It’s always a good sign when the band arrive really early and do a thorough sound check and so it proved. They started off by going down to “Music Town” and we were pleased to go along with them. “Red Kites over the Chevin” was written in the pub when allowed out after lockdown and the Kites are of the bird variety, well worth seeing and a source of inspiration for this song. The first half concluded with “Silences in Between” and by then the in between songs was filled with applause and we eagerly awaited the second half.

Perhaps “Vacca Walls” about a curious set of slabs stuck in the ground in the hills above Otley is one of Jon’s most popular recent songs, and is the title track from the band’s latest CD, but perhaps the most topical is “Cragg Vale Coiners” because of the recent BBC Series “The Gallows Pole”. The final song, “Another Friday Night” recommended a night out around the pubs in Otley and concluded with a great tune enhanced by Wendy Ross’s fiddle playing. For the encore Beth Burrows joined the band for “Pay Me My Money Down”. Whilst this might be familiar from the repertoire of Bruce Springsteen it is actually a slave song from the Georgia Sea Islands made popular by The Kingston Trio. We left feeling very glad that we had paid our money down for a great evening of music from an excellent band of musicians and singers.

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Photos & Review Ken Bladen - Video & Additional photos Richard Bell