Loomer: Belladrum Festival http://www.loomeronline.com www.tartanheartfestival.co.uk
Sometimes it seems that everyone ends up with a place in their hearts for country music; when you hear 20 year olds singing "Ring of Fire" with at least as much enthusiasm as irony, as I have recently, then you know that this music will never end up as a ghetto for suburban cowboys in their stetson hats.
It helps, though, if there are bands that bridge the gaps, and Loomer are one such band, a rock band with a country twang. Not in the first flush of youth and with possibly the least likely-looking front man in rock (think deliveryman from the local feed store), they turned the heads of 500+ punters in the Grassroots Marquee at Belladrum with an absolute blast of a set.
They make a big sound, Mike Taylor's keyboards giving it a grandeur that resonated well after they'd quit the stage. Mostly playing songs from "Songs of the Wild West Island", the highlights were "Only Lovers" and "Anastasia". "Only Lovers" was the one low-key number of the set and is a stone-cold classic.
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Scott Loomer's singing was fantastic, bruised and warm so that I didn't miss at all the contribution of Sarah Harmer from the recorded version. "Anastasia" was one of those tunes that resonates down your breastbone. Who cares what it's about, you just want this magnificent, swirling sound to keep rolling on till you can take no more.
And all through the set, there's Jim Whitford on pedal steel at the back of the stage, quietly winning hearts and minds with that country twang. I don't suppose more than a handful of folk present were familiar with Loomer but the enthusiastic roar that greeted their return for an encore told it's story.
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