Show of Hands at Bewdley Festival - review by Neville Farmer

A musician has to be very comfortable in his own skin to offer a support slot to an act as exciting as Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin.

But Steve Knightley and Phil Beer of Show of Hands have been at this game too long to worry about being upstaged.

Like proud parents, they have been showing off their near neighbours, Henry and Martin for the last year and Bewdley’s Festival audience were suitably enchanted.

The duo’s blend of voice, fiddle, banjo, guitar, Dobro and beatbox harmonica was as musically delightful as their performance was spectacular, especially when Phillip Henry half swallowed his harmonica while still playing a melody on it and human beatboxing into the mic at the same time.

Check them out on YouTube to see just how good they are. This is not what you expect of traditional English folk.

Show Of Hands, however, were exactly what was expected; superb, poignant, emotional songwriting with modern lyrics in a traditional setting. Deliciously enriched by Miranda Sykes double bass and soprano harmonies, Steve and Phil consistently remind us that great folk music is not to be dusted off like an antique curio but is to be used and adapted.

There was little better example of this than their very English arrangements of Bruce Springsteen’s working man’s anthem, “Youngstown” or Don Henley’s West Coast pop hit, “Boys of Summer”.

Both blended seamlessly with Steve Knightley’s own hard-hitting classics such as “Country Life” and “Cousin Jack”.

Show Of Hands have a wonderful ability to make you feel part of the family, invited round to share jokes between bursts of remarkable musicianship and flawless three part harmonies.

It is this that has made them a national favourite for so many years. There was no better way to launch this year’s Bewdley Festival.