Roseanne Reid’s debut album, Trails, is out on 5th April 2019.
St Pancras Old Church is an ethereal place, almost out of place in its harsh London surroundings. The venue has hosted some of the most magical concerts I have ever seen – not least due to the beauty of the location. Roseanne Reid‘s performance at the church on Wednesday was no exception.
It has been a busy year for Roseanne, the daughter of Proclaimers’ singer Craig Reid, she has been on tour with Kathy Mattea, recorded a session with Jools Holland and is set to release her gorgeous new album ‘Trails’ in the next few weeks. This performance at St Pancras Old Church proved just why ‘Trails’ is an album to watch out for in April.
Befitting the surroundings, after a support slot from fellow Scot Matt Scott, Roseanne played an acoustic set, with the only additions to her voice as her acoustic guitar and harmonica. Nothing else is really needed to complement Reid’s unique and powerful vocals. It is clear that music is a part of Reid’s blood and she knows exactly who she is as an artist and performer; demonstrated in the flow of her set, the clever and poignant lyricism of her songs and her refreshingly honest presentation on stage in an era where so many musicians seek to hide behind loud props to bring up a performance.
Reid set the tone for the evening from the start, with her new song ‘Girl Who Took A Chance,’ including a gorgeous harmonica complement, before getting into the liltingly beautiful ‘It Is You.’ These were followed up by her new single ‘Amy’ (the story of which you will hear on the podcast) that was the most stark reminder of Reid’s song-writing capabilities, building characters, while showing off different capabilities within her own vocal tone, accompanied by heavier waves of guitar accompaniment.
Transitioning to the next song, ‘What Constitutes a Sin,’ Reid and the audience began to establish a rapport that built throughout the concert, joking saying that as it wasn’t bottled off in Glasgow when she was supporting Catherine Taylor, the sound would be sufficient for the evening!
A personal highlight was the song written for her wife on their wedding day, ‘Til Kingdom Come,’ that was rife with love and warm emotion and was met with rapturous applause by the audience. Further impressive was her ability to effortlessly take on a mash up of two Wainwright covers – ‘Mountain Lullaby’ and ‘One Man Guy’ – her mum’s favourite and a gospel-hued version of Justin Townes Earle’s ‘Harlem River Blues.’
‘I Love Her So’ provided another spellbound moment in the show – her first single from her album and the first song she wrote for her wife, before diving into the more strongly folk-tinged ‘What I’ve Done’ – fittingly written for her nomination for the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award last year. ‘Me Oh My’ and ‘Levi’ followed this up. This is when her vocals really began to shine, a husky, lilting vocal that is both distinctive and timeless. Luckily, the acoustic nature of the set and the incredible vocals in St Pancras Old Church really allowed such vocals to shine to their full potential, alongside her frank and honest lyrics.
‘Good Thing Going’ and ‘Sweet Annie’ brought contrasting and complementary emotions back into the set, one of fatigue and despondency, one of conviction. This second an incredibly capturing performance, one that made it evident just how deep Reid’s love affair with music runs. ‘Call It Love’ was the penultimate song of the night, an easier, breezier melody paired with harmonica. This is a potential for album two, and we’ll be disappointed if it doesn’t get added.
Roseanne ended the set with ‘All I Need for Once,’ describing the new reality of a post-marital relationship. The song was refreshingly honest and real, providing a powerfully touching letter to her wife. Throughout she had clearly warmed up to the crowd, and they to her, relaxing into telling stories and anecdotes about her Scottish heritage, songwriting and some insight into her marriage. The set was an incredible showcase to anyone unfamiliar with Reid – showing off her linguistic ability, her raw vocals and her capacity to feel and describe every facet of an emotion. Her performance was quietly confident and self-assured, full of an easy charm and a unique vocal ability and range. She is a special talent, and we hope this gorgeous album ricochets her into a very bright future – it’s more than deserved.
Set list:
1. Girl That Took A Chance
2. It Is You
3. Amy
4. What Constitutes A Sin
5. Til Kingdom Come
6. What I’ve Done
7. Me Oh My
8. Mountain Lullaby/One Man Guy (Rufus Wainwright cover)
9. I Love Her So
10. Good Thing Going
11. Harlem River Blues (Justin Townes Earle cover)
12. Sweet Annie
13. Call It Love
14. All I Need For Once
