Fronted by the talented Eddy Morton (full of boyish sartorial elegance as usual, sporting summer shirt, shorts, boots and red socks) they laid down their smooth brand of bluegrass/urban hillbilly/hint of Irish roots music.
Starting out with 'Wild English Rose' they took us through greats such as, 'River Street', 'Lighthouse' and 'Howling At The Moon'. Eddy's easy vocals and guitar style were perfectly supported by long-time (founder member) Buzby Bywater on electric bass, harmonica and backing vocals, Gerry Smith on piano and accordion, Micky Barker on drums and percussion and newest member Lucy Collinge-Hill on violin and backing vocal.
The Bushbury's music is warm yet moody, descriptive and gritty, with lyrics that often tell of places and people visited throughout Eddy's extensive touring. The use of violin brought out the emotion in the songs - the accordion added the distinct, almost gypsy roots feel. Clever, subtle drumming and smooth, flowing bass kept it all together. There's always a fair bit of banter that goes on at Bushbury gigs and this was no exception with Eddy's short introductions done in his soft and casual manner and short interchanges with both audience and band members.
Two solo spots by Eddy (one scheduled and one forced by the unusual breaking of a bass guitar string!), during the second set took the mood to mellow and allowed the beautiful lyrics to be fully appreciated. The set featured many of the songs from their latest album, 'Timeless' with a few oldies but goodies thrown in.
The crowd seemed to enjoy what they heard tonight and I'm sure that many would've left with catchy choruses or jaunty tunes in their heads.
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