Sarah Jarosz @ Bush Hall, London

Austin, Texas born multi instrumentalist Sarah Jarousz blessed the shores of England with her UK tour to promote the release of her album Follow Me Down, which was released on May 17 through Sugar Hill Records.

Supporting Sarah was the very talented Bears Den, offering those who were smart enough to get there early the chance to lose themselves in Andrew Davies’ mesmerizing lyrics. He provided listeners with samples of his memories mixed in with delectable riffs.  Communion Records founder Kevin Jones supported Bears Den on what can only be described as a an over sized tribal drum, commanding it like a chieftain of old.

It’s rare to go to a gig where you feel satisfied after the first act. They left the stage to a roar of approval.

The crowd had doubled by the time Sarah took the stage, and murmurs of anticipation and excitement were filtering through the cavernous hall. Having no prior knowledge of who Sarah was, I was eager to see what the hype was about. It was soon very obvious that the hype these three artists have gained is only the tip of the iceberg. They possessed a talent most musicians would envy. I constantly found myself shifting my eyes from one band member to the other, trying to take in their talent, whilst not missing out on the others.

While Sarah was prominent up front, her support from Alex Hargreaves, a fiddler known for his creativity and worthy of his own stage, left the audience bewildered. On cello was Nathaniel Smith, a refined gentlemen with such deft touch, generating sounds thought impossible. Sarah charmed the audience in between songs and performed a couple of solo performances, much to the crowds delight. The acoustics of the hall allowed such an intricate combination of string dominated sound. Playing a set of around 15 songs, the last song played a cover of Tom Waits – Come On Up To The House, which ended in a standing applause.

If the opportunity arises to see her play, trust me on this… Take it!

www.sarahjarosz.com