Country music twins Ward Thomas made a barnstorming return to Manchester on Wednesday evening with an excellent show at The Castle. For anybody who has ever watched Hart of Dixie, you’ll appreciate that at times it was just like being at the Rammer Jammer (for anybody not familiar with the programme – it’s a compliment!).
The 20 year old twin sisters from Hampshire are currently in the midst of a two month UK tour which sees them travelling the length and breadth of the country in support of the release of their debut album, From Where We Stand.
Pitching up at The Castle, Catherine and Lizzie Ward Thomas, played an intimate gig – just the two sisters on vocals and guitars, alongside guitarist Dan (a special nod to him for his tremendous guitar work). The harmonies worked perfectly, showcasing their strong vocal abilities – able to really hammer home up tempo tracks and barnstormers such as Way Back When, Push For The Stride and the incredible Guest List, but also able to perform delicate tracks such as a beautiful cover of Dougie MacLean’s Caledonia.
The linking between songs was genuine, witty and full of banter with each other (as you’d probably expect from sisters). They engaged the audience with ease and held its complete attention for the full set, telling the tales behind the songs, giving them context and putting a very humorous slant on some of them. The crowd hung on their every word (spoken or sung!) and chord.
Their extensive travelling in recording their album and touring, certainly comes through as a theme in the music, in particular in their incredible and addictive track Town Called Ugley, a hilarious upbeat tale inspired by sat nav problems experienced whilst trying to find a venue – a song which certainly got feet tapping, and in the Parisian flavoured Go To Plan (that’s right – Parisian flavoured country music by a UK act, and it works!) as well as Take That Train.
If this gig was anything to go by, From Where We Stand (out 21 July 2014) is definitely an album to buy and they are without a doubt an act to catch live. We’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for them coming to Manchester again.
