Live Review: Beth Hart – The Forum, Bath
3rd November 2021
Support: Arielle
Words & photos: Shaun Hulme
The Forum in the beautiful city of Bath plays host to one of the finest blues artists to grace the genre with support from the incredible Brian May prodigy Arielle.
Arielle comes out onto the stage to a full theatre and gets the show started with 'Beautiful Rain'. She has a beautiful soft voice with subtle tones and a gentle guitar style which reminds me of the great Eva Cassidy, which she showcases with a moving cover of Andy Williams 'Moon River'.
She continues through her 30-minute set including 'Devils Disguise' with a calm, easy approach while introducing her guitars to the crowd, bringing out the guitar she was inspired to build by Brian May, 'Two Tone'.
Arielle has the crowd transfixed throughout her set and gets the crowd warmed up perfectly for the main event and it is easy to see why Brian May has taken a particular interest in her talents, I think we will be seeing a lot more of Arielle in future. I would recommend you check her out!
Beth Hart has had a great career so far and positioned herself as one of the top blues artists of the last decade or so with her unmistakeable voice and sound while working with great artists such as Joe Bonamassa.
She comes out onto the stage for her last show of her UK leg of the tour to a roar of applause and dives straight into the first song 'Tell Her You Belong To Me'. She is full of energy and looks happy to be on stage and performing to the audience.
Beth takes the audience on an emotional journey with upbeat songs such as 'Bad Woman Blues' and 'Sugar Shack' but then treats the audience to her heartfelt songs such as 'Sister Heroine' and my personal favourite 'Without Words In The Way' while sharing her own emotional stories (and tears) that inspired certain songs, all performed with a genuine passion that can’t be faked.
The highlight of the night had to be 'War In My Mind' with Beth putting in an incredibly stunning solo performance behind the piano, you could of heard a pin drop at times during the performance as everybody was so in tranced in what they were lucky enough to be witnessing.
Beth Hart for me is a unique artist who gives every ounce of herself with her show, putting in a 2.5 hour set without a break!
In short, she is one of the most talented blues artists out there with a back catalogue of sublime music and a truly unique voice.
Go and see her next time she is in the UK, you will not be disappointed!
All Photo Credits: Shaun Hulme / SRK Lens
