Laura Evans – she during her set—got married six weeks ago. Congratulations to her, but it will change her songs.
As she freely admits herself, the songs on her album from a couple of years back, from which most of these come, are all about heartbreak, and “Fool” is a prime example.
Playing tonight as a duo with Will Edmonds on guitar, the skill and beauty of her voice truly shine on songs like “Fire With Fire”.
There is some happiness in her ode to the Deep South, “Arkansas,” and you can imagine the girl from Aberdare with the desert wind blowing through her hair or perhaps on some dappled beach on the U.S. West Coast.
She has some lovely songs, and the one she finishes with, “I’m Alright”—the opening song on that “State Of Mind” album—a sort of stoic anthem—gets the crowd singing along.
It’s been a couple of years since MV saw Laura Evans, and she was as warm and welcoming then as she was tonight. She’s a real undiscovered talent.
Walter Trout and his band have just finished their set with the blues standard “Going Down.” They’ve taken their bows, and Walter steps to the microphone one last time. “I’ve been coming to see you for 35 years,” he says. “And you keep coming out to see me every time. I love you for it.”
90 minutes before—there appears to be a strict curfew—Trout and his new-look band (keyboard player Roland is on his first run, and there’s a wonderful second guitarist, Brett Smith-Davies) appear, with a wonderful take on Bo Diddley’s “I Can Tell” before the late-night blues of “Courage In The Dark.” That’s one of two he plays from his brilliant 2024 record, “Broken.” His 31st since leaving John Mayall.
The death of the man he still calls “Mr. Mayall,” who did more than anyone to get Trout clean and sober, is still fresh, which makes the version he plays of “Say Goodbye To The Blues” (complete with moving tribute) all the more poignant. It’s beautifully done.
The title track of the “Ride” album adds some southern flavours (“Don’t tell anyone, but I wrote that after listening to The Allman Brothers for about eight hours straight!” he laughs) before Smith-Davies adds acoustics to “Follow You Back Home”.
The next two, though, are stunning. Absolute show-stoppers. First, Smith-Davies takes center stage for “We’re All In This Together” – reprising the Bonamassa parts in incredible fashion, before Will Wilde, whom Trout calls “the finest harmonica player I’ve ever known”, proves it on the boogie of “Bleed”. “Sensational” doesn’t do it justice.
The individual members of the band get their chance to shine during “Red Sky”. Long-standing drummer Michael Leasure channelling his inner Bonham is fun before the aforementioned “….Down”. Supposed to be the encore, but up against the clock, it is filled with energy and urgency.
So another Walter Trout gig ends. Another year into his self-proclaimed “bonus ten years”. He is phenomenal. A force. A presence. He plays like no one else but doesn’t often elongate his jams. Never once do you ever feel that Walter (and you use first names because it feels like you know him) is having more fun than you are. We are, like it says, in this together.
Forgive the inanity of this, but last week MV dropped the mate back home we went with tonight. As he got out of the car, I said, “See you next week for the pilgrimage,” and that’s how it feels watching Walter Trout each year.
I’ve been watching Walter Trout for about 25 of the 35 years he’s been coming over. Purists may disagree, but he is, without question in my mind, the greatest living blues guitar player.
