Wise Woman

The musical quartet Wise Woman played to an attentive audience when they kicked off their latest tour at the Hub at St Mary’s on Saturday 2nd March.

With a storied career working with such diverse names as The Medieval Baebes, and The Arctic Monkeys their set list took in some choice covers, as well as their own material, that ranged from ethereal close harmony singing to more raucous sounds that featured bodhran, keyboards, guitar and ukulele, as well as some judicially used looping pedals.

They played music from their recent EP, Threads, as well as giving two new pieces their first public performances.

The band are Anna Pool on vocals, keyboards, and guitar, Lydia Bell on Vocals and hand percussion, Charlotte Vaughan on vocals and hand percussion, and Ukulele and Cellist Maddie Cutter.

The concert started with Cool Dawn of the Day by Jean Richie, sang off mike and acapella showing the quality of both their performance and the acoustics of the Hub. Storyville featured some excellent jazz chamber cello playing, and I Will Hold the Wonder showed it would be a favourite live song in future sets. Ten Thousand Miles was an upbeat song, and We Won’t Go Back was a political song about progress that hid a serious message behind some of the more delicate singing of the night.

Take the Skin was a song about a Selkie, growing tired of her life on land and wanting to return to the sea, Order and Chaos by Lady Maisery found some new aural colours, and Home Safe, was a song about friendship and solidarity, beautifully written and performed.