Cassidy Janson has been doing a number of recent gigs in support of her debut solo album (called Cassidy), and this latest sees her return to the intimate balcony bar of the theatre in which she made memorable appearances in Chess and Man of La Mancha.
Currently starring in & Juliet, and sporting chunky wedges due to an ankle injury received crossing the road to the theatre, Janson sports a brightly coloured dress and has an easy, friendly attitude with her four-person band and audience of around sixty people.
Songs by Carole King are of course, prominent, as are songs from her new album. There are songs by The Beatles (Here, There and Everywhere), James Taylor (Fire and Rain), Oleta Adams (Get Here), plus a song she contributed to indie film Fisherman’s Friends last year.
Her album is jazzy, melodic, and soulful, with many tracks co-written alongside others – not one track is musical theatre, and nor, strictly speaking, were any songs from last night’s concert. There were tunes from Beautiful and & Juliet, yes, but they were not written for the stage.
Haunting, smooth, professional, slick and even irreverent, Janson’s stage persona continues to develop and mature, and it will be good to see where her songwriting skills and mastery of performance take her next.
This concert took place on 9 February – photos by Colin Penn.
LouReviews purchased a ticket to see Cassidy Janson: Beautiful and Beyond.