Brighton Fringe
28th May – 27th June
For today’s hour at the Brighton Fringe we were met with two musicians sitting in a meadow with guitars and mandolins surrounded by pine trees on the sky line. This set was called very aptly ‘The Road Ahead’ a title they came up with after being asked for by the festival. They came up with it almost on the spot but it suited the nuances of the twos music very well.
They were called ‘Glorieta Pines’ and their show was presented by ‘flying solo presents.’ On fiddle & mandolin was Lindsay Taylor and on guitar and harmonica was the enthusiastic Brian Nelson. Coming from the hills of New Mexico the sweet and tender music of Glorieta was fit for the pine trees around them.
Their songs and musical styles were strongly country but Brian in his wisdom called it folk music. Their warmth and friendly perspectives helped the stringent styles become unified by bond ship. As in their music it was clear that they had practiced well, having formed together for a long while.
The songs had the feeling of the nature of birds on hills and buffalo in the fields. And in a worldly concept they sang freely and outspokenly about life’s more precarious aspects. They sang with joy together; harmonising to make the sounds of their voices become so emotionally complete at least for a moment.
The style of lyric was of storytelling as is with folk music, but also played around with their positive outlooks and even giving advice as if for the road. They began with a wonderful song to sing with the lyric “love don’t come this way anymore.” As to her harmony with “will we ever see the sun?” and “love comes once, twice…slipped away again”. We felt the release coming from the music as it celebrated its forthcoming naturalness, especially with the surroundings. It was nothing less than a picture of happiness.
Their desire to be serious came from their abilities on their instruments. They swapped those instruments to suit the music that was folk music in its finest senses. Owning as they did themselves and their style, their original songs worked so well and had the strength and will to carry on; even if we may be stuck. The two were companions; they levelled each other off and with their music delved into the beyond that so well expressed their capability of living brightly, as their songs reflected.
They were both easy, even loving, and had a feeling of togetherness and knowingness that was of something special, relevant and in love with music. Singing for old age and whisky, it was a scene inside of a scene making music of such compassion as to change a world. Very relaxing like visiting a spa, the footage from America fitted in and set the scene with some truly great music.
Daniel Donnelly
Mumble Music 