Jenny Colquitt - Brindley Theatre, Runcorn - Saturday 10th September 2022

Almost eleven months to the day after first seeing Jenny Colquitt live at the Brindley Theatre in Runcorn, I was back there again the weekend before last for what is quickly becoming something of a hometown gig for Jenny. Runcorn is technically not Jenny's home town, but it is a mere hop, skip and a jump across the river from Widnes. The Brindley is a brilliant venue to showcase Jenny's talents with the sound and lighting always being top notch and the view from the tiered seating is excellent.

A lot has happened for Jenny in those eleven months including a successful debut album release, various live dates and several festival appearances, most notably the Glastonbury festival.

Kicking things off was a support set from Luke James Williams. In thirty or so minutes, we were given a flavour of Luke's music and it was a preview that made me want to hear more. The music plus the affable nature of this young man from Cambridgeshire made this an enjoyable start to the evening.

After a short interval, it was time for the main event. Jenny was welcomed to the stage by a much deserved full house at the Brindley and anticipation was palpable. It was an emotional evening and, with this in mind, the setlist was judged to perfection.

Jenny has an impressive and still growing catalogue of songs to choose from and was superb in every iteration - solo, duo, trio and full band. The whole set was tremendous but personal highlights included hearing Soldier of the Modern Day and the James Bond theme-esque Paradise played live for the first time.

For various reasons, I came into this gig in a low state of mind. I left the venue feeling immeasurably better. Such is the power of live music to uplift, especially when someone as proficient as Jenny Colquitt is providing it. I feel certain that it is only a matter of time until Jenny is playing venues much bigger than this one.