Some of us must have walked past St Thomas the Martyr about a million times and never really noticed it. Tucked into the square just before The Fleece it’s an anonymous looking place. Even though it’s a little church it doesn’t really look like a safe space, a place for friends and love. The wonderful dual presences of Lady Nade and Simeon Hammond Dallas made it safe, friendly and plenty of other good things too.
With just an acoustic guitar Hammond Dallas spreads an infectious warmth. Her songs are simple and beautifully crafted and, like all the best songwriters, knows exactly how to explore love and loss. A Hundred Lovers and Make it Romantic are deliciously wry slices of the softest, soulful Americana which complement the main event delightfully.
Judging by her beautifully short, sweet set Bristolian Lady Nade must have a brilliant record collection. It must be effortlessly cool and stuffed with the best of country soul, blues-y Americana and infectious girl group pop. This much delayed gig featured all of these things topped off with a voice that tests the church acoustics gloriously.
She talks, at one stage, of the eclectic mix tapes that her recently deceased Grandfather used to make her, and how they informed the music that she loves. She talks with such tenderness and such emotion that there is no doubt the impact that this man, and the music that he gifted her, has made. That love is carefully wrapped around every single song that she plays.
There’s the smokey, finger-clicking One of Us and the soulful celebration of individuality in Ain’t One Thing; both betray the mixtape influence. They are at once steeped in something very old fashioned but are gloriously contemporary.
Each song has the merest hint of a different genre but they are all tied together with a unifying sound so that the whole set flows beautifully. Standouts are the countryish, pedal steel washed swooner Complicated and kitsch-y 60s girl group sass of Looking for Love. It is on this song that you realise how extraordinary Nade’s voice is. A faulty cable leaves the stage unamplified but Nade keeps singing, filling the nave, goose-bumping every person in the place. It is an undeniable Moment (with a capital M)
The title track of her new album, Willing, is a tremendous song; the sort of thing that has Jools Holland foaming at the mouth, the sort of song that the Mercury prize jury should be taking notice of. It’s a calling card, the perfect 45 carefully selected from the perfect record collection. That, along with a jaw dropping version of Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s My Journey to the Sky, showcase everything that makes Lady Nade simply great.
She radiates love, kindness and friendliness – a homecoming queen with a whole mixtape of incredible songs in her pocket.
Gavin McNamara
TallFolk 