12 August 2022
Over the last 12 months The Pips (formerly Albert & The Pips) have grown into one of the highlights of Guernsey’s live music scene and are now setting their sights on a move to Manchester so, before they go, they put on a show at St James with Kiya Ashton & The Folkadelics and Joe Corbin.
Joe Corbin started the night in acoustic mode and flanked by his usual collaborator Andy Mason on harmonica and, in something of a surprise appearance, Becky Hamilton on fiddle and vocals.
Mixing Joe’s original songs with some covers from the likes of Willie Nelson and The Rolling Stones, the set was a relaxed start to the evening that felt just right for the warm weather with its laid back, blues-y, feel.
Across the set the additional instruments, helped elevate the sounds really well with Becky’s voice, in particular, adding greatly to Joe’s already formidable sound and, while the set felt like it was over just as it was getting going, it served as a great way to start the night.
As well as the headliners, Kiya Ashton & The Folkadelics are another band firmly on the rise and they made that more than clear tonight.
Led by Kiya, who’s command of the stage and the crowd belies her initial appearance, they got a great reaction with quite a number clearly seeing them for the first time and they sounded the best I’ve ever heard them.