The Cluny is an iconic, historical Grade 2 listed former steam-powered flour mill and whiskey bottling plant, the perfect blend for a live music venue listed in the top 100 World Best Bars. There is no better or more intimate space to watch the Newcastle-based duo Ruth Lyon and Conrad Bird, co-founders of folk rock band Holy Moly & The Crackers, the band currently taking a break.
A barnstormer of an opening song, “I Can Drive You Crazy”, Ruth and Conrad are in perfect harmony, both vocally and via the strings of their respective electric violin and amplified acoustic guitar. The atmospheric slow blues of “Give Me A Hammer” from Holy Moly’s Solid Gold album was inspired by the Northumberland landscape and enhanced musically tonight with soothing guitar strings and deft-touch, haunting violin interludes. The impassioned “If I Die Tomorrow” highlights the palpable chemistry between Ruth and Conrad, the latter’s vocals particularly poignant in this beautifully arranged song.
The blues don’t run much deeper than the passing of a friend. “Come On Down” is a tribute filled with raw emotion, the sense of injustice unbearable. As Conrad explains: “This is a very personal song to me. When I was 17 my best friend died of cancer, two weeks from being diagnosed. We grew up together from the pram. It’s taken me 15 years to write this song.”
Following this was the mesmeric “Rolling To Ruin,” written by Conrad and released as a single by the talented Tommy Arch, whose solo career continues to gain momentum. The Bob Dylan cover “Shelter From The Storm” was given a thunderous interpretation, while the finale, “I Will See You Again,” brought two special guests to the forefront for a mega musical jamboree: they were The Buffalo Skinners roots-rock and roll band violinist James Nicholls and French singer and songwriter Kieran Thorpe, the latter headlining later in the show. With two dynamic fiddles, Conrad’s guitar-shredding antics, and Thorpe’s additional vocals, Lyon & Bird ended their set in spectacular fashion.
Holy Moly & The Crackers will reunite this summer to appear at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival on August 23rd.
Ruth Lyon releases her debut solo album, Poems & Non Fiction, on June 13th on Pink Lane Records and is available to pre-order here.
Her new single from the album is out now.
