Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

To squeeze yourself between two acts, one on fire with their dazzling display and integration of cello and rock and the other a young man so on his game he could take on all comers in a World Cup tournament and still probably win before half time, takes a certain amount of desire and musical skill. In Caroline England, a woman not known to be fazed by anything that is put before her, 20 minutes was more than enough to show why her acoustic set is so highly rated and her voice can reduce a person’s heart to a quivering wreck begging for mercy.

Four songs in 20 minutes isn’t an impossible ask, thousands do it every week up and down the country but it also has to be done with style, panache and a certain knowing smile on the face of all who listen to the artist that in this case, Caroline England, is the best woman for the job at hand.

Opening with the song That Place, Caroline performed like a trooper, a woman giving her upmost to make sure, even by the remotest chance there was no one who had ever caught her music before, they certainly wouldn’t underestimate or forget her in a hurry, no matter how good the other two acts were.

Four songs in which to impress, Ms. England nailed it with ease as she did as part of the Threshold Festival earlier in the year. That Place was quickly followed by the superb Ginger!, Crime and On Reserve, each song carrying Caroline’s genuine talent forward. It may have only been four songs that this gracious singer had but to all in the East Village Arts Club, these were four songs in which they were captivated and thrilled by.

Ian D. Hall