I’ve been to four gigs this week, half of which are contenders for my musical moments of the year (& the other two were bloody good too).

I’m still trying to come to terms with just how special this years Betsy’s Winterlude was:

With apologies to the great unmentioned acts that played before, but the stand out performances were by The Rockingbirds, and the new lineup, new songs, new style Danny & The Champions Of The World.

Alan Tyler showed us what a great front man he is as the Rockingbirds played old & future classics.

Danny & the Champs pulled of that rarest of things – immediately winning over  a crowd of fans of their old stuff with a set of new songs & rocking style of great power & poise. This show will be spoken of in hushed tones through the years by those there as one of them ‘You should have been there” moments.

How Bobby Bare Jnr is not a household name will always baffle me. Funny, clever, sharp songs of love & despair (well mostly despair but in a fun way).

Laura Veirs never fails to enthral, and the Union Chapel is perfect for her hauntingly sparse songs.

How do Emily Barker & The Red Clay Halo do it??  They just keep getting better & better, but the thing is, they were bloody great to begin with. Last nights show at St Giles proved to be quite the quiet thing of wonder. Guest performances from the multi talented Ted Barnes, a rhythm section, horns. Amazing harmonies from Emily , Jo, Gill & Anna filled the church of awed fans. At times I found myself breathless by the sheer beauty of it all.

I feel very lucky to have had the opportunities for such joyous a musical week.

Andy