Wednesday 4th June 2008 @ Thekla, Bristol

If you regularly listen to Radio 2, you probably would have heard the heart warming vocals of your local Westcountry gal, Beth Rowley. I went to see Beth at the Thekla. She has recently returned from LA to her home town of Bristol. To be honest, I didn’t really have any preconceptions of Rowley. I had heard good things about her and I had seen her picture on the back of the Guardian Guide, oh and guest to the gig knew her entire family, so I met her friendly Dad. After a couple of cranberry juices, we clambered down to below deck in time to catch the melodic tones of Beth and her four, or call it five, piece band.

Beth Rowley performed songs from her recently released album, Little Dreamer with the help of her band and boyfriend, Ben Castle, son of Roy Castle. He blasted away on his saxophone while she sang the lyrics for their song written together, entitled Oh My Life. This song, although it made my foot tap involuntarily on the floor, failed to incite any joy within me. However, that’s not to say that her other songs didn’t. Although a country classic by Willie Nelson, Angels Flying Too Close To The Ground, made me smile in a kind of giddy romantic way, and the reggae infused version of Dylan’s I Shall Be Released, actually made me want to do a little jig!

Overall, it was a treat to hear her sing and I do think that Beth’s stunning voice and cute looks will keep her going for a long while, that is until the public get bored of jazz inspired, singer songwriters. Even though these similar sounding artists are top of the pops at the moment, unfortunately they may not stay there forever. Pessimistic of me perhaps! Beth’s voice is amazing for sure, but she needs a little bit more oomph to her music, maybe that is something she will grow into.

www.bethrowley.com

Lizzie Woodall