By Jof Owen
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It's not often you see country royalty in Camden Town on a hot, sticky Tuesday night, but the draw of their youngest daughter, Audrey McGraw, headlining a sold out show at the legendary Green Note was enough to tempt Tim McGraw and Faith Hill all the way over from Tennessee.
Along with their middle daughter, Maggie May, the husband-and-wife country legends and stars of the Yellowstone prequel series 1883 braved the Camden nightlife to cheer (and occasionally heckle) their youngest daughter, Audrey, as she warmed up for her opening slot on the Brandi Carlile Lost Time Tour across Europe in July.
Kicking off the tour with a show at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday 20 June, Tuesday night's intimate show at the Green Note saw the 23-year-old singer songwriter playing to 5000 or so less people than she will be on Friday night, but it was a set that felt more than ready to be scaled up.
Friday night serves as a double celebration for the singer with the release of a new single 'Purple Flowers', and she treated the audience to a spellbinding rendition of the song, accompanied by Adam Chetwood on guitar. With little nods to '70s Laurel Canyon folk and the piano balladry of Carole King, it's always McGraw's extraordinary voice that sits as the centrepiece in her songs.
Whether she was singing the Mexican huapango song 'Cucurrucucú Paloma,' most famously sung by Caetano Veloso or reworking Neil Diamond's 'I Am... I Said,' playfully replacing "New York" for "Nashville, McGraw proves she's a masterful conduit for the classics, imaginatively making them more than her own.
With belting renditions of her upcoming Lukas Nelson co-write 'Beautiful When I Cry' and her debut, 'Thunder,' it's easy to see why so many people are getting excited about Audrey McGraw right now.
She introduces recent single, 'Speak,' by telling the audience, "This is a song that's very important to me," to which her father, Tim McGraw, hilariously heckles her, shouting out, "Why?" Proving that no matter how talented you are and however famous you become, you can still always be embarrassed by your parents.
Audrey wasn't the only McGraw to make a star turn in Tuesday night's show, and with her parents looking on, she made it even more of a family affair when she was joined by sister, Maggie May, for a heartfelt duet of Don Henley and Stevie Nicks '80s classic 'Leather and Lace,' which had us all wondering how long before we have some music from the older McGraw sister as well, before she returned to the stage for a slightly more shambolic sing-a-long of Janis Joplin' 'Mercedes Benz' for the encore.
If soul is a feeling, a fire that burns inside you, then Audrey McGraw is without a doubt a soul singer. Sincere, unaffected and honest, she has the kind of powerful, full-hearted voice that makes listening to her sing anything feel like a spiritual experience.
Can't think where she gets it from.