with Judith Ude and Andrea Kenny
Reviewed by Trevor Locke
Photographed by Kevin Gaughan
Tonight we were at an unusual event in an unusual venue – The Leicester Print Workshop – a building close to The Soundhouse. This was the preview night of The Print Fair.
The Print Workshop hosted an exhibition of the arts and crafts made within its walls and three top-notch singers to entertain what was a sizeable audience.
Judith Ude opened the musical element of the evening. Based in Leicester, although originally from Nottingham, Judith performed a set of her own compositions accompanied by her harp. The room filled with Judith’s rich and versatile voice. Her lyrics were poignant and her melodies delightful. Overall, her songs were uplifting and positive. It was an inspiring start to the evening.
Between the acts I noticed a banner providing information about the Lucy Phillips Arts Fund. Lucy Phillips was the founder of the Print Workshop and, during her lifetime, she was a leading figure in our local arts scene. The Fund was set up to honour her life, following her untimely death in 2004. Examples of fine art printmaking were on show during the intervals. The Print Workshop has become a centre of excellence for this craft since its foundation in 1986.
Andrea Kenny performed a solo set with her guitar. One of her songs, Good News Story included a quotation from the American campaigner Harvey Milk, which he made in 1978. Andrea’s strong vocals filled the room, and she used them to provide four tracks from her forthcoming EP, which is due out in the next few months. Another song, from the same collection, was about the problems involved in having a long-distance relationship. Andrea’s lyrics are always amusing and heart-warming. As always, Andrea gave us an astonishingly good performance.
The final artist to take to the stage was JJ Lovegrove with her keyboard. With her fine voice, she entranced the audience with a series of hypnotic numbers that were both melodious and captivating and lyrically emotional. They were her own songs, some of them from forthcoming releases. She produced powerful sounds from her keyboard.
What an evening this was! Art, artists, musicians and song in abundance. It was a pleasure to be there and enjoy what was on offer. It just goes to show was a rich view of life there is in Leicester if you know where to look for it.
Lastly, let me mention that our magazine is in need of volunteers to review gigs. If you are interested, click here.