Kate Rusby gig

Kate Rusby was excellent last night. She wasn't singing alone, instead she had her band made up of:

• John McCusker (otherwise known as Mr Kate Rusby)


• Andy Cutting. Andy, at one point in the evening, gave a great recipie for leeks, I've just forgotten it now.


• Ian Carr


• Andy Seward on double-bass

As well as a brass-quintet for some of the songs. She did many of my favourites and here's the songs I can remember them playing (but not in the right order I hasten to add):

• Bold Riley


• Cobbler's Daughter


• The Good Man


• Let Me Be


• Elfin Knight


• Botany Bay


• Game Of All Fours


• Canaan's Land (they finished the show with this)


• Underneath the Stars (Kate did an encore - just her, a guitar and the brass quintet - sublime)


• Mary Blaize


• Sir Eglamore (one of the first Kate Rusby songs I fell in love with, I was singing loud to this one)


• The Lark


• Some Tyrant


• Young James

As well as the above there were jokes a-plenty amongst the band which helped make us all laugh, with the band often trying to get the audience to take sides on certain points (like is England better than Scotland and things like that). Kate filled the 'tuning time' with stories and anecdotes that were just quite daft. Many tales were told of Kate's nephews often relating to the songs to be played. The 'boys' in the band also played a 4-song instrumental that just took my breath away.

An amazing gig - next on my list is John Wright in December, it can't come soon enough!

Kate Rusby, Grand Opera House York