Live Review: Kate Rusby
Journal Tyne Theatre – 3rd December
An early Christmas present as Kate Rusby performed all manner of festive songs at the Jounral Tyne Theatre.
The stage at The Journal Tyne Theatre is adorned with Christmas tree, floating glowing baubles and stars, which sets the mood for this albeit slightly early festive celebration with Kate Rusby. On the stage with her band and a cup of tea, she can’t contain her Christmas excitement, letting the audience know how “twinkly and brill” she thinks the stage looks.
There’s a tradition in South Yorkshire pubs for communities to come together every Sunday from Armistice Day to New Years and sing traditional local versions of carols. People would go to the pub instead of church and sing carols to tunes that were deemed too happy for church, these were carols for, as Kate describes them “the rebels and the pint drinkers”.
The Yorkshire folk songstress started with ‘Here we come A-Wassailing’, then brought out the brass quintet for ‘Joy to the World’. The highlight of the first half was actually not one of the traditional carols but Kate’s own Christmas song ‘Home’. Throughout you can’t help but be taken in by her silky, rich and warm voice, which loses none of its fantastic Yorkshire accent when in full flow. Highlights of the second half included ‘The Holly and the Ivy’, ‘Diadem’, and ‘O little Town of Bethlehem’, the latter providing a show stopping verse from the Brass quintet. With an Encore of Kate’s wonderfully beautiful ‘Underneath the Stars’ and traditional ‘Sweet Bells’, she closed the show in magnificent style.
It is fantastic to see that local heritage is still being remembered and brought to a wider audience. Kate delivered a great start to what is ever becoming a Christmas month rather than week. As a true Yorkshire man would say, ‘It were right good!’
