Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Rita Payne, a band name so good there just had to be two musicians in there to fill the space and neither of them are called Rita. For Rhiannon Scutt and Pete Sowerby the last two years has been a big curve and the music they perform is not only enticing but also fulsome in its delivery and as they tour with new Folk heroes Gilmore and Roberts, the excitement they generate in the stories and playing is enough to convince all who made their way to The Atkinson in Southport that they had witnessed something very special and utterly adorable.
Doncaster may not have a lot to shout about; it has its prestigious horse racing course, its football team and Marillion’s Steve Hogarth, born in Kendal but raised in the Yorkshire town but in the space of one set, the people of Southport found themselves wondering what other delights are waiting to be unearthed in the pubs and clubs that surround the area for if they are as good as Rita Payne then the world might just be knocking on Doncaster’s door.
The pair took the audience on a tour of their songs and the last two years of their fledgling career in such a way that you wouldn’t have been surprised to find a guide with a large umbrella and armed to the teeth with maps pointing at them and proudly shouting for all to hear that this is where Rita Payne showed the world what they were made of. With tracks such as The Well, Sailboat, the incredible Jeremiah and Family Ramble playing their part, the enjoyment felt by the crowd was plain to see and appreciate.
When a couple of musicians, armed only with a decent sound and ready wit come to town you can be sure of an anecdote or two to fill in the perhaps awkward feeling of retuning and Rhiannon Scutt and Pete Sowerby didn’t disappoint as they spoke in Yorkshire tones of many a reason why Doncaster might not be considered the musical capital, especially when you find yourselves being paid in oddly handed out drink. One story of how they decided to take their sound onto a certain television programme, if for nothing else but an exercise in enjoyment, only to have one of the judges completely disregard the song shows just how inane television can be when supporting new and very good talent.
For the crowd in the Atkinson though, to hear them take on Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean with such raw and powerful emotion, to have the absolute stunning gall to slow it down and make it fresh, was enough for everyone inside the studio to whisper, what do certain judges know…not a lot to be honest going by the delivery of this particular song.
Rita Payne would certainly be welcome back to Merseyside anytime going by this notable performance in Southport.
Ian D. Hall