Gig Review: Bristol Song Circle at Rough Trade Bristol

Bristol Song Circle, the new booming event hosted at one of Bristol’s quirky independent and live music venues Rough Trade, hosted an exceptional night of exciting new music from a quartet of brilliant local folk artists.

On the 23rd April, I was lucky to get an insight into this new home for songs, stories and celebrating the spirit of the modern ‘troubadour’, the modern day folk composer of poetry. I have never been to such an intimate event where 4 songwriters performed and spoke to each other like they were addressing a circle of old friends. I found the experience elevated their music, and made me focus so much more on the craft of the song, and the poetic nature of folklore craft in comparison to other live music events I have seen.

I immediately felt immersed with the experience, with Blair Dunlop’s witty anecdotes, whilst having thoughtful conversation with fellow artists Luke Sital-Singh, Kitty Macfarlane, and last minute replacement for Anwen Dolon, was the fabulous Eva Parfitt. I loved the blend of the authenticity of the acoustic guitar, and then the raw voices of each artist, conveying the subject of their song with matter of fact, instead of through background noise. I also appreciated that there was a constant reminder to reminisce and cherish the most important moments, from childhood encounters to emerging adulthood experiences of music.

Blair Dunlop started off the interesting night, talking about how intimate spaces such as the Rough Trade Centre have impacted his performances. Even to a small crowd of just shy of 100, you can feel the notes of each song that these talented musicians have crafted for their audience.

Blair’s song ‘Spices from the East’ took me by surprise, as someone who travels frequently to the East, I felt like I resonated with the lyrics within the song, as it symbolises the complexities and richness of relationships, through its metaphors of cooking and spices. Blending the two unique qualities together, crafts something beautiful and worth exchanging.

Blair also performed ‘Midday Mass’ is an ode to his memories of growing up in Chesterfield, from his brilliant fifth album ‘Out of the Rain’, as well as ‘Let’s Get Out of the City’, one of my personal favourites. It is a beautiful retrospective account after leaving London behind after living there for all of his 20s.

Luke Sital-Singh’s interaction with the audience matched well with Blair throughout the night. Luke performed songs such as ‘Still’ from his second album ‘Time Is A Riddle’ which conveyed so much emotion, and emphasises the reality and art of slow living. ‘Call Me When You Land’, his most streamed single on Spotify, is a collaborative song with an old friend, Ben from Old Sea Brigade. It is an extremely relatable tune to our digital landscape, and the means to be ever interconnected in the 21st century. I felt these lyrics the most, about trying to understand the time and place, and all the pieces between it.

I particularly loved his story behind ‘Sante Fe’, a more recent song, but has a deeper meaning, during hard moments of leaving life behind after living in LA. It is a retrospective account of looking back at better times, and memories, which I found to be so raw and emotive.

Kitty Marcfarlane performed for the first time, a breath-taking new song, titled ‘Earth Light’. The song writing was inspired by a book called Orbital by Samantha Harvey and took this inspiration to write about the connection with Earth, as if she were an astronaut, and the inevitability of life passing through your eyes, in particular through light and landscapes.

Kitty also moved me from her story behind ‘Sea Silk’, a song from her beautiful album ‘Namer of Clouds’. It’s a story which blends clams from the Mediterranean sea within the heart of Sardinia, with an encounter with an Italian lady who creates the material in an authentic way. ‘Glass Eel’ had a rhythm especially as it is written about movement, and the constant notion of creatures migrating, which in this instance is of Eels. I noticed a lot of her music has a theme around changing landscapes which I really enjoyed, and feel compelled to listen to her more closely.

Lastly, BIMM student Eva Parfitt performed her first release song ‘Mute the Alarm’, which showed her captivating vocals and effortless guitar play. Inspired by her efforts of creating music during her teenage years, Eva has a range of musical collaborations which have taken the South West by storm, including the band ‘Moxie Dolls’. I particularly loved her performance of ‘Nothing Underneath’. Considering she was a last minute replacement to perform on the night, I loved her soft strokes on the guitar and lyrical prose.

The most powerful way to end such a unique performance, was a once and never repeated collaborative cover of all 4 artists, and stripping it back into a creative form of performance. For a quiet and cosy Thursday evening, I felt incredibly uplifted, and will look forward to hearing what else these talented creators have to offer in the future! Thank you Rough Trade for an unexpected but sweet night of soft music!

Find out more about Bristol Song Circle below:

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Written by Megan Evans

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