BLACK*SCARR (Johnny Black and Emma Scarr): Nashville feel, London lyrics and a sprinkle of coal dust

Date/Time Sun 10 Dec 2017 7:45 PM

Price Online - £10 + £1 booking fee; On The Door - £10

Website: http://www.18tilidie.com/


Black*Scarr return to TwickFolk, 3 years after their last appearance.

Black*Scarr is an East London duo, Black is Johnny Black, a Nuneaton-raised Geordie who was once frontman of now cult 80s Midlands pop outfit The Kidda Band and whose CV also includes work as an album sleeves model, newspaper columnist and 90s TV personality. He also has a website featuring his frequently satirical songs about a variety of media celebrities and wannabes.
The other half of the name is Leytonstone’s Emma Scarr who, raised on a diet of Steve Earle, Emmylou, Kristofferson, Fairport and The Dubliners shares Black’s musical affections and sounds a lot like a fiddle-playing (not to mention banjo, accordion and mandolin) Kirsty MacColl. Emma was the winner of Watford Folk Club Song Competitions in 2013 and 2015.
Their styles have collided to produce, in a very short time what sounds like a classic English Country/Folk hybrid, not from Nashville, but from the more tucked-away streets of East London and the coal-dust tinged open spaces of the North East of England.

Many of the songs celebrate middle-aged relationships – failed, suffered or survived. Sensitive lyrics are given an upbeat push by lively driven rhythms and tunes. Splattered amongst the bitterness and sadness are bits of hope and tenderness.
Their co-writing has collided to produce four albums and a body of songs that regularly move audiences to a combination of laughter and tears. Honest and gritty, this urban folk/country duo produce songs full of stories and themes that are modern but classic-sounding and timeless, personal and everyday, still universal. Black*Scarr have become known for live performances bursting with energy and chemistry. Prepare to tap your toes to upbeat melodic country tunes and be touched by hard-hitting, yet poetic lyrics that will stay with you, documenting the trials, contradictions, fears and delights of middle-aged life and love.

“Incredible songs performed with enthusiasm and musicianship… so entertaining” “The duo that puts the FUN into FOLK!” Helen Chinn WATFORD FOLK CLUB

“…sporting vapour trails of The Pogues, Kitty Wells, Hank Williams and Elvis Costello. The lyrics are smart and witty… although numbers like The Internet Dating Song may be playful, there’s also a wealth of sharply poignant observations on the disappointments of life. And yet, such is the exuberance of the music and the delivery that it’s impossible not to tap your feet and join in and sing along with the misery. If you ever wished there had been a whole album to go with Fairytale of New York, this is your perfect unhappy ever after.” FOLK RADIO UK Black Scarr – Middle Aged Love by Mike Davies on 3 February, 2015 in Album Reviews