Song Suffragettes London at Lil Nashville
A real Sunday afternoon treat featuring Vic Allen, Mabes, Marianne Leigh and Isabella Richardson.
My first trip to Song Suffragettes in London, also my first trip to Lil Nashville, and it won’t be my last. Just stepping through those doors, looking up, and I was in Tennessee! It was good to see the familiar faces of another top-drawer Paul aka Live Country Sessions and to see the energetic MC of this vital series, Madeline Christy.
I was vaguely aware of the format but did not realise it was modelled on a successful night in Nashville that has run weekly for years. An all-female line-up sings one song each in succession, and then at the end they all sing a female-written cover song as a group. This group chose Dry Spell by Kacey Musgraves and had a lot of fun singing the yups! Never has a yup sounded more Yorkshire.
One of the best things about these showcases is getting to discover new artists, and of the four below I was previously aware only of Issy Richardson. All of the artists impressed me and they were all so different. It looked to us like all the girls had become fast friends, especially for that group song at the end.
Vic Allen
One of the best things about this format is that the singers have time to talk about the context and inspirations behind each song. Inevitably, most of the songs were about the different ways men can disappoint women. Present company excepted, obvs… Anyway, Vic Allen anchored the show and introduced the format. She has played here several times before and helped everyone relax into proceedings.
Vic played us Falling in Love, her new song out on 26 June which you can presave here. She told us it was really about falling for London again after she returned before Christmas from a spell in Nashville. Is there anywhere better than London at Christmas? She also sang Brighter, and one written when she realised that she tended to write a song about every single relationship in her life called Ended in a Song.
I really enjoyed Suitcase, written during lockdown and a celebration of her love of travel. Vic is currently based in London so I hope to see her play live again as she gears up for her album release later this year. You can still support her crowdfunder here.
Mabes
Essex-based Mabes introduced her first song, Too Young to Love, about her first long-term relationship. A really moving tribute to a relationship that began when both were teenagers and became challenging as they grew into adults, and grew apart. Her song Danny was written in character about a war hero, an idea inspired by her love of Laura Marling. She also played Slow Drowning and America, a song inspired by a writing camp in Nashville. Mabes has an upcoming single you can presave here called Ready To Go.
Fascinatingly for me, as a writer, is that Mabes was drawn to poetry before music and picked up a guitar as a way to share her words. If teenagers are still finding poetry relevant then there is still hope!
Marianne Leigh
Marianne is originally from New Zealand, about as far as anyone can travel, and it was certainly worth the journey. She brought a lot of fun and energy with her and I really enjoyed her quirky take on the key moments of her life so far. She sang clone, her new single due out on Friday 12th June which you can presave here. Memory is a little hazy on some of the song titles but I think she also sang Good Man, Who Says Exes Can’t Be Friends and Crazy Love.
There’s a growing catalogue of Marianne’s music for you to stream but one that stood out to me was the phrase shouted in my earhole every Yorkshire evening of my childhood: shut up and eat your dinner. Where I’m from, dinner happens at lunchtime.
Isabella Richardson
One reason I chose this particular Sunday to visit Lil Nashville was to watch Issy Richardson play. I had been reviewing her recent EP, The Waiting Room, and decided these songs had to be seen live.
Just before Isabella sang her first song, a pint of Guinness arrived. The look on her face was that of a parched desert traveller who has misplaced their Stanley cup and started wondering about the mechanics of drinking piss. I wrote down: Not Guinness Zero. It turns out that Guinness is the perfect liquid to lubricate vocal chords! No, I didn’t buy it either.
Issy was just as funny and friendly as I expected, and you can read my thoughts in detail below.
You can find out more here about Vic Allen, Mabes, Marianne Leigh and Isabella Richardson and stream all of them in all the usual places! They are all very much worth following. Do try to see one of them near you.
