Lisbee Stainton

After 20 years of writing songs, six albums and support slots for the likes of Seth Lakeman, Joan Armatrading, Paul Brady, Gretchen Peters and Paul Carrack, it is not surprising that the singer songwriter Lisbee Stainton knows how to put on an entertaining show.

Lisbee Stainton
Lisbee Stainton

Supporting herself on six and eight string guitars and banjo, she played a full set of 90 minutes that ranged from ambient folk to experimental soundscapes, gentle romantic reverie and pointed political protest songs.

As well as playing her own numbers, she also played songs that she had co-written, such as Undetow with Tom Robinson, and Vodka and Tonic with Eleanor Mcevoy.

Starting with 16, a song about childhood and adolescence, she changed to banjo for the hauntingly ethereal Skin Changer, while Red Dog Running was a catch song that called for audience participation.

Say Yes was a song about finding love, before Burn-out explored taking time out from the stresses of life. We Don’t Need The Monsters was a pointed song, alluding to the fact that humanity often does far worse than the imagination.