The
Bishops Stortford Acoustic Club
at South Mill Arts Centre
1-3, South Road, Bishops Stortford, Herts.
CM23 3JG
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Previous
Performances – Who played when |
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2026
15th
October 2026
CONCERT SHOWCASE
DAVE
SUTHERLAND
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Hello Acoustic Clubbers Our last Concert Special of the year was an
absolute highlight with the Master of Americana Dave Sutherland. Just two days before the biggest solo gig
of his career and his much anticipated new album “Just Like A Black and White
Film” being officially launched, we were treated to an hour and three
quarters of classic Sutherland spread over two sets.
Dave is unquestionably on of the leading
Americana singer songwriters in the country and his talent has been
recognised at the highest levels. However, his new music is a change in
direction, focussing on those personal occurrences and memories that help
shape the man and the writer he is. He has an undefinable but wonderous ability
to put matters, actions and experiences into coherent and immediately
recognisable verse. “I walked up the down escalator” is something many of us
have felt is the progress of life. Always striving for an end that gets
further away no matter how hard we try! A memorable line from an impressive
11 song offering that has been enthusiastically reviewed and, without
exception, impressed the hell out of the reviewers. There are no weak songs or
filler tracks, all deserved their place and all demand at the very least an
instant second listen. His band is one of those collections of talent that
work. We all know Jim Kimberley from his previous work with Daves music complementing
the sound brilliantly. Holly Carter on pedal steel and guitars is a
revelation as she is one of the finest pedal steel guitarist about (ask
Richard Thompson, yes that one!!), Owain Hughes on piano and organs provides
a wonderful counterpoint and Tim Harries on bass is one of those exquisite
players who has mastered the art of playing the exact number of notes
required!
To get “Just Like a Black And White Film”
click the link However, Dave’s performance was not a
guitar and vocals version of his album as well a fine selection from the
Album. He brought us songs from his superb back catalogue and a brilliant
version of John Prines “Paradise”. There are many different ways to perform
this landmark song from Prine’s extensive collection but Daves was a personal
and studied version. Dave is a story teller by trade and this
comes from his roots and every song has an accompanying paragraph or two and
this understanding of the song enhances the performance. In the end, the enemy on the wall, time,
beat us and as the music faded, we were left with that warm feeling of being
at a rather special evening of peerless Americana delivered by one of the
very best. Support for Dave was provided by Bill
Tarran who delivered some ‘new’ old songs from the 1970’s but included one
especially for Emma (Daves wife and organiser in chief) An English Lady of a
Certain Age |
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Grateful thanks to Alex for his sterling
work on the Sound Desk. A much quieter evening for him all around but that
does not detract from the brilliance of his sound engineering. Also, much appreciation to all the staff
and volunteers who go to make the SMA such a wonderful welcoming venue. |
