With the onslaught of new singer-songwriters around being touted as the ‘new whoever‘, it’s easy to be sceptical about going out to see anyone new to the scene or up and coming. However, at Manchester’s Night n Day on a cold March night, singer-songwriter Lisa Redford held an audience totally captivated and cheering for more. Making her debut at the respected venue, Lisa, who usually plays solo or with the brilliant Alan Cook on pedal steel and dobro, was joined this time by James Youngjohns on violin from the lovely Manchester based band Anna Kashfi. Not a total newcomer either, Lisa has already released two highly acclaimed independent albums, Slipstream and the latest, Lost Again, which was produced by ex Guthrie Gabriel Minnikin. Both albums have received airplay and praise on Bob Harris‘s Radio 2 shows and contain all original material written by Lisa as well as a stunning live cover of Neal Casal’s Fell on Hard Times which appears on Lost Again.
Starting with the lilting melody of the catchy title track from the latest album, highlights in the set include the beautifully nostalgic Dragonfly with the combination of Lisa‘s finger picking and James‘ violin working especially well here, adding a moody and haunting quality. The song has already received much acclaim as it was featured on a Bob Harris ‘Best of British‘ special and it‘s easy to hear why. Lyrically, the song tells the story of a road trip and Lisa’s voice begins in a very low sultry tone during the verses before hitting an incredibly high falsetto in the uplifting chorus. Other highlights include a song from Slipstream, the wonderful heartbreak ballad Don’t Tell Me that really reveals the raw strength of Lisa’s powerful voice, and brand new song, the punchy Come Back Down, that has a very memorable hook. Lisa’s songs have a very classic feel, like she is carrying on that singer-songwriter lineage from the likes of Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. However, the songs also possess a strong Americana influence that makes her own distinct sound. Her songs to me evoke a female Teddy Thompson or Josh Rouse, and the afore-mentioned Casal, she shares that same gift for writing deceptively simple, gorgeously melodic and well-crafted songs.
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Inbetween songs Lisa is charming, funny and very natural, as if she’s been performing forever. Like her American contemporaries Mindy Smith and Tift Merritt, she has bundles of charisma and stage presence, possessing that same ability to leave you spellbound by the emotion of her voice and onstage personality. Live, her voice really has immense power yet great control too and reminds me of the same heart worn tender vibrato of a young Emmylou Harris. Lisa’s voice is purer with a warm timbre, but has that same raw emotion in her voice that makes you feel she has lived through all the heartbreak she sings and writes about.
Having already supported the likes of Chuck Prophet, Eileen Rose, The Deadstring Brothers, The Arlenes, and Peter Mulvey, Lisa is most definitely one to watch. Don’t miss her performing at festivals this summer or on her future supports to Jeff Black, Corb Lund and Gina Villalobos.
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