Cherry Lee Mewis And her Blues Gems, Johnny Mudd.

Holy Molys, Lev 1 Esquires, Bedford. Friday 18th April 2014.

The plaudits are in no doubt. Imelda May calls her "a great voice", Country Music People says "she leaves you wanting more", while Acoustic Magazine enthuses "she abounds in power and passion". Who are all these esteemed people talking about? Why it's CHERRY LEE MEWIS of course. Never was a day better described than Good Friday. It certainly was in Holy Moly's tonight. Cherry may be Welsh, born and bred, but with the vast and loyal Bedford community she has been well and truly adopted as one of our own.

The venue filled up nicely as The Blues Gems Nicky Slater (dobro), Robbie Stewart-Mathews (various), Max Milligan (guitars) and Brian Greene (drums) started playing on the stage. It isn't too long before the sassy dark haired Cherry walks through the seated attendees and joins her musicians. Ladies and gentlemen, everything can now be kick started into a stunning orgy of melody. Tonight is a special one for Cherry as it is the launch night for her fourth studio album entitled "Catch my drift". Ms Mewis warmly interacts with the audience and her bubbly enthusiasm is infectious. Her kohl rimmed eyes crease with endless smiles and a few tears when she learns who is in attendance tonight.

The first half of the show mainly features the new album. We are informed that the internet based Radio Caroline is rotating "Love can wait" quite heavily. As with most of "Catch my drift", this song is a Milligan/Mewis composition. The album captures the situation of the band as they exude heartfelt and organic lyrics to try and replicate both experiences and observations. This composition is as delicate as a skillfully made cobweb; sometimes relationships don't work. Cherry keeps the mood light. As it is Easter, she pinpoints Max with a mischievous smile as apparently he has "been to the posh shop for posh eggs"! With a slight change of direction in the more country feel to some of the new material, "Nobody's fault but mine" is a traditional bluesy offering. The recently married Robbie, resplendent in his wedding day jacket, excels on the blues harp, one of many instruments that he will play this evening. On first hearing, the stand out track from "Catch my drift" could possibly be "Hey, hey, hey". It's so good that not only did they name it thrice, they performed it twice. This song is so infectious and I defy anybody not to sing along to it. This feels slightly heavier and, with the room warm and packed, the jacket is removed by Mr Milligan. Alcohol is flowing, the bar is busy and it's not surprising when Cherry sings of whiskey and the wild wild women. As stated, this new album is quite personal at times and no more so than "Bride ain't me" which Cherry wrote of an ex-boyfriend who had accused her of being "too wild"! It is both fragile and beguiling. The first half of the set closes with another new one called "Love told me to".

When Cherry and her Blues Gems reappear, it is to be possibly my highlight of this great evening. This song is called "Stay here with you". Well "everybody's got something to say". On the whole, this second half is a 'greatest hits' package. The popular "Western star" is notable for Robbie's upright bass. This is only marginally overshadowed by "Long distanced lover" (from "Heard it here first"). The beautiful sound reminds me so much of something that Django would have created many years ago. As always, Cherry works her audience superbly. If there is a crowd singalong she demands full response and always gets it. The familiar songs follow thick and fast, including the divine "He wants more". A very poignant note is struck prior to "Chery wine" when Cherry respectfully dedicates the song to the memory of Dave Innes who sadly passed away from cancer a few days ago. Many in attendance tonight would have seen this popular drummer when he played here a few years ago as part of the Gerry Jablonski Band; a gentleman known as the 'north east's best kept secret'! A fine gesture and a moving tribute. As loud applause and cheers ring out, naturally the band come back for a final time and a rousing encore.

Opening the show tonight is local singer-songwriter JOHNNY MUDD. Tall, affable and keen, he has matured so well since the last time that I saw him play. He gains enormously from writing his own songs. These include the newer "Things we might have been" as well as old favourite "The truth". His clean cut personality radiates a confident air and he is not too afraid to cover a "hip song" in front of a more mature audience. It's called "Trumpet" and it seems to pay off on what was one of Johnny's biggest acoustic gigs to date.