18/10/2025
The Carrivick Sisters - October 12th 2025.
Juliet introduced our October guests with these words from their website: "Twin sisters Charlotte and Laura Carrivick have grown up playing music together, and at a live show the stage becomes an extension of their kitchen; welcoming you into a warm, musical embrace" ... and that pretty much sums up the evening we had with this very talented duo (even though Laura laughed at this and asked Charlotte: 'Did I really write that stuff?'). From the moment they bounded onto the stage, beaming with smiles, we were hooked.
Both sisters are highly skilled musicians, with Laura switching between fiddle, Dobro and guitar, while Charlotte played banjo, mandolin and guitar. Both sing very well and harmonise beautifully.
Many of their songs and tunes came with, or were inspired by, a story - each told with a humorous or heart-warming passion. 'Sally in the Wood' was a ghost story of the road from Bath to Bradford-on-Avon; another song was written for Laura's husband, Tom. The lovely song 'Primrose and Narcissus' was for Laura's daughters and their skills in the garden; while Charlotte's tune 'It's Been a Long Time' was written when the Covid lockdown was keeping her away from her sister for the first time.
Charlotte confided in us about Laura's obsession with the house selling website 'RightMove' - she doesn't want or need to move house, but likes to scrutinise the floor plans looking for mistakes in the drawings! Thus came about a song - an imagined mystery - about a 1912 house spotted looking 'sad and unhappy' on the RightMove app!
That song, and several others ('Amsterdam', 'In the Oddsock Churchyard', Charlotte's jolly tune 'Digging Up the Rosebush', and 'Violin Song') were taken from the duo's excellent 2022 album 'Illustrated Short Stories', as was one of my favourites of the evening: 'Already Gone', written about the flora and fauna lost to extinction.
While most of the songs and tunes were examples of the writing skills of both sisters, there were other favourite composers' material on show, including Patsy Cline and fiddler Tommy Jarrell.
It had been a lovely concert. Skillful musicianship, lovely singing and well-crafted songs, all delivered with the warmth they had promised in their publicity. They delivered that in abundance!
Our 'song from the floor' spots tonight, starting each half of the concert, were Terry Maxwell (with his own excellent song about Amy Winehouse) and Tony Croft & Kate Morris (Carolan's 'F***y Power' on melodeon and concertina). Many thanks for both spots.
