Tara MacLean + Edwina Hayes – Camden Club, London 30/05/2023

There’s something about the Camden area of London that has defiantly resisted gentrification and the seemingly inevitable advance of big corporate names. You’ll see the odd famous name coffee shop, but generally, the corporate giants feel like temporary intruders just passing through. The short walk from Camden station, over the canal and up to Chalk Farm for this evening’s entertainment feels bohemian and otherworldly. The area is home to the outsider and those rooted in the arts, with a hint of danger, amongst other things, hanging in the early evening air as you walk past the various chancers, reprobates and not one, but two charity organisations trying to make a difference by offering hot meals from temporary street stalls. For an artist such as Tara MacLean, who had an unconventional (to put it mildly) upbringing in the wilds of Canada fraught with danger and uncertainty - that would most certainly be considered outside the norm - it seems strangely fitting that she should find herself telling stories and singing songs in the Camden Club, an intimate venue with a blink you will miss it, black entrance staircase leading to a large door, complete with a ridiculously oversized door handle, that looks like it should have its own portcullis and a moat.

First up this evening, we’ve Edwina Hayes, who I first encountered honing her craft via open mic nights at the Virtually Acoustic Club (The VAC as it was known) in Islington twenty years ago. Back then, Edwina stood out with her wonderfully angelic voice and a real knack for recognising a melody, traits that still hold true today. An engaging personality with many a story to tell, Edwina opened with Jon Byrd’s ‘Stay’ before dipping into her own songs, such as ‘Pour Me A Drink’ from the album of the same name and the Boo Hewerdine co-write ‘Bend In The Road’ plus a selection of covers, with Leonard Cohen’s ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ a standout, while Katey Jones’ amusing  ‘Waiting For A Guy To Die’ concluded the set and reminded everyone that Edwina is equally happy away from the melancholy. If you don’t know Edwina Hayes check out one of her albums or, even better, see her live, as I’m sure she’ll be playing a show near you very soon.

I’d spent the previous evening burning the midnight oil into the wee small hours devouring the first one hundred or so pages of Tara MacLean’s memoir ‘Song Of The Sparrow’, as striking a book as I’ve read in a very long time. Tara is unflinching in her honesty, and Sparrow isn’t an easy read, but she sucks you into a world the like of which few of us will have ever encountered. So I was ideally prepared for Tara to read the prologue from the book, which covers her first experience of taking the stage and singing to an audience. Tara perfectly captured her fascination and excitement with music at an early age as she told her story, a story that, during the prologue at least, only hints at the inky black darkness surrounding her and her siblings during their early childhood. You could hear a pin drop in the venue, and the audiobook sounds like an absolute winner due to Tara’s wonderfully engaging personality.

The book is only half the story as there is also a CD, ‘Sparrow’ where Tara has reinterpreted several of her songs alongside new compositions, the two experiences dovetail very nicely. Tara is joined this evening by Peter Rinaldi (Dido, Headspace, Gareth Gates, Natalie Imbruglia) on electric/acoustic guitars/backing vocals and on drums/percussion/harmonium and probably a few other bits and pieces, Matt Falkner (Amy McDonald, Headspace, Dido) who do a great job of filling out the sound after just a single rehearsal; these guys are good. Opening with the title track, the combination of Tara's voice and lyrical integrity drags you in. If I was forced to make a comparison to another artist, then fellow Canadian Sarah McLachlan wouldn’t be far off. A personal favourite ‘Lay Here In The Dark’ follows and reinforces the relatability of Tara’s lyrical approach. You might be mistaken for thinking this was all a little on the serious side, but it's far from po-faced, Tara's winning personality shines through as she introduced a new song ‘London Bridges’ inspired by a visit to Moth Club in London earlier this year, where she amusingly told us of the discovery that, as Tara put it, she “still had game" with positive results. The set continued with Tara going from strength to strength aided by Peter and Matt, who seem to instinctively have a feel for how and when to lightly embellish the songs, whether it be rhythmic percussion enhancing ‘Holy Years’ or gentle slide/tremolo guitar on a quite gorgeous ‘Silence’ they did a wonderful job. The strength of Tara’s material makes it hard to pick favourites, but ‘That’s Me’ (featured recently here at RGM), ‘Divided’ and ‘Ghosting Me’ were all beautifully executed this evening, while ‘This Storm’ is fast becoming a signature song for Tara. The set concluded with an almost unrecognisable version of The Cure’s ‘Lovesong’, Tara's voice ringing out over Peter’s guitar and Matt’s pounding drums. Impressive.

Tara will be back in the UK for Canada Day Festivities in Trafalgar Square on June 29th and you can also catch her at the Maverick Festival on July 1st 2023.