It’s been three years since Frazey Ford’s last Brighton show and it’s clear her fans were chomping at the bit for her to return as tonight’s show, a UK exclusive, promoted by Brighthelmstone Promotions, sold out soon after being announced.
The packed Corn Exchange auditorium gave a huge cheer as Ford and her band: Gavin Youngash (electric guitar), Leon Power (drums), James Meger (bass) and Caroline Ballhorn (backing vocals), took to the stage.
With a tremble in her voice and the smoke machine on overdrive, she greeted the crowd with a “so nice to be here” before easing her way into a 90-minute set of folky Americana (Canadiana?) that visited the full length of her back catalogue, aided by a band that worked intuitively with her throughout.
Youngash’s lead guitar’s country twang was a vital component throughout the set, as was Ballhorn’s pivotal harmonies and the bass and drums set a laidback pace as Ford gently strummed her acoustic guitar.
With Ford switching to keyboard, there was a shift to a more bluesy, funky gospel sound, in a Muscle Shoals vein, that got Ballhorn and a few audience members dancing and swaying along.
The combination of Ford’s and Bullhorn’s voices produced divine harmonies and the frontwoman often raised her hand skyward in testament to the heavenly sound they created. The whole outfit really clicked on Hey Little Mama, from her debut album Obadiah, with chugging acoustic guitar and sparingly played bass allowing Youngash’s guitar to flow freely. Ford shared that the song was about her son who’s now 23 and now only calls when asking for money.
A mid-song mishap on Done was quickly recovered from without missing a beat and went on to feature a beautiful electric guitar solo. The opening notes of Bob Dylan’s One More Cup of Coffee were greeted with a big cheer, as were many fan favourites, and rewarded with Ford’s vulnerable vibrato at the fore, as ever backed beautifully by Ballhorn’s rich voice.
Ford explained that Azad, written about her sister, “she’s a carny, a wild person” and blamed their hippy parents for their exotic names. Like many of the songs from her last album, this was a piano-led, funky gospel number that saw Ford’s tremulous voice really projecting.
There were times when there was real power in Ford’s voice, with excellent breath control allowing her to hold notes, twisting and turning the lyrics with the whole band lost in the music.
Her choice of covers was eclectic to say the least, with D’Angelo’s When We Get By and Elliott Smith’s Angel In The Snow both perfectly adapted to suit her style and the feel of the set, while September Fields, a beautifully crafted song, was exquisitely performed by the faultless band that saw a few crowd members moved to dance.
Following band introductions, Ford proclaimed that she’d had “a real, sweet fun time” and the set ended with her “trying to be a harmonica player“, on Neil Young’s For the Turnstiles, previously covered by The Be Good Tanyas. She proved she was far more adept than that and delivered the song with a snarl in her voice. Shakey would’ve been proud.
A quick return and Mimi Song was introduced as being about her grandmother and the first verse saw Ford accompany herself before being joined by the band, with Youngash switching to banjo, the two female voices in perfect harmony.
The night concluded with Holdin’ It Down, from her U Kin B The Sun album, a distinctly funky number with piano stabs and a slow, down-and-dirty groove, over which Ford’s voice rose above the music until its abrupt end.
Fellow Canadian Abigail Lapell kicked things off with a selection of songs from her seven studio albums. Shadow Child; the latest album including a duet with Frazey Ford. The room was still filling up as the lights went down to pitch-black level, making it difficult to navigate around the people still sitting on the floor.
She began by creating a drum beat loop from slapping her semi-acoustic guitar and sang to this before forcefully strumming the strings as she sang Little Cannibal from her recent Stolen Child album. Her voice was reminiscent of early Beth Orton but the overall feel of her music was classic Americana blended with a dark, expansive folk feel.
A few guitar tune-ups were needed but the gaps were filled with her confident self-marketing as she advised she’d be back in a few weeks for a sold out Folklore Rooms show, but also on 18th May for a seated show at The Komedia. Tickets here.
The receptive audience were tested by accompanying her with bird song whistles of varying quality on Night Bird And Morning Bird, another forceful guitar riff contrasting well with her crystal-clear voice, during which she showed everyone how a whistle should sound.
Her themes and inspirations ran from the Banff mountains, through redemption, to traffic and city life, all executed in a higher-pitched voice with a velvety undercurrent. Rattlesnake had a folksy campfire feel, with the crowd clapping on the four beat (luckily most clappers could count) and many joined in on the chanting “oh oh oh” chorus, as Lapell clapped along.
Her short set closed with I Can’t Believe, a sad love song with jazzy guitar chords and changes that ended on an ascending soft high note. This was a superb opening act from an engaging performer who Brighton fans have already taken to their hearts.
Frazey Ford, Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, Tuesday 27th October 2026.
