Live Review: Willie Watson, Timothy Nelson, Lucy Peach

With the main bar undergoing renovation, the smaller Four5Nine Bar was the venue for this evening's performance by "folk troubadour" Willie Watson, and early comers were treated to another spellbinding show from Lucy Peach. Giving a nod to her mother who was in the crowd celebrating her birthday, Peach delivered a solo performance that highlighted her strong songwriting and impressive vocal range. A charming performer, she kept the attentive crowd enthralled with her storytelling, finishing off her brief set with Be So Good from her EP, Silver Tongue.

The crowd was definitely starting to build as Timothy Nelson took to the stage accompanied by the multi-talented Luke Dux on pedal steel. Kicking off with Explain from his 2016 album Words Like Young, Nelson gave the mixed audience, many of whom may not have previously been exposed to his undoubted talent, a tasty set of his self-penned gems. Ending up with New York (You'll Never Be Mine), tonight's performance showed once again why Timothy Nelson is well and truly an artist on the rise.

Quietly making his way through the now packed crowd from the rear of the venue, Willie Watson took to the stage, guitar in hand, to loud applause. A founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show and now with one solo album, Folk Singer, Vol 1, under his belt, Watson opened his set with Take This Hammer and then proceeded to take all in attendance on a journey through his catalogue of traditional American folk songs. Losing the guitar for his second song, he advised that the crowd were not looking so good and that it was time for everyone to get their daily dose of banjo before launching in to Mexican Cowboy.

A consummate entertainer, Watson kept the crowd amused between songs with stories of life on the road, be it an angry punter in Melbourne or irate driver in Norman, Oklahoma, while showcasing his undoubted musical and vocal ability, swapping between guitar, banjo and harmonica throughout the evening. Keep It Clean and Mother Earth were followed by Watson getting the crowd involved in a call and response singalong for Stewball, saying that it wasn't a real folk concert unless everyone was singing.

Finishing up the evening with the breakneck banjo picking of John Henry, Willie Watson delivered what can only be described as a master class in contemporary Americana/folk music that was appreciatively lapped up by the cheering and hollering audience. With this being his second tour of Australia in the last eight months, and with him currently recording Folk Singer, Vol 2, it can only be hoped that he will soon be back this way sooner rather than later.