Perfect location for a singer inspired by nature

If ever a singer was just right for a venue then it is Kate Doubleday and Brockholes.
Kate DoubledayKate Doubleday
Kate Doubleday

Kate sings about pied flycatchers, barn owls, buzzard, swifts and wild poppies so it seemed only right that she should play overlooking the Meadow Lake at the Lancashire Wildlife Trust nature reserve.

The folk singer and her excellent band were touring Wildlife Trust reserves but admitted she had never been in a floating venue before.

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She said: “We have played in hides before but never on something that floats. It is a stunning site.”

More than 30 people turned up to watch Kate, cellist Marie Smith, guitarist and kora player Dan Wilkins and multi-instrumentalist Trevor Lines.

Kate has released two albums but the majority of the set were new songs or tracks off the new Pied Flycatcher EP.

High points were Freefalling, where Kate displayed her vocal range, and the haunting sea shanty, Tether Her.

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All the songs were filled with Kate’s obvious love of the natural world, and while most began in fairly laidback hue, Kate and the band add terrific drama to each story.

All this was against a backdrop of beautiful Brockholes with great crested grebe, coot, mallard and a barn owl showing an interest.

At the end Kate asked the audience to join them singing the Lion’s Lullaby and the Brockholes choir joined in to gently soothe the local wildlife as they bedded down for the night.

Graeme Barnes