Oxford born Thea Gilmore took to the acoustic stage on Friday Lunchtime. A sprawled audience escaping the midday sun were treated to songs from Gilmore's prolific back catalogue. At only 21, her voice and playing ability are mature beyond her years, and she has a very self-assured stage presence.
Bracketing Thea Gilmore under indie-folk wouldn't give enough credit to her already diverse songbook. As any great folk singer should, she tells stories of love, pain and regret with utter conviction. The audience swayed and moved with her as she took us on an emotional and seemingly very personal journey.
Gilmore is gifted with a flawless voice, capeable of squeezing every subtle nuance from her lyrics. It sent shivers down my spine. Perhaps the highlight of the show was a stripped-down cover of the Buzzcocks "Ever Fallen In Love", sung with amazing clarity and beauty. She made the song her own.
Radio 2 has been championing Thea Gilmore for the last year or so, and she has a loyal and ever-growing following on the folk circuit.
Hopefully it will not be long before she rightfully takes her place as the Joni Mitchell of her generation.
Words by Phil Jones
Photographs by Phil Jones
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