This was my third exposure to Kris Drever at this Festival, and he just keeps getting better.

Kate Rusby and Kris Drever
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
****

This was my third exposure to Kris Drever at this Festival, and he just keeps getting better. Here highlighting his solo work, accompanied by Ian Carr and Eamonn Coyne, his reading of the Honk Toot Suite was outstanding.

Now a folk superstar (she's had a top-10 hit with Ronan Keating, for goodness sake), Kate Rusby has a refreshing attitude to what she does, and she sings like an angel. Rusby was backed by dazzling musical talent, including Carr and Coyne, flute legend Michael McGoldrick and Festival artistic director Donald Shaw on piano. The icing on the cake, though, was the contribution of the 10-piece Red Sky String Section, under the direction of Donald Grant.

She kicked off with the title track of her most recent album, Awkward Annie, and tracks from that disc featured heavily. Never the merriest of songwriters, the album was recorded after a period of upheaval in Rusby's personal life as was evident in songs such as Planets and Bitter Boy.

There was some light relief, though, with Sir Eglamore, dedicated to her dragon-loving nephew and The Old Man, raising smiles, The most spine-tingling moment came with I am Stretched On your Grave, Rusby's vocal beautiful.
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