In the  urban industrial setting  of the  Anthony Burgess Foundation in the  shadows of the enigmatic  author’s   furniture and personal piano, Jack Rutter gave us a captivating hour of pastoral flavoured  English folk music, as far removed from the manic Clockwork Orange as you could get.

Aside from his work with Archie Churchill Moss and Tom Moore, and being an in-demand band member for the likes of Seth Lakeman and Sam Sweeney, Jack is a fully fledged solo artist with a couple of albums under his belt – Hills and Gold Of Scar & Shale. with his perfectly enunciated  tales, subtle songs of political protest, pop and country song  covers  and interesting anecdotes entertained his totally immersed audience throughout his set.

Accompanying himself on his 12 string bouzouki  and acoustic guitar he told tales of forlorn love like the sad  tale of Fair Janet And Young James and The Banks Of Sweet  Dundee. His musical interpretations of   English  poet Ammon Wrigley  showed this burgeoning young talent as having potential for a great future on the folk circuit with his arrangement of The Hills Of Longdendale. His painstaking  research has unearthed some fascinating tales and his musical interpretation reflect the deep passion he has for this genre and admitting he has no particular favourite as he said “ there’s no favour amongst children.”

Influenced by his father’s love of country artist Dwight Yokem, he gave a folky interpretation of  It Won’t Hurt, which was a clear crowd pleaser  as was his version of Peter Gabriel’s early hit Solsbury Hill.  Both were delivered with respect to the originals but delivered in his unique style.His vocal prowess was shown when he gave his unaccompanied rendition of Down By The Derwentside   entrancing his  audience and from that moment he had the audience in the palm of his hand.

No wonder the Young’Uns  have invited him to join them on their Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff tour. You can catch more of Jack on this tour  at York Opera House for the final three dates late October. This should greatly increase his notoriety amongst folk circles and allow him to deservedly perform at larger  venues and main  festival stages in the future. Thirsty work this singing so he completed his enchanting  set with a character regularly portrayed in traditional folk song – John Barleycorn bringing to an end a charming and melodious  performance.

Here’s a Rutter themed selection from our gallery archive:

Jack Rutter online: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Youtube

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