Sunday 6th October 2024
Photos and video by Keith Belcher, review by Mike Latham
Well, that was interesting. I think that I should have paid more attention to the information supplied when the concert was announced. The first two tunes, to me, followed the usual pattern of tunes and then, subsequent ones went in different directions whilst remaining true to the original themes. I thought, ‘Hmm, a bit of experimentation going on’; then Owen referred to the experimentations that Louis performed in his other guitar duo. The penny dropped.
I have recently read the Robin Denselow update of ‘The Electric Muse’ where he looks at the developments within ‘folk music’ in the latter half of the last century and in to the current period. He was emphasising the changes and experimentation carried out by Davy Graham and Shirley Collins, Fairport and Steeleye, The Incredible String Band and Pentagle. All used the songs and tunes from the past and updated them to attract new listeners and that process continues through Bellowhead, The Imagined Village and Lankum.
We have seen Jon Boden and the Remnant Kings, The Paul McKenna Band and now Owen and Louis using those self same tunes and creating their own interpretation of broadside and parlour songs, folk songs and dance tunes. Each taking the popular tunes and songs of the past and putting them into a contemporary context, proving that ‘folk music’ is not a thing of the past but a living, continuous strand of people’s lives.
Last comment; I have found the musicianship and dedication of the younger performers we are seeing more recently to be truly astonishing. Owen and Louis were no different, a wonderful duo.
