Glasgow Americana
Sam Lewis/Krista Detor
CCA Glasgow
Rob Adams
THREE STARS
David Niven’s observation about Americans sharing their entire life stories with complete strangers on train journeys sprang to mind as two quite different and distinctive singers occupied Glasgow Americana 2015’s final day matinee slot.
Sam Lewis is an East Nashville resident whose songs represent the legally transportable side of what he has to offer, we’re told, should we ever care to look him up back home. Such a visit might well have its darker elements but Lewis is also an entertainingly offhand and apparently absent-minded performer whose songs take the kind of direct, simple route that I suspect requires more honing than they suggest.
In a voice that hovers somewhere between James Taylor and Nashville Skyline-era Bob Dylan he sings of rivers of heartache, bad dreams, the effects of extra-strength mushrooms and the safety and succour that his grandmother’s house offered. His guitar picking looks slightly awkward but it gets an effective job done, matching his songs’ relaxed, bluesy atmospheres with sympathetic patterns and the occasional flourish that we’re not supposed to notice or be impressed by. His time onstage wasn’t long but he made the sort of impression that will see this Glasgow debutant welcomed back.
Krista Detor’s revelations about her Bloomington, Indiana beat included an aunt who’s been married ten times - and an uncle nine - so it’s little wonder her love songs have a certain cool quality. Her voice, however, is warm and beautifully pitched as she sings accompanied by her own keyboard and accordion plus guitar and bass. If the songs didn’t linger quite so strongly, her melodiousness and mirthful, natural presentation made for a fine opening set.
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