Jude Johnstone. House concert at Maggie’s Farm, Rathfriland, Co Down.
Tonight sees the launch of this new venue for house concerts, a beautiful rebuilt farmhouse nestled on the slopes of Dechomet Mountain in County Down. It is an ideal setting for the quietly reflective music of Jude Johnstone, a musician of the highest quality and writer for the stars.
Joined by a stellar group of musicians that includes Ray Duncan (guitar, melodica, vocals), Nicky Scott (upright bass), Rob van Duuren (pedal steel and guitar), and Linley Hamilton (trumpet), the evening is broken into two sets, the first a walk through most of the songs on her new release, Living Room and the second, focused on other songs from across her previous albums. She also debuts a new song, Spring In Paris, which is another quiet gem to add to her impressive body of work.
There is quite a lot of self-reflection and deep contemplation in Jude’s songs and the ability to go below the surface is something that has always provided her admirers with the solace that she acts as a lightning rod for many of the personal highs and hurts that they experience in their own lives. Some find her songs too couched in melancholy but that can be viewed as a positive in that it is an aesthetic emotion. It is not somehow debilitating, like sorrow, despair or depression, but includes wistful feelings of yearning and memories of the past, that can bring much pleasure and sweet nostalgia for what we have loved and lost. There is also a longing in her words and a hope for a better tomorrow so that a message of optimism is always there too.
Jude plays nine of the tracks from her new album, in sequential order, highlighting the back story behind each song and how it came to be included on the album. LIVING ROOM is a wonderful addition to her body of work and stands up there with her best, every song revealing subtle joys upon repeated listening.
Song-writing is an ever-evolving journey and the process never reaches a point where one can say they are a fully formed writer. Jude talks of little ideas and snippets of lines that she has been keeping for years until the right moment arrives to frame and shape the song into a completed form. She tells of a melody her daughter, Ray Duncan, played on the piano at age eight – one that she kept for over ten years before asking her daughter’s permission to use it in a song (Seasons Of Time).
So, the symmetry of having her daughter on this tour sees the story turn full circle, with Ray opening the evening by playing a few numbers herself before joining her mother for the main concert on backing vocals. The harmony singing of mother and daughter is lovely and the phrasing of Jude’s voice is so enjoyable to witness in a live setting, such nuance and soulfulness in her delivery.
So Easy To Forget has co-host Linley Hamilton guesting on trumpet and it was a shame that he didn’t feature more over the songs, perhaps duplicating cello/violin/trombone parts on the original recording or just playing under the melody. As a professor of music at the University of Ulster in Derry, he has all the necessary talents to add greatly to any song, having also played with Van Morrison at different stages of his career.
Hardly a dry eye across the evening where audience members can be seen gathering themselves and composing their posture as certain songs unfold with Jude’s beautifully poignant words jogging individual reflections and memories. Serenita is a song that Jude co-wrote with tonight’s hostess, Maggie Doyle, who reveals herself not only to be very gracious and welcoming but also a talented wordsmith in her own right.
The superb playing of Nicky Scott (Van Morison, Mary Black, Gilbert O’Sullivan etc) is perfectly measured throughout as he enriches the melody and adds great context to the song delivery. One particular song, All I Ever Do, has Jude wondering why she didn’t use Nicky and his double bass on the original recording.
Is There Nothing and One Good Reason are pleas for communication when trying to navigate the vagaries of the human heart and the compulsion to search for something more. I Guess It’s Gonna Be That Way is a Christmas song that has a very lonely theme wrapped in a lovely melody as the musicians play in perfect symmetry within the song structure. Rob Van Duuren, who flew in from Amsterdam for this show, plays with understated grace and colours the songs with a subtle playing style that gives just enough texture and he never overplays. He also contributes on guitar and vocals at different stages, proving his overall quality.
Jude also plays a song she wrote while visiting Northern Ireland and Rathfriland is a lovely way to introduce the second set this evening. She also plays Deep Water from an early album, TOUCHDOWN JESUS, a song she wrote for Dr John in his New Orleans ragtime playing style and Never Leave Amsterdam is the final song of this very intimate concert. All in all, a wonderful night that was enjoyed by the local gathering. Congratulations to Maggie’s Farm and here’s to the next show at this interesting new venue.
Review and photography by Paul McGee