Chief stargazer, Kate Rusby looks up and finds a cluster of sparkling gems.

Release Date: 25th April 2025

Label: Pure Records

Format: CD / LP / digital

SAME AGAIN PLEASE

A four star review in The Sun!? Best jump on the bandwagon to see what Kate Rusby has in store on her first album of brand new material in six years! Only joking…of course, we’re season seat holders on said bandwagon. Fingers crossed, we take pride on knowing full well(-ish) what to (hopefully) expect from When They All Looked Up.

Over her thirty years in the biz, it’s been fascinating to plot the journey towards the sound of a Kate Rusby album in 2025. At the core is the voice that still holds us entranced via a mix of originals songs and her take on the trads. The acoustic intimacy is still there – we even saw new pics of Kate armed with an acoustic guitar but when you have Damien O’Kane to rely on… Over the recent past, the organic has also been slowly befriended by celestial ambiences.

BOUNCE AND SPARKLE

Some things remain the same – the uplifting and joyous bounce and sparkle takes but a few seconds to rear its head with How The World Goes. Stirring and precise acoustic as per from Damien O’Kane and a dash of banjo warms the cockles as the opening trio of cuts emphasise the breadth of the playlist. What they used to call more variety than Heinz or a Blackpool rock stall.

The ambient textures which have been an increasingly more prominent part of the developing Rusby sound (among others, courtesy of Robert Moog and Duncan Lyall). They add an extra dimension to to Today Again that not so much paddles, but dives into the deep end of the heart-wrenching and emotional waters. Oh dear, it’s an early hankie moment as we skirt around the edges of being “never been more broken.” However, there’s a balance with the reassurance and hope that “tomorrow won’t be today again.” It’s the first of several pieces of that elegant music of the spheres that we’ve remarked upon in the past.

INTO THE TRAD

The Scottish songbooks are trawled for Ettrick – prepare for lots of heather – and more of the less is more subtlety. A take on the Cecil Sharp/Maud Karpeles find Master Kilby, sees Damien on a measured, oft medieval sounding accompaniment and the focus on K&D as a duo is right at the heart of the album. The Moon Man and Judges And Juries are all about Kate and Damien. A match up for which we’ve canvassed for ages with the occasional outing – Radio Leeds had the pleasure in the past few days. The up close intimacy without the safety net of the band might be more exposed but makes for a reverential listening event.

The Barnsley Youth And Temperance Society sees lashings of banjo gusto and a lyric that comes thick and fast. Think Kate’s alternative, a not so distant cousin, to The Village Green Preservation Society. One which of course she has in her repertoire. Smart acoustic chops and banjo sprinkles the order of the day.

SUN, MOON & STARS

There are the inevitable Rusby tropes. An encounter with the moon (plus a search for the stars in The Girl With The Curse – could it be Kate’s stargazing curse? maybe not…) and a touch of Yorkshire sauce. The humorous verses of The Yorkshire Couple have featured and given a drone and some subtle end of verse guitar lines (Damien often embellishes with a little more improvisational freedom and mirth on stage). A familiar warmth from the brass team surfaces on Cumbawumba’s Cole Not Dole. Not too far from the original, but with a lovely tune accompanying the resigned tale. Bono might say “this is not a rebel song” but it is and a proud celebration and show of national (and Yorkshire) pride.

Bottom line is the formality of declaring no need for any VAR intervention. The onfield decision is resoundingly correct. Clearly, obviously, Looking Up At The Stars earns the full five stars.

Here’s Kate with the Barnsley Youth Choir (and Damien and Sam):

ON TOUR

Kate is on tour from the 25th April, while some of the annual Xmas 2025 dates are also appearing on sale.

April 25 – Cast, Doncaster

April 27 – Victoria Theatre, Halifax

April 28 – Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow

April 29 – Storyhouse Theatre, Chester

May 7– St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church, Lavenham

May 8 – St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church, Lavenham

May 9 – Union Chapel, Islington, London  SOLD OUT

May 11 – The Coro, Ulverston

May 12 – Buxton Opera House, Buxton

May 15 – Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa

May 16 – Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

May 17 – Reading Town Hall, Reading

May 19 – Hall For Cornwall, Truro

May 20 – New Theatre, Cardiff

May 21 – Memorial Theatre, Frome

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