This Newcastle-based four-piece is putting a darker slant on folk. The remarkable voice of Bridie Jackson is beautiful yet haunting and the instrumentation and harmonies weaving around her are ethereal, and at times gentle, making their music even more moving. You feel as if you should be sitting in candlelight listening to their music with no distractions whatsoever.

Bridie’s voice took my breath away from the very first note. The string arrangements are heavenly, her voice is gorgeous and the songwriting sits somewhere between the lushness of Norah Jones and the quirkiness of Joanna Newsom. A very special sound indeed.

Those who have been following the story will recall that over 8,000 acts had vied to win a spot on the main stage at Glastonbury 2013 and we were now down to the last eight, or 0.1% of entrants. The odds suggested that high watermarks would be set and first act, Bridie Jackson & The Arbour, just about flooded out the place with its beguiling blend of break-out folk…
Small talk ceased once Jackson’s crystal vocal and the chiming bell plates wielded by her band mates ushered “We Talked Again”. This captive mood continued throughout the set with soft piano or guitar, spirited violin, mournful cello and the light touch of percussion mixed with occasional a capella passages.

They became Newcastle’s Uri Gellers of music, hypnotising with their wonderfully stark songs formed from perfect vocal harmonies, cello, violin, piano and acoustic guitar. With no exaggeration, if we were to die tomorrow we’d be happy to pass away with the knowledge that we’d had the pleasure to witness Bridie’s voice live, a thing of subtle yet powerful loveliness. Did we melt a little? No, not just a little - completely.

They are one of the most exciting acts in the modern folk scene, with Jackson’s north east of England lilt reminiscent of Northumbria’s The Unthanks and with an epic delivery that left the crowd duly impressed.

The Avalon stage is hosting some gems, including The Staves, the delightfully bonkers Bridie Jackson and the Arbour – and hang on a minute, Bruce Forsyth?

One listen to the dark, haunting, heartbreaking, soon to be folk classic Scarecrow, which sounds like a wedding song written by Nick Cave, and you’re smitten. If it doesn’t bring a tear to your eyes then you are emotionally dead my friend.
Forget the Strolling Bones, Mumford & Suns and The Arctic Monkeys, Bridie Jackson & The Arbour are the band to see at Glastonbury this year. I’ll see you at the front I’ll be the one with a Bridie Jackson t-shirt!

All You Love Is All You Are is a ballad worthy of Guy Garvey or any A-lister at their best. Unequivocally beautiful, haunting, clever and worthy of so many looped listens.

Gorgeous vocals, simple piano and understated strings… a runaway favourite on the Listening Post.

4.5 Stars - It’s pointless trying to draw comparisons to other artists. Nobody I have heard makes music anything like Bridie and The Arbour—maybe one day somebody will—imitation will doubtless remain the sincerest form of flattery, but the original will always be the best.

It’s one thing when a band comes forward with a ‘new’ genre of music; it’s another when a band offers something timeless… An ominous and beautiful single.

Heady and intoxicating stuff – powerful without being overwhelming, ethereal without being fey, and frequently alluring.

Single of the Month: A real folky winner; a beguiling, lilting enchantress of a song, which features some quite beautiful cello work and is dripping in gorgeous harmonies.

A heart-stoppingly lovely song. Scarecrow is horrific in content and glorious in composition.

’Scarecrow / All You Love Is All You Are’ is a release of the elegant, refined persuasion which embraces the changing face of the folk genre yet utilises a cello-enforced string section in a definitely genre-advancing way.

My favourite track of their debut album…The new All You Love Is All You Are is a cleaner version of this well-known beauty, terms such as ‘better’ or ‘worse’ don’t apply. It is still breathtaking.

A song of snowy days and marital tragedy sees Bridie Jackson & The Arbour at their haunting, wrenching best, Bridie finding new bluesy shades to her voice, and the often a capella arrangements and mournful violin really adding to the utter desolation of the song. Stirring stuff.

Their minimalist blend of percussion, strings and piano serves to nurture Jackson’s edgy vocals. The result is dark and ethereal, a sound comparable to the likes of Laura Marling.

A powerful yet ethereal soundscape that revolves around Bridie’s captivating singing voice and darkly beautiful string-centred arrangements… Superb.

Every now and then an album comes along that takes your breath away with its bracing originality, bringing something previously unheard to the genre. With lyrics as evocative as the music, this is intoxicating listening, from a name that seems destined to set the folk world ablaze in the months to come.

I’ve not been able to get Bitter Lullabies off my player… It really is that captivating. It’s also like almost nothing I’ve ever heard before (and I’ve heard an awful lot of music over the past half-century!)… the stark yet ravishingly luxuriant Bitter Lullabies is just brilliant.

Embraced by fans and critics alike on the Contemporary Folk/alt/NuTrad scene… (Bitter Lullabies) enraptured minds and hearts with its chiming enchantments and gossamer fine threads of soul-garroting poetic ballads, airs and lays both old and new and timeless in-betweenness.

**** - One of this album’s great strengths is it’s power to intrigue and surprise. Beautifully sung, performed and produced, it’s an impressive debut album.

***** - On playing this CD, the listener will definitely experience something new, buzzing with understated power and vitality… The songs demand attention and won’t let go until they get it. What does the future hold? Great things, for sure.

‘We talked again’ encapsulates the careful craft of strings and vocal harmonies which reflect the album as a whole. With an eerie sense of intimacy, (it) rests within shades of melancholy and mystery, and ultimately sinks into your soul with a climatic warmth.

Closing song ‘All You Love Is All You Are’ is also one of the most perfectly constructed and heartbreakingly beautiful ballads I’ve heard in a long time and rounds off the emotional connection that runs so vividly through the entire record.

And there we have it. The 1st extremely beautiful album of 2012. …I was immediately amazed by it’s pure beauty. This is folk with some soul and blues mixed into it, and the fine way the voices are entwined in a few songs even made me think of gospel.

Like many of the tracks from this debut offering from Bridie Jackson and the Arbour, We Talked Again wouldn’t be out of place on a film soundtrack, gently building to a crescendo that turns it almost into an entirely different song.

A unique record of startling beauty. Ethereal, ghostly, and cinematic in scope, the tracks largely reflect the traditional folk sound, though retain a modern accessibility.

Amongst the already wonderful and unexpected offerings there is still room to throw in an occasional curveball, the gypsy jazz jive of ‘Mucky’ or the gospel soul vibe of ‘Please Forgive Me My Human Ways’ show that she is not a one trick pony.

An album of stunning authenticity, which manages to be simultaneously contemporary and timeless… This is the sound of an artist saying what she needs to say. The beauty of that shines through, and for that reason alone ‘Bitter Lullabies’ ought to be treasured by all who hear it.

Bridie Jackson has the kind of voice that really commands your attention… in the way it seems to hang, spectrally in the air, beamed in from the outer reaches of time and space. Her debut album is replete with rich layers of instrumentation… with influences taking in everything from gospel to baroque melodies, echoes of which can be found in the work of Joanna Newsome and Feist.

Quite unlike anyone else playing on the night and with an inspired harmony-led sound it was a pleasure to watch them play.

There are some events that make you want to rush up to the band afterwards and say “THAT was amazing” and there are others where you want to say “YOU are amazing!” - I just experienced the latter.
The four musicians are one of the tightest bands I know… the compositions and arrangements seem utterly unique and their delivery heart-wrenching. The backdrop of humour and camaraderie helps to foster an inclusive atmosphere lacking in so many folk gigs.

If you haven’t seen the Arbour live, you really should – the combination of cello, bell plates and Jackson’s voice is a magical thing.

Bridie and her band were undoubtedly one of the hits of 2012’s Frontier Festival with their enchanting, ethereal accapella show. This is a live experience not to be missed, based in folk but elusive to ultimate definition with nods to jazz, blues, but mostly just Bridie, wistful, but powerful.

Bridie Jackson & The Arbour had a casual, unassuming stage presence, but were nonetheless captivating with a haunting bluesy style (which completely won over this punk rock fan enough to purchase one of their very affordable CDs afterwards).

Their celestial fiddles and cellos, belleplates and four-part female harmonies took the Tanworth Lunar Festival rain-splashed crowds by the scruff of their hearts and gave them a good shake-down – in particular their – by invitation – cover of local boy Nick Drake’s ‘Way To Blue’.

Every time I see them live they seem to be an even tighter unit and the trademark harmonies a little more spellbinding… Powerful, dark and utterly unique, Bridie Jackson and The Arbour will doubtless continue to entice more followers into their own remarkable world.

From the moment Bridie Jackson arrived on stage you knew it was going to be a special evening. A capacity home crowd helped, but it was more about the atmosphere Jackson creates, working up magic from seemingly simple elements.
The haunting first song, We Talked Again (also the opener on the Bitter Lullabies album) was electrifying, just Bridie’s rich, clear vocals over a delicate, spine-tingling bell plate pattern, harmonies and a pulsing cello. The impact was astonishing and from thereon in, she had us.

This event… was so much different to the last occasion that I saw Jackson, two years ago. She was impressive then, but tonight there was a very expectant, and exciting, atmosphere from the large audience, as she upped the ante even further. Backed by an ensemble which included a terrific cellist and talented violinist… Her songs are intense and emotional, with strange endings, and it was great to hear them in a live arena.

The night was all about Bridie Jackson, who has been gigging in the North East for five years and clearly amassed a legion of fans. Bridie’s voice is clear, strong and sweet, while her compositions allow that voice to fill the room… The Arbour adds a warmth and depth to that crisp clarity. But it is her casual, kick-off-my-shoes confidence which draws the audience in. She is a natural performer and looks both at home and in her element on stage. By the end of the gig she is announcing to the 500-strong crowd, ‘So, we’re off to the pub. Do you want to come?’

Bridie Jackson has created a live performance that has gained a critically acclaimed reputation. Strong, passionate, and totally absorbing, Jackson’s mastery over her vocals shapes the striking energy each of her gigs is formed upon. It is this high praise that has perpetuated Jackson’s ability to tour extensively and aide her DIY promotional efforts, with many fans learning of her music through a wildfire of word of mouth.

Really quite splendid.

Prolong EP - Four songs of rare beauty. Bridie Jackson has a voice that exists to hang in a rarifed atmosphere: and there’s a real sharpness to be found amongst these tracks that I suppose could be described as anti-folk (But pro- beauty).

Bridie’s voice is far more mature than her years betray [and] you can tell from the word go that Bridie’s music completely envelops her as she plays and she feels it rather than hears it. The trick is that the vast majority of the time she manages to extend an invite to the listening public as well… I felt quite bereft when the music stopped.

Bridie clearly adores performing, but this gig, while featuring her familiar acoustic guitar, also demonstrated her emerging talent as a genuinely innovative musician, often accompanying her strumming with the use of bassoon, violin and vocal harmonies. It may sound sycophantic, but I doubt we’ll have to wait very long to see her define the north east vocal folk scene.

An untameable and enthralling talent.

(Bridie) is a powerful, down to earth performer, with an otherworldy voice. This girl could, and probably will, fill stadiums full of people in the future and is most definitely set for greater things.

“Mixing expressive vocals, poignant lyrics and a natural playing style, local chanteuse Bridie Jackson offers a moving and, at times, decidedly dark strain of acoustic blues-tinged folk, drawing inspiration from her travels across Europe as a child- in particular the discovery of Fado, a mournful style of that combines African slave rhythms with the music of Portuguese sailors.”

Barefoot and wild, Bridie Jackson veers between beautifully sparse and and riotous, raucous new folk.

Bridie Jackson has something quite fascinating about her, an on-stage aura and charm that gives her performance an element of mystique. Her songs are intricate, interweaved acoustic doodles backed up by a hugely expressive voice that brings to mind late 60’s Joni Mitchell.

The crowd is hushed, listening reverentially as Bridie Jackson commences accapella then gradually adds her own minimal guitar accompaniment to her soaring, powerful voice- especially impressive on her second song, ‘Prolong,’ and sounding like a latter-day Joni Mitchell on the bluesy ‘This Morning’.