Bronwynne Brent Tradfest Traverse Theatre Edinburgh 1st May 2023 review
Bronwynne Brent at the Traverse Theatre Edinburgh this evening, will for those lucky enough to have got a ticket to the show probably be one of their highlights of this years Tradfest, a celebration of traditional music featuring performers from many different countries and musical cultures.
This was an early evening (6.30) set of one hour and time was obviously something that Bronwynne was very aware of this evening as she wanted to talk not too much (which by her own admission she usually does), and play as many songs as possible without over-running into the very tight performance time schedule that Tradfest was running to. Time was something however that Bronwynne need not have worried about as others around her were watching that clock and her music itself was simply timeless.
Born in Greenville, Mississippi, Bronwynne has diverse meting point of musical cultures to draw upon for inspiration in her music and the her delicate, almost at very shy style of folk music is in stark contrast to the Blues music that many of us so readily identify with the Mississippi Delta, proving effortlessly that there is no one style, no one sound, no one colour of music from anywhere in the world. Music is a chameleon, a mirror reflection of society, a teller of stories, and Bronwynne has some wonderfully sharp observations of the people around her to infuse into her songs. She is also an artist not afraid to expose her own feelings and her own emotional pain in through her songs, and that is both a rare and courageous thing for any performer to do, let people get a glimpse into your own soul.
Opening this set with “I Know It’s Late” from her latest album, “Undercover”, Bronwynne immediately gave us all a taste of what was to follow later in this set, songs of love, loss, joy and at times pain. Nothing really prepares you for a song like “Raincoat” (again from the new album), and with its opening lines of “I gave you my body, you gave me a raincoat”, this very personal story of a lost love obviously still resonates with Bronwynne every time that she plays it, you can still see that pain in her face, you can still hear it in her voice.
Songs from the earlier “Stardust” album, “Mirror” and “Don’t Tell Your Secrets To The Wind”, and others throughout this evening just seemed to allow Bronwynne to pull everyone into the audience into her stories, into her music, and a big part of this ability to do this was her easy going, friendly, at times very subtle humour.
For some reason, like many artists, Bronwynne seems to have that little window of self-doubt at times in her ability as a performer with “I don’t like performing my owns songs” she tells us, and as songwriter and there is no need for any apprehension as these are all fine songs with a very distinctive touch to them.
There were a few covers in this set and more than a few changes of musical style along the way to too as introspective folk gave way to a little touch of Jazz, some Bossa Nova, classic Louisiana and a little bit of stroll. Contributing much to making this effortless change possible, the obvious musical talents of Mario Caribé (bass) and Graeme Stephen (guitar). Together with Bronwynn they have formed a musical partnership that works so well when they are together. They obviously enjoy each others company and sharing that pleasure of playing music together.
Tradfest runs from 28th April to 9th May across a variety of venues. For more information visit https://edinburghtradfest.com/
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
This was an early evening (6.30) set of one hour and time was obviously something that Bronwynne was very aware of this evening as she wanted to talk not too much (which by her own admission she usually does), and play as many songs as possible without over-running into the very tight performance time schedule that Tradfest was running to. Time was something however that Bronwynne need not have worried about as others around her were watching that clock and her music itself was simply timeless.
Born in Greenville, Mississippi, Bronwynne has diverse meting point of musical cultures to draw upon for inspiration in her music and the her delicate, almost at very shy style of folk music is in stark contrast to the Blues music that many of us so readily identify with the Mississippi Delta, proving effortlessly that there is no one style, no one sound, no one colour of music from anywhere in the world. Music is a chameleon, a mirror reflection of society, a teller of stories, and Bronwynne has some wonderfully sharp observations of the people around her to infuse into her songs. She is also an artist not afraid to expose her own feelings and her own emotional pain in through her songs, and that is both a rare and courageous thing for any performer to do, let people get a glimpse into your own soul.
Opening this set with “I Know It’s Late” from her latest album, “Undercover”, Bronwynne immediately gave us all a taste of what was to follow later in this set, songs of love, loss, joy and at times pain. Nothing really prepares you for a song like “Raincoat” (again from the new album), and with its opening lines of “I gave you my body, you gave me a raincoat”, this very personal story of a lost love obviously still resonates with Bronwynne every time that she plays it, you can still see that pain in her face, you can still hear it in her voice.
Songs from the earlier “Stardust” album, “Mirror” and “Don’t Tell Your Secrets To The Wind”, and others throughout this evening just seemed to allow Bronwynne to pull everyone into the audience into her stories, into her music, and a big part of this ability to do this was her easy going, friendly, at times very subtle humour.
For some reason, like many artists, Bronwynne seems to have that little window of self-doubt at times in her ability as a performer with “I don’t like performing my owns songs” she tells us, and as songwriter and there is no need for any apprehension as these are all fine songs with a very distinctive touch to them.
There were a few covers in this set and more than a few changes of musical style along the way to too as introspective folk gave way to a little touch of Jazz, some Bossa Nova, classic Louisiana and a little bit of stroll. Contributing much to making this effortless change possible, the obvious musical talents of Mario Caribé (bass) and Graeme Stephen (guitar). Together with Bronwynn they have formed a musical partnership that works so well when they are together. They obviously enjoy each others company and sharing that pleasure of playing music together.
Tradfest runs from 28th April to 9th May across a variety of venues. For more information visit https://edinburghtradfest.com/
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
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