Scarlet Starlings

Sara-Mae Tuson (left), Willy Mason (middle), Barbara Bartz (right)

On a divine summer’s evening last Thursday, Talitha and Sara-Mae got to sing back up for the great Willy Mason. You know when everything seems made out of magic? From the huge and shady fig tree at the bottom of Zoe’s garden, to the sweet little black cat sleeping on one of the blankets that cover the grass?

Danny Green of Laish organised the relaxed shindig, something he’s done a few times before with Willy, and he and the girls also played a few of Danny’s (spectacular) new songs.

Jamie Doe of The Magic Lanterns also played some of his sparkly, compelling songs. To cap it off, Zoe recited some of her poems. Her self-contained dynamism and wry humour made her performance really special. Also, her recipe for frozen chocolate-covered ‘banana cocks’ earned her the title of ‘Best Host 2017’.

We were all drunk on the gorgeousness of the moment, the company, the food and yes, the copious amounts of wine.

It was dark by the time Willy went up to play, and the girls were nervously whispering behind him, scared to muck up the hastily rehearsed harmonies they’d learnt for Face That Glows, a swooney new song, as well as If It’s the End, Talk Me Down and Restless Fugitive. Barbara Bartz, the gorgeous and talented violinist for The Quivering Poets (amongst other bands) had been pulled in by Sara-Mae to improvise a bit of blue-grass stylings, which she did.

We egged Willy on to singing loads of his incredible songs, some new, some old (Waiter at the Station, written by his mother, and one of Sara-Mae’s favourites). We felt that we’d been somehow given this incredible luxury. What an utter legend the man is.

Wish you all could have been there,

xxx

The Starlings