Cara Dillon  

Forbes Mutch reports on the evening in March 2023 when an angel sang in St Andrew's

OK, so you might expect to hear an angel singing in a church but, when it happens, it’s a knockout experience.

Northern Irish folksinger Cara Dillon has the voice of an angel; it pierces the perfect acoustics of St Andrew’s like pure crystal, and she sings with such fluency and authority that she holds the audience spellbound. It’s another fabulous folk concert on the altar stage of the church, bathed in its familiar blue light.

Originally from Dungiven in County Londonderry, Dillon was singing seriously by the time she was a teenager, winning the All-Ireland Singing Trophy at the age of 14. She formed her first band at school two years later before turning professional. Later, she joined a Devon-based folk ‘supergroup’ called Equation, with several well-known musicians, including the three Lakeman brothers, Seth, Sean and Sam. She left the group in 2000 to form a song- writing, singing and personal partnership with Sam.

In 2010, Disney asked her to sing the title song to the animated movie Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue. She has won countless awards and accolades including Album of The Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, and she has appeared in prestigious concert halls and at festivals the world over.

And now, after 20 years of successful recording and touring (plus two children at home in Frome), here they are in Hertford; husband and wife, Cara Dillon and Sam Lakeman, ready to play to a full house.

With style and comfortable confidence, Cara starts immediately with an acapella intro to the traditional Irish song As I Roved Out before Sam picks up the tune with his amplified guitar. This sets the scene for the concert, Cara leading with her perfect vocals, Sam interweaving with talented guitar and piano accompaniment. They perform as one.

Cara selects songs from her own albums but is pleased and proud to play traditional Irish Aires as well. By the fourth song, they are performing the traditional Banks of the Foyle, which sees Cara pick up her flute for the first time. The duet include their own arrangement of the traditional She Moved Through the Fair, which was recently covered by Ellie Goulding in Radio 2’s Piano Room (Goulding admits to being a big Cara fan). They finish the first half with Bright Morning Star, which Cara quips is a good song for a church, which she says is ‘in my heart’.

After a break to meet the audience and promote the sale of albums, the couple are back with more of the same; maybe even better. They start with one of their best-known arrangements, the traditional Blackwater Side, where Cara pays tribute to famous folk singer Sandy Denny. Cara sings two Irish-language songs, although she still retains her distinctive Derry vowels, and she performs songs from her last album, which are more like poetry recitals. The gig rattles along at a pace and closes with the lively Raggle Taggle Gypsy; the encore is the well-known Hill of Thieves.

It's pure musical magic from two winning performers. While Cara is clearly the better-known name, her demonstration of original and traditional Irish music is so well supported by the English Sam that it’s hard to hear them apart, the meld is so complete. If the music is not enough to hold the audience’s attention (and it is), the on-stage banter and storytelling between the two is amusing and entertaining.

At the end of the day, Cara and Sam are an engaging couple of very talented musicians and performers who have helped maintain the excellent reputation that St Andrew’s continues to develop for high-quality folk concerts. As this evening proved, people are prepared to travel over 100 miles to reach us. Were you there?

Forbes Mutch

If you missed this date in our line-up of folk concerts at St Andrew’s, don’t forget to catch Kris Drever, the highly acclaimed folk musician from the Orkneys on 25 November. Tickets on the St Andrew’s website soon.

Find out more about Cara Dillon

www.caradillon.co.uk/