GEORGIA RUTH / JAMES BOWER | LIVE REVIEW
The Gate Arts Centre, Cardiff, Wed 12 Dec
Coming towards the end of its first year, the final Folk Night At The Gate of 2018 promised new songs from the Aberystwyth-born Georgia Ruth, with support from local Irishman James Bower. Performing a mixture of originals and traditional folk tunes, Bower spends most of his half-hour set smiling at the audience, who, charmed by his sweet songs and smooth tenor, sing along to the chorus of his final song, Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way. Bower’s music is nothing new, but filled out by his band with sensitive arrangements, his songs are highly enjoyable.
It’s been a while since Georgia Ruth has been out performing. “Excited but nervous”, the indie-folk singer-songwriter, whose album Week Of Pines won the Welsh Music Prize back in 2013, considered the evening an opportunity to judge whether she should make a return to live music after her two-year hiatus to become a mother. She begins with an impressive a cappella tune, followed by a sigh of relief: “Well, that’s the scariest part over!”
Moving between harp, guitar and piano, she reels off highlights from Week Of Pines and its more adventurous followup, 2016’s Fossil Scale, as well as a Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy cover, and new songs from her “kind of pagan-themed” forthcoming album. One song that stands out is Seven Rooms, which describes her experience at the Heath Hospital after giving birth, becoming lost in the days and endless hospital corridors. Initially dark and haunting, it morphs into something lighter and optimistic, as she leaves a strange world behind and returns to normality.
Although she still seems slightly uncomfortable on stage after her break from performing, she ends by thanking the audience for their support, adding “I feel like I might do some more of this now.” With some years having passed since the initial buzz around Georgia Ruth, it’s lovely to hear her once again bringing her Welsh lyrics and harp-playing to the foreground in many of her new songs. Based on this evening, her new album will be something to really look forward to as she goes into the studio this Spring.
words ISABEL THOMAS photos HUGH RUSSELL