REVIEW: Nashville troubadour charms Spalding audience with songs and stories

Woody Pines

South Holland Centre, Spalding

Friday, May 4, 2018

Spalding was privileged to welcome Nashville troubadour Woody Pines and his buddies to town on Friday evening.

Woody captivated the audience from the start with his tales of America, his warm, infectious manner and, of course, his beautiful voice and guitar playing.

Backed up by a talented double bassist and an equally impressive wind instrumentalist, this show was entertaining from start to finish and it’s just a pity it wasn’t a sell-out – they certainly

deserved that.

Drawing from old American roots music, Woody entertained with country blues, hillbilly, folk and even rockabilly.

This music may come from the past but definitely resonates in the present. He even did a wonderful cover version of the old Dylan classic Buckets of Tears.

Although many of the audience were clearly country fans, I’m not big on any of the genres mentioned but came away with some wonderful tunes in my ears. And nearly every song was preceded by an equally entertaining story from Woody.

From his days busking across America, to folk tales and love songs, Woody’s set had it all.

And at the interval and after the show he was happy to chat to everyone... a really enchanting man.

Woody played in Spalding three years ago and the general opinion was he was even better this time around, so hopefully he’ll include our town on his next UK tour too. If he does, don’t miss out.

Jeremy Ransome