Maybe it was touring as an enhanced family; maybe it was demob happy at the end of a successful tour or just maybe it was the sheer joy and relief of playing live once again. More than likely it was a combination of many factors that led to the radiant buzz emanating from Siobhan Miller as she finally played this much re-scheduled Kitchen Garden gig. Flashback to April 2020 and a south of the border tour was about to start to promote a brand new album. The irony is that Birmingham was set to be the first stop in a run of dates supporting ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN. Now after a raft of enforced cancellations, the date is finally fulfilled as a final port of call before heading back to Scotland.
In yet another creative Kitchen Garden configuration to support a sell out show, sufficient space was afforded for Miller and her touring combo to relish the freedom to express through music, song, vocal expertise and a little movement. This touring format consisted of husband Euan Burton on guitar and fiddle player Charlie Stewart. Both very fine players in their own right, but compellingly compatible in support of one of Scotland's leading folk vocalists.
Siobhan Miller is the proud owner of four full length albums since her debut recording in 2014. She chooses her style clearly and remains on track, although such a route is one of endless nooks and crannies. The three pronged attack of song selection springs from self composed efforts including co-writes with such luminaries as Kris Drever, borrowing work from noted songwriters and exploring the bottomless pit of traditional song. All this is wrapped in her own delivery method of a standalone vocalist of the highest category equally adept at shining brightly when the musicians take a step back.
It was the conventional two set operation for a show that once again defied the oncoming cooler months with part patio-part indoor seating bathed in glowing heaters and aesthetic lighting. For many it was the first opportunity to hear songs from the latest album live, and the Glasgow-based Miller, not holding back on proclaiming her Penicuik roots, obliged with numbers like the excellent title track 'All is Not Forgotten', 'May the Morning Dew', 'Selkie', 'Now You Need Me' and the boisterous sing along 'Cholesterol'.
Throughout the show the chat was warm, informative and appreciative. A chipper persona injected extra meaningfulness into the songs and it was impossible not to be awe-struck by an innate technical ability to use her voice in such an admiring way. You had countless moments of feeling in the presence of a performer hitting their groove and proving that playing to real people is far more fulfilling than to your own picture on a TV screen.
Other albums to see their tracks picked from included the traditional focussed STRATA where songs like the beautifully expansive 'Banks of New Foundland', the Dick Gaughan politically charged 'Pound a Week Rise' and the ever popular 'Bonny Light Horseman' rose to the top. Interspersing this album and the most recent is MERCURY, and the title track alongside 'The Western Edge' flourished in a setlist carefully constructed to move up and down the mood scale. While Miller's voice is born for the more soothing mellower numbers, it dips into a rawer pot for the bawdier efforts. A true versatile performer.
This Siobhan Miller gig formed the second leg of a likeminded Scottish folk quartet of shows spanning the three month stretch end of August to end of November. Following seeing Hannah Rarity in Edinburgh, the other three are in the closer haven of the West Midlands with Karine Polwart heading south to play Birmingham in just over a week's time. The run ends with Jenny Sturgeon, a new artist to see live similarly to Hanah Rarity. While Karine Polwart has been seen live several times, this evening's performance was the second catching Siobhan Miller. Whatever the factors, the impact this time was more profound and it was an immense joyful experience spending an evening with three talented artists excelling in their craft.
