Kirsten Adamson’s return to Birmingham possessed an extra zest and injected a fresh dose of energy. The two previous visits to the Kitchen Garden were in a duo format accompanied by guitarist Jon Mackenzie, a stripped back convention in common with most of the acts passing through this intimate venue accessed on an evening through the bustling Fletcher’s Bar in the eclectic suburb of Kings Heath. This time it was all guns blazing with drums, bass and keys pushing the line up to a five-piece squeezing into the tight performance space. A poor band would demolish the special acoustics of this brick walled confined venue; the Tanagers navigated the challenge to deliver an escalating accomplished performance nailing an optimum sound. From a neatly wrapped fairly lo-fi first set the show adopted a different sheen after the break with the band turning up the volume to match the endeavour of an enthusiastically packed audience.
Adamson brought the full band down from Scotland this time to support the release of her new album. DREAMVIEWER is little over a month old and the centrepiece of a prolific period of songwriting. 2025 has also seen a trio of EPs containing songs not making the album cut, so this extended double set opportunity saw the night almost entirely full of new material.
An evening of two halves cliche played out to a tee with an advance warning that the calm tranquility of a tempered opening would give way to something considerably louder. This culminated in a supreme encore consisting of a new live anthem ‘In My Next Life’, one of the standout track off the new record, and a spirited version of ‘Harvest Home’ made famous by her late father, Stuart of Big Country fame. Previous visits to the Kitchen Garden saw Adamson and Mackenzie delicately strip down ‘In a Big Country’. This time an alternative cover was fully stacked with the latter imitating some of the trademark guitar licks.
Adamson’s relationship with her father’s songs formed a new identity in lockdown ultimately shaped by the emotive award nominated ‘My Father’s Songs’. You sense this is a Kirsten Adamson staple in all her shows and found its prime position in the pre-encore slot as the band exemplified a tight unit in full flow. The rhythm duo of Richard Anderson (bass) and Scott Forsyth (drums) came into their own in the second set after short periods of inactivity in the first. The guest keyboard playing of Andy Barbour was introduced a couple of songs into the opening set adding an extra dimension to a sound falling into the camp of cultured Americana rock, or to older ears plain alt-country. Central to all of Adamson’s work including her own refined vocals and dual guitar playing is the tasty picking from Jon Mackenzie.
There were several other highlights to the setlist in addition to the aforementioned songs. ‘Slow Train’, one of the EP tracks, possessed a memorable melody leaving you wondering why it didn’t make the extra exposure of the album. ‘The Heart’ is a well-tested crowd participation number and did make the cut as well as remembered from the last show here in 2024. Just before the interval there was seismic switch in proceedings usually reserved for the end of a show. All band members stepped out form behind the mics armed with acoustic guitars and played an unplugged rousing version of ‘Live, Love, Cry’, a song cut by Adamson’s other project The Marriage with Dave Burn that occasionally pops up from time to time.
You don’t have many mass stand-up moments at the Kitchen Garden but the climax to Kirsten Adamson and The Tanagers was one of them. The aftermath considered whether the show would have benefited from a little more space as there was a higher than usual degree of animation from the stage. The second half would also have been memorable in a wider festival setting However the performance was greeted with universal appeal and beams of upbeat positivity flowed from an artist thrilled to be sharing the wealth of her songs to an appreciative audience. Kirsten Adamson is in a fine vein of form keeping music fans at the grass roots wholly entertained.
