This was truly a double bill made in heaven. Both artists I had always intended to see live but for various reasons had never been able to actually manage to do exactly that. Kris Barras, the former MMA fighter turned blues music troubadour, would be playing acoustically as a tasty warmup to the enigmatic majesty of Beth Hart herself. After being introduced to Beth’s recent album release ”War In My Mind” I was keenly anticipating hearing the new songs performed as well as her back catalogue standards
However once again the fickle hand of fate played its part-as due to an extended work shift that I could not avoid I arrived at the venue unfortunately too late to witness Kris Baras’ support slot.I was however particularly thankful that Beth had not yet taken to the stage.The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester is one of my favourite venues to witness live shows and the acoustics are always impeccable no matter what the musical genre of the artist playing under its roof.
One thing that I had noticed in doing my pre-gig homework that Beth has the flexibility as an artist and with an extensive back catalogue to vary her setlists at times, keeping it fresh for both herself and also her fans who may have attended several shows on the same tour. Beginning perfectly on cue at 8:30 sharp, she enters with minimal fuss and begins the show with an unusual choice of cover by playing Bill Withers “For My Friends”.The strength of her unique vocal style also means that even when playing songs by other artists(several present in tonight’s set) that she fully embraces all the spirit of the original tune but also puts her unique and personal touch to them.
The tracks that I was keenly anticipating hearing from the recent album particularly the poignant and quite intense title track “War In My Mind” literally sent shivers down my spine with its softer lilt while the more uptempo vibes of “Sugar Shack” was quite a contrast-a veritable light and shade so to speak.
Beth,s song introductions were quite detailed as she spelled out sometimes in quite graphic detail the stories behind the compositions that she would be performing to her audience.Whether performing with a piano or solo with an acoustic guitar she serves up an evening of pure escapism to a passionate, very devout and also respectful audience.She shares her musical journey with them and they appear to be delighted to be carried along with her both through the euphoric highs and also the dark lows.
This was quite simply a magical musical evening and definitely one of my favourite concerts that I have attended in recent years. Beyond just a performance it was actually emotionally quite a journey. Simply stunning!
Beth Hart has plenty of gig dates in 2020. Check out the gig dates below:
Sat. 2/29- Sun. 3/1- L’Olympia in Paris, France
Wed. 4/15- Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, California
Fri. 4/17- Humphrey’s Concerts By The Bay in San Diego, California
Sat. 4/18- The Canyon at Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, California
Tue. 4/21- Mission Ballroom in Denver, Colorado
Thu. 4/23- Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Missouri
Sat. 4/25- The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri
Mon. 4/27- Center Stage- The Loft- Vinyl in Atlanta, Georgia
Wed. 4/29- Knight Theater at Levine Center for the Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina
Fri. 5/1- Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee
Sat. 5/2- Old National Centre in Indianapolis, Indiana
Tue. 5/5- Warner Theatre in Washington D.C.
Thu. 5/7- Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania
Sun. 5/10- Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, New Jersey
Wed. 5/13- The Town Hall in New York, New York
Fri. 5/15- Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut
Sat. 5/16- The Wilbur in Boston, Massachusetts
Sat. 6/13- Rock i Lunden in Horsens, Denmark
Thu. 7/23- Open Air Blues Festival in Brezoi, Romania
Mon. 7/27- Zelt Musik Festival in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Wed. 7/29- Luisenberg-Festspiele in Wunsiedel, Germany
Fri. 7/31- Parkbuhne im Clara Zetkin Park in Leipzig, Germany
Wed. 10/21- Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland
Fri. 10/23- O2 universum in Prague, Czech Republic
Mon. 10/26- Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Germany
Thu. 10/29- Meistersingerhalle in Nuremburg, Germany
Sat. 10/31- Arena in Trier, Germany
Mon. 11/2- Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany
Wed. 11/4- Global Concerts GmbH in Munich, Germany
Sat. 11/7- Rosengarten in Mannheim, Germany
Mon. 11/9- Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt, Germany
Wed. 11/11- Mitsubishi Electric Halle in Dusseldorf, Germany
Fri. 11/13- Kuppelsaal im HCC in Hanover, Germany
Sun. 11/15- Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany
Tue. 11/17- CinemaxX Liederhalle in Stuttgart, Germany
Wed. 11/18- Cirque Royal in Brussels, Belgium
For tickets and further information, click here.
Fans can find Beth Hart at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/officialbethhart
www.instagram.com/officialbethhart
Fans can find Mark Dean at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/Mark-Dean-Media-Journalist
- Photo Credit for Cover Photo: Neil Kitson
- Charlotte Wellings, Neil Kitson, and Terry Marland have credits, all have the proper captions underneath each pic in the slideshow
