Kate Rusby Band

Out of all the current surge in younger folk stars making waves; Seth Lakeman, Cara Dillon, even Nizlopi with their hip hop take on it, one lady stands out. With twenty years of musical service under her belt, Kate Rusby is the darling folk babe for the new generation. Taking old folk ballads from forgotten books and rewriting them, as well as being an accomplished singer-songwriter-guitarist herself, she captivates any crowd with her shy charm.



The lass from Barnsley could have been a comedienne, as in-between songs there is always time for a couple of jokes, or some comedy banter with her band. Fiddle / tenor guitar/ whistle / cittern player John McCusker is as funny as her, telling jokes about Yorkshire people, to a room full of them. Brave man. Along with accordion player Andy Cutting’s recipes it’s also an informative night!A lot of Kate’s family are in attendance, including her two nephews who she plays a ditty from a song about a knight for them.



Kate leaves the lads to play some of their own arrangements, which gather pace, and invite clapping from the audience. There is also a brass band that joins in for a couple of songs, including ‘My Young Man’. The fabulous ‘Let Me Be’ is played before the end, with some excellent backing from Andy Seward on double bass and Kris Drever on guitar. Kate’s beautiful dreamy voice with a slight warble is so unexpected, as it sounds nothing like her South Yorkshire accent (I know; I too have the Yorkshire twang). Only on a couple of words can you hear the odd accent, but the quality of her voice is astounding.



She keeps mentioning that girls can’t be in bands, for reasons including she turns the wrong key whilst tuning, and has a pink guitar strap. She nearly made the lads have pink fairy lights around them on stage, but after a revolt they appear with clear ones, whilst hers are pink. We also learn a bit about Kate’s ‘obession’ for TV presenters, a certain Phillip Schofield and the man; Alan Titchmarsh. She states that she would like him and the old Groundforce team to re-do her garden, and dedicates ‘Withered and Died’ to them.

FUTURE GIGS