Ward Thomas

They had held on patiently for eighteen months, and marked three re-arranged dates into their diaries, but those who originally bought tickets to see Hampshire twins Ward Thomas perform at Norwich's Epic Studios in April 2020 finally had their patience rewarded with a performance in Magdalen Street's famous former TV studio that proves it is well worth getting jabbed for.
 
Following the release of the duo's lockdown album Invitation, it was really good to see so many fans making the journey 'over the river' to RSVP this long-awaited gig. And that album featured strongly in the evening's setlist, with no fewer than six tracks from it being performed, as well as another new song, the well-received 'Chasing A Mirage'.

 
This was the seventh night of the Ward Thomas tour, which continues until the end of the month and concludes with dates at London's Union Chapel on the 29thand 30th. Catherine and Lizzie are accompanied by a full band, beefing up the sound but without detracting from their trademark close vocal harmonies, and they are still able to laugh off a couple of minor gremlins when a guitar isn't plugged in properly. “We apologise for the fuck-ups”, Lizzie quips, with an endearing 'butter wouldn't melt in her mouth' grin.
 
The remainder of the set features six songs from 2019's Restless Minds, five from chart-topping album Cartwheels and just two from their 2014 debut From Where We Stand, including the wonderfully quirkey 'Town Called Ugley'. However, I do wonder how long it will be before the WOKE police complain about the line “It's a cotton-picking town called Ugley”.
 
New song, 'Chasing A Mirage' seems to get the thumbs-up from the Norwich audience, as does the cover of John Meyer's 'Stop This Train'. There isn't a great deal of room for standing, but that doesn't stop one small girl from dancing throughout the entire set. However, it takes the lively folk-infused 'I Believe In You' to get older members of the audience onto their feet.
 
'Carry Me Home' appropriately concludes the main set, and the well-deserved encore featured a wonderful cover of The Middle (Ward Thomas' perfect harmonies sounding so much better than Maren Morris' auto-tuned vocals did on the original), and the hauntingly poignent Safe (a song written in 2016 but now even more relevant to all women in 2021).

 
A triumphant return to Norwich, and a stunning debut for Ward Thomas at Epic Studios. Support came from the congenial, and extremely talented, singer-songwriter Dan Owen (who faced a drive back to Shrewsbury immediately after the gig), and The County Affair, a country-rock duo that first performed together as teenagers in the late-70s, and who recently reformed after a break of over thirty years. Lead vocalist and guitar-playing Kevin Brennan later went on to be CEO of Quorn Foods. Well, it would appear that not all CEO's dream of being shot into space.