-songwriter pop waters. Mind you crossover appears the exception at this point of a career.
Away from the album material, we were treated to a lovely cover of Gillian Welch's 'Dark Turn of Mind' and a version of 'The Cottager's Reply', a song lyrically enhanced through the work of Chris Wood. Closer to home were songs such as 'Against the Tide' and 'In the Past' that can be found on the early EPs that launched the recording career of Ellie Gowers.
As thoughtful, enterprising and enchanting as the songs are, it is largely the innate ability to project artistic expression through voice, sound and personality that connects Ellie Gowers with an audience. A sold out show is a testament to her approach to package an inner desire and dismiss any shackles of pretence. The trajectory since 2020 (a date mark purely from this writer) has been steep. If maintained, opportunities will be boundless. However a sensible head will keep things within the realms of true to oneself. From an audience perspective what comes across matches an ideal and has been firmly tightened by the live and recorded platforms.
For this Birmingham show, the invited support act was newly formed local outfit The Missed Trees, tentatively exploring the folk duo format from bases in the wider music world. This slot sometimes requires a subtle stance, with the pairing of Joe Peacock and Louisa Davies-Foley framing it succinctly to plant their music in the minds of others attracted to the main billing. Further exposure will define their presence on the local music scene with raw credentials in place for this venture to make an impact.
Ellie Gowers can hopefully look back on nights like these as significant moments in a music career that will likely twist and turn down many unknown roads. While this journey may be scary and with likely trepidation, the warmth of a growing support will be there to engage with artists acute at making their music connect.