The Barnsley Nightingale

This is Kate Rusby, the 'Barnsley Nightingale',  performing with her band of excellent musicians at GLive Guildford on Tuesday evening. It was the 4th gig on her 2024 Christmas tour. According to her website she was heading off to Liverpool for a date tomorrow and then back to London for gigs at the Cadogan Hall on Thursday with 6 more dates to follow in Birmingham, Sheffield, York and other places  nearer to her home. I just hope she is able to keep.up the energy and humour she brought to the Guildford show. She has made it her mission to share the South Yorkshire tradition of hearty singing of carols in pubs with a much wider audience. I was working in Cardiff one December a few years ago and saw she was  on at St David's Hall, so this was the second time I've seen her Christmas special. The words of the carols are often very familiar but the tunes are very different. She gave 3 versions of While Shepherds Watched their Flocks at Night, each to a different tune and each joyful. Her encore included a hilarious fancy dress change of clothes for her and the band. I'll say no more as I don't want to spoil the surprise for any blippers due to see the show. It was certainly a different musical experience to the Festival of Lessons and Carols at the Royal Holloway Chapel on Saturday, but equally effective in setting the scene for the coming celebrations.