Opening this fine evening of folk and Americana music in this converted church venue was Lauren Housley, showcasing her soulful voice and song writing as featured on her album ‘Girl From The North’. With just acoustic guitar backing her performance had instant appeal for the near sell-out audience.

For this tour The Wandering Hearts have stripped back to the core trio and with two excellent albums already and many new songs due for release soon their set was rich in highlights. Blending their three harmonies for an introductory cover of ‘White Christmas’ and then into the subtle delights of early single ‘Burning Bridges’, the acoustics of this ancient building showed off the gorgeous sounds.

The three performers create a very full sound, with only guitar backing for many of the tracks, sometimes augmented by mandolin and piano. To contrast the gentleness of ‘Dolores’ and ‘Lullaby’ there were plenty of anthemic choruses like ‘Build a Fire’ and main set closer ‘Devil’. With a seasonal finale of Auld Lang Syne blended with the outstanding ‘Wish I Could’ it was a superb show, echoing long in the memory.

https://www.thewanderinghearts.com/

https://www.laurenhousley.com/