Playing live is the lifeblood for independent folk musicians and seeking fresh opportunities is a perpetual task. One slightly eased when projects like Shire Folk emerge and offer a three for one package. One booking can take you to three counties, so for Iona Lane the chance to play consecutive shows in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire was a good fit. The towns of Leominster, Bewdley and Bridgnorth aren’t that far apart and utilising new venues can enhance community engagement. Of course, a close proximity to the urban landscape of the West Midlands makes evening trips accessible. St. George’s Hall has been the mainstay of Bewdley live music over the years, so it was good to encounter the splendid backdrop of St. Anne’s Church for a night of exceptional folk music.
Iona Lane has been active on the circuit for at least 8 years as per first seeing her in Coventry in 2017. Since that December Big Comfy Bookshop gig, she has progressed to be the proud architect of two exceptional albums and settled in the wild remote expanses of western Scotland. The natural world in its many shades is her passion and forms the inspiration for her song material.
The latest album SWILKIE, named after a body of mixed tidal water off the Scottish coast, is barely a month old and providing rich substance for the current run of dates. Across a pair of sets with a stunning stained glass window backdrop, the bulk of the album was shared and admirably described in informative snippets. An endearing love for wildlife and fauna, the smaller the better, shines through and never more so than when a touch of folklore is explored.
Exquisite guitar playing, gorgeous vocals and an infectious short chuckle concluding each light anecdote illuminated a cosy gathering in a venue built for a majestic sound among other things. Topics ranged from lighthouses to lichen and strayed albatrosses to endangered curlews. Whales provided the most engaging story, while the musical highlights bookend the show with the emotive opener ‘Big Skies’ and hypnotic closer ‘Feed the Sea’.
A couple of traditional songs, one impeccably A Capella delivered, split the original material and invited opportunities for simple singalongs were plentiful. All added up to a warm intimate evening, the perfect antidote when paired with more upbeat shows.
Artists like Iona Lane are experts at finding their niche. Industry figures recognise and enable the talent to flourish but much of the planning and footwork is of an independent nature. The monthly shows of Shire Folk meet the ideals of independent artists head on leaving lucky fans as the recipient of super nights of outstanding music.
