St George’s Church, Hartlepool
Saturday, 17th May 2025
It had been slightly longer than I remembered since I last visited St George’s in Hartlepool, and on that occasion it was to see the superb Dave Bainbridge & Sally Minnear in concert. A great evening of music and one made all the more enjoyable by warm and friendly atmosphere from all at St George’s. Once again a welcoming night, so before moving on to this evening’s concert I must applaud Paul Rodgers and ‘team’ for their varied programme of live events, attracting performers from around the world.
Tonight’s concert will attest to this as Jocelyn Pettit hails from the west coast of British Columbia, Ellen Gira is from Maryland and their accompanying guitarist for the evening, Miguel Girão, was born in Portugal. Jocelyn and Ellen joined forces in Glasgow circa 2018 to form a recording and touring partnership. I have to confess until a few weeks prior to the concert I knew nothing about Jocelyn Pettit & Ellen Gira, however a visit to Bandcamp revealed they had released a three singles, one album entitled All It Brings (2022) and a new album Here To Stay scheduled for the beginning of next month. In the time leading up to tonight’s concert therefore I had chance to familiarize myself with their music and sound. And it was the sound that immediately resonated with me as it had ‘flavours’ similar to Mads Tolling (violin) and Joseph Hebert (cello) work with Oakland (CA) composer Mark Vickness.
The concert opened with a tune entitled Bellechase which, having purchased the new album at the end of the show, I later discovered is taken from their forthcoming release. A lively piece, which the album’s sleeve notes reveal, combines three Québécois tunes performed in ‘reel’ style. Powder Room followed and a more familiar track as it appears on their previous album. As with the nature of their music, many of the tunes played on the evening are made up from more than on piece, something Jocelyn and Ellen explained as they introduced each and every piece, giving a welcome insight to music. We stayed with their debut album for Across The Western Ocean and the first ‘song’ of the evening. Adding to their already impressive bows 🙂 were the sweetest of voices, the blend of which was excellent and the harmonies, well harmonious, enriched here by a third part from Miguel.
Two unfamiliar pieces followed, the sparkling Rothiemurchus and Midnight both tunes split into two parts. Now it’s at this point I found myself drawn further into the music and paying far greater attention to the fluid, interweaving parts. The jaunty nature of the tunes perhaps belying the intricacies of the combined parts. It also became very apparent that I was witnessing a rather special concert and one that was delivered with charm and passion.
Adding further to the enjoyment was the sound which was crystal clear and resonant, especially the lower notes of Ellen’s cello. Perhaps the cherry on top of the cake came from the church’s natural acoustics which offered the perfect level of reverberation. We remain in unchartered waters for Return, and it is a testament to the music, especially as it is now a nearly a week since I attended the concert, just how vividly the pieces have stuck in my mind. Return opened with plucked harmonics, haunting violin, and that deep resonant bass. Equally engaging was the buoyant Going Home, written by Ellen and takes it’s inspiration from her return to Maryland from Glasgow. Again the blend of voices and intricate string parts were simply magical.
As the first set draws to a close I’m mindful of how little I’ve mentioned of acoustic guitarist Miguel Girão, who set intently during the tracks he didn’t perform on, but his input on the tracks he did gave the music another dimension, whether that be in the form of delicate fingerstyle picking or the addition of more driving rhythmic parts. An ideal setting therefore for the closing tune, Last Train To Glasgow, which, as the title suggests, portrays the eventful and varied journey.
The interval, time to wonder around the church and grab a coffee, or something slightly stronger for those not driving, and reflect on the music thus far. My thoughts focussed on the diverse nature of influences which perhaps initially centred around Scottish and Irish Celtic music, but equally drawn from their homelands of America and Canada, along with a distinct Scandinavian lilt at times.
After a short break we were once again greeted by the ever smiling faces of Jocelyn and Ellen as the trio launched into the lively Road Trip To Cape Breton, again a new track. I mentioned earlier that many of the tunes performed were made up of more than one piece, however something I later found curious was that quite often these would combine traditional tunes and those written by either Jocelyn, Ellen or both. Something we come across during Passport To Mettabee and although the transition between sections may be distinct they seemed perfectly natural to me.
The music continued to reveal its charm and by this point I was totally absorbed. The stunning Glad Farewell was followed by the one tune I had heard prior to discovering Jocelyn and Ellen, the Appalachian fiddle tune Cumberland Gap, which my late father had a version of on a compilation album. Miguel’s wonderfully understated guitar opened Arising as it did for the sublime Catherine’s Waltz, a tune dedicated to Ellen’s grandmother and a heartfelt and touching moment during the evening’s performance.
Sadly the evening was drawing to a close with the trio leaving us with the three part (if I’ve got it right) Atholl Brose – a rousing foot-tapping finale. Of course they were never going to get away that easily and as they took their final bows, Paul Rodgers ‘insisted’ we hear more. Which they duly obliged. Perhaps fittingly for me the encore was my initial introduction to their music, Fluer Reels.
Great music delivered with warmth, passion and smiles 🙂 – if you get chance to catch one of their shows (there are a few UK dates left on the current tour) then I wholeheartedly recommend you do.
[On behalf of TPA and myself I would like to thank Gerald Oliver for the live photos used in this review.]
SETLIST
Bellechase
Powder Room
Across The Western Ocean
Rothiemurchus
Midnight
Return
Going Home
Last Train To Glasgow
– Interval –
Road Trip To Cape Breton
Passport To Mettabee
Glad Farewell
Cumberland Gap
Arising
Catherine’s Waltz
Atholl Brose
~ Encore:
Fluer Reels
SETLIST
Jocelyn Pettit – Fiddle, Vocals, Stepdance
Ellen Gira – Cello, Vocals
Miguel Girão – Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
LINKS
Jocelyn Pettit & Ellen Gira – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram
Jocelyn Pettit – Website | Facebook | YouTube
Ellen Gira – Website | Facebook
Miguel Girão – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp
