Folk Music at The Royal Oak (26th May)

‘Can I get a Hell yeah for original music!’

Honestly? Yeah. You can.

All reviews are opinion, and all reviewers are of the opinion that theirs is the best of the bunch. I am no different really. I am mostly a rock and metal critic, so you’ll forgive me if the language used mirrors that vibe more than that of folk music. That being said. I thoroughly enjoyed the folk showcase of Alisdair Dow, Stuart Honeyman, and Ruth Hamblin (or Brown, depending on when you’re reading this), They’re fucking excellent. Job done.

No? You want more? Alright.

There is no point on telling you who went first, because in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter, these guys jam apart and together intertwined, so we shall go in alphabetical order, which as I write I realise is also the order they played in, oh well, point stands.

Alisdair Dow sings songs that sound like summer. A little Ed Sheeran, and I mean that positively, his lyrics are easy to follow and mostly about love. He is a true showman, warming up the crowd and doing a fantastic job, really funny. If music doesn’t work out he is well on his way to becoming a part time comedian.

Ruth Hamblin, or Brown, is a goddamn poet. She doesn’t just sing, she tells stories. You could tell she was nervous but she played it off really well. She sings in a fashion that reminded me of the voice of the Christmas Irn Bru advert, bell like, high pitched. She writes stories, not songs. She switches between using a guitar and a harp. I was particularly impressed by Cigar Girl (Radio Edit), a murder ballad inspired by Edgar Allen Poe. I have a complex relationship with Poe, but I can honestly say Ruth has gone leagues in improving the situation. She really sells her act using call and response style songs to end her set.

We then go to Stuart Honeyman. While his lyrics lack the flair of Ruth, his guitar skills are off the charts. I’m no expert and even I can tell what he was doing was very impressive. His songs are also about relationships, mostly bad ones, and his voice carries the bittersweet nature well. The whole event was meant to be for the release of his latest song, ‘Rocky Ground’. A bittersweet fantasy, I was smiling the whole time. He is a little like if Orville Peck fucked The Pogues, which sounds bizarre but I promise its good. If you don’t believe me you’ll just have to buy tickets to his next show.

Here comes what I think is the best bits. My standout moments, the community of it all. While Alistair plays, I can hear Stuart in the background singing along under his breath hyping up his friend, and then later on they play together. Honeyman and Dow, who will be playing the fringe all august as a duo, nine shows a week, harmonise beautifully.

They encourage Ruth to promote herself before starting their own sets, gently reminder her when she next plays. They laugh and joke together, and you can just really tell each one of them loves what they do. As cheesy as it sounds that does make a difference, doesn’t matter what music you create, if you don’t love it the audience can tell.

The set ends with a performance of ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ by all three, two guitars, one harp, three voices intertwining beautifully. I am ashamed to say I didn’t sing alongside everyone else, I didn’t know the words then, next time I will be better prepared.

You can find them on Instagram:

Alisdair Dow: @adowabouttown

Ruth Hamblin (Brown): @Raise-The-Roof

Stuart Honeyman: @StuartHoneymanguitar

By Abigail Humphries