Presented by Abigail Washburn
@ Idolize Spiegeltent – The Garden of Unearthly Delights
TUESDAY 13th March

Traditional claw-hammer bluegrass banjo isn’t exactly the most exciting Fringe prospect amidst all of the raunchy burlesque, daredevil acrobatics and bawdy stand-up, but Abigail Washburn exceeds expectations to give an enthralling show weaving modern elements of indie rock with her traditional bluegrass roots.

Re-scheduled a full half-hour early, I was more than a little annoyed to miss a good portion of Abigail Washburn, as were more than a few other show-goers, but we made the most of it and by the end no one seemed to care anymore. If there is one thing that bluegrass can do it is to whisk you away from your daily urbane trouble to a care-free time without punch-cards and deadlines -oh, what a world to live in!

With her softly soaring voice and delicate fingerstyle banjo playing, Abigail Washburn weaves beautiful yet haunting tales of love and loss, the sounds creating the picture more than the words themselves. Abigail’s proficiency at the art of claw-hammer banjo is impressive too, being an almost-dead music style outside of select musical circles.

While it is often highlighted that Abigail Washburn incorporates more modern and alternative aspects into her songwriting – she isn’t exactly croaking out appalachian standards – it is her strong sense of traditional playing and melody which makes her accessible to a wider audience. She doesn’t fall into the trap of being overly twee and quaint, avoiding the trap of novelty that so many of these gypsy/folk/blues performers fall into.

Abigail Washburn brings sincerity to her music, taking us on a real journey rather than showing us what we think “old timey” music should sound like, pandering to an alternative crowd who have just discovered Tom Waits. Getting to hear such music without all of the usual aesthetic trappings which normally go with this kind of festival performance was the greatest treat of all, stepping back in time while keeping the energy and passion of a modern performance.