YOU could have been forgiven for thinking you were deep in America at last Saturday’s Little Num Num Club.
One of the artists was the genuine article from Nashville, Tennessee, while the other three, though all Yorkshire boys, fitted the bill just so.
This one-off night was to mark the launch of Boss Caine’s new album on the club’s Little Num Num Music record label, which has already released the latest offerings from two other artists on the bill, Mark Wynn and Chris Helme.
The label specialises in singer songwriters, acoustic roots, blues and folk, all of which were reflected in the evening’s material.
First up was Wynn, arguably York’s answer to Bob Dylan, whose great songs, lyrics way beyond his 20-something years and fantastic blues guitar playing wowed the audience.
Carissa Lee Broadwater, meanwhile, has relocated to York from Nashville. Her songs are tinged with darkness, complemented by her lush, rich voice; special mention must go to Simon Snaize, who accompanied her brilliantly on slide guitar.
Helme, host for the evening, hasn’t played in York for a while, so it was a treat to see him on home turf performing self-penned songs and more. His soaring vocal is haunting, especially when teamed with former Yards band mate Chris Farrell on spine-tingling guitar duties; their version of the Rolling Stones’ No Expectations was breathtaking.
But it was Boss Caine’s night. This brilliant Americana/folk collective centres around frontman GT Turbo, whose deep, rasping vocals make you feel you are drowning in a happy haze of whisky-fuelled emotions.
Grab a copy of Num Num Music’s first three releases from littlenumnum.com – you won’t be disappointed.
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