Rachel Sermanni at Eden Court 26th October 2014. A review.
Colin Macleod opened the show as well as being part of the musical trio for the night. The audience experienced a very special evening. As a solo artist Colin tells stories through his songs and music. He opened with ‘Lonely Eyes’, later went on to sing Willie Nelson’s ‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain’ , finishing on a duet with Rachel ‘Show me the easy Way Out’. A great performance with an attentive audience.
Later, Rachel Sermanni came on, kicked off her shoes, mentioned the ladder in her tights with a great sense of humour directed at her mum, and launched into ‘Two Birds’.
Jennifer Austin played enchanting piano through the show, with Colin on electric guitar and pedal steel and Rachel’s solo moments. Having never seen or heard Rachel before, I was bowled over at her vocal purity and dexterity, along with a depth to her songs that belies her years.
Truly bewitching and mesmerising she was a combination of Katie Melua, Joni Mitchell, Suzanne Vega & Mary Chapin Carpenter all rolled into one! Ultimately Rachel was herself, a true artist making her mark in the world. Contemporary Folk with a little blues, jazz & country mingled in.
She sang some old and some new songs including ‘Red’, plus Rabbie Burns’ ‘Ae Fond Kiss’, where proceeds from the single go to Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy in Scotland. Plus songs from her new ‘Dawson City’ album and a great encore sung with Colin ‘ Go drinking with me’.
Rachel commanded silence simply by her voice and presence! The audience whistled and applauded in appreciation of a magical musical evening. A very talented lady, Rachel Sermanni is certainly in my top 10 after last night’s performance!
You can read Rachel’s pre-gig interview.