These "Live at Lunchtime" gigs are absolutely brilliant. Striving for inclusivity and accessibility, there's a bubble of little voices in all corners of Christ Church Downend. Little feet shuffle, skitter and stomp, there are tables filled with kids, chattering, stopping, listening. Downend's community reaches out and, gently, holds everyone.
Fitting, then, that the fourth of these afternoon gigs should feature DETTA KENZIE, the Devonian singer-songwriter who is as gentle as spring rain, as welcoming as an open door, a singer with the ability to appeal to all comers.
Taking the South West as inspiration, Kenzie's own songs are steeped in an almost visceral sense of place. You can feel the calming cool of Wistman's Wood, named after a temperate rainforest on Dartmoor. Fittingly this forest is remote and high altitude and, so, Kenzie's voice is high, arcing through the air. It's the sound of pixies flitting through ancient oaks, of swifts returning home in the spring. She has that classic "folk revival" voice, as pure and clear as any you've ever heard.
High Up on Haytor is another song that's set firmly in the wilds of Dartmoor. Again, it's utterly beautiful, a song that tugs on the divide between the real world and the magical. Kenzie starts to inhabit that particular place where other ethereal, British vocalists live. She doesn't really sound like Kate Bush but they share a sense of blasted-heath romance, they also share an incredible control, an effortless skip between octaves. Like Bush, she also has that ability to straddle genres, Kenzie is just as much "pop" as she is "folk".
While her own songs are rooted in the countryside, her journeys into the tradition don’t stray too far from the pastoral either. Dougie MacLean's Garden Valley is dripping with emotion, gently unfurling like a leaf. As she sings "there's no peace for me", the chattering kids around us, ironically, are silenced. The Green Wedding is an eighteenth-century Scottish song, full of fairies and enchantment and, therefore, perfect for the worlds that Detta Kenzie conjures. Tobias ben Jacob, on guitar this afternoon, delicately picks his way around the voice, as if Jackson C Frank was teleported into an ancient British forest.
The Flower of Magherally is a pleasant summer’s morning, daffodil bright and gleaming. Once again, her voice soars, ben Jacob trailing in her wake, the ribbons attached to a kite's string. Between them they are as timeless and welcome as the first sun-rays of a July day. Lord Ullin’s Daughter almost has an urgency while new single, Reynardine, is a complex, multi-layered thing of beauty.
It takes a very special singer to take an incredibly familiar song and make you appreciate it anew. Black is the Colour has been recorded by everyone - Cara Dillon, Jean Ritchie, Joan Baez and Judy Collins for starters - but Kenzie's version is as good as anyone's. She says that it is a song that lights the fires of tradition but has a modern-ness too. In her hands that is an undeniable truth.
So far Detta Kenzie has released one single, has played a handful of gigs and has an EP scheduled for "soon". She is right at the front of a crop of wonderful folk-ish singers and might, just might, have that uncanny ability to appeal to everyone. On those moments when she stilled the children around us, you just knew that everyone was spellbound.
Photos: Barry Savell
We are thrilled to welcome DETTA KENZIE for the latest in our series of Live at Lunchtime concerts on Saturday 8 March.
These events are family-friendly and under-18s go free (accompanied by a paying adult). There will be a very relaxed atmosphere, and if children make some noise, that's fine! There will be activity and colouring sheets for younger children and a break-out room at the back for anyone that needs it, where there will be toys and a bit of space.
Detta Kenzie is an English folk singer creating original songs alongside reworking traditional music. With both Irish and Scottish heritage, Detta is committed to collecting, restoring and sharing songs passed down in the oral tradition.
In her original work, a deep connection to the natural world is ever present. Inspired by placenames, specific references to locations in Britain, Ireland and Australia bring a strength to Detta’s creations. Themes of womanhood, grief, rebellion and rage can be found in her deeply narrative based songs.
Having worked as a Secondary English Teacher before transitioning into music, Detta’s love of language shines through in her storytelling. Her words capture the diversity of the landscape and its ability to both mould and reflect human experience.
Detta will be joined on-stage by Tobias ben Jacob.
The concert itself is not specifically aimed at children, although is very family-friendly. These concerts are aimed at people who perhaps cannot make our usual Friday evening events, as well as our regular audience. And remember, if you already have a season ticket for Autumn/Winter 2024, you get this one for free!
The concert will be shorter than normal (just over an hour with a short break halfway though) and there is no support. Doors open at midday and the music starts at 12.30pm. It will finish at around 1.45pm.
The event takes place at our usual CHRIST CHURCH DOWNEND venue, tickets are £10 per adult (plus booking fees) in advance, £12 on the door, and are available HERE and from MELANIE'S KITCHEN in Downend (cash only). U18s go free (when accompanied by an adult) but tickets should still be reserved. There will be tea, coffee and a small selection of soft drinks and THE GREAT CAKE COMPANY cakes available to purchase, and free squash for children, available from our bar. Please note that we will not be serving alcoholic drinks at these events. For further information, please go to downendfolkandroots.com.
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Photos: Barry Savell
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