Reviews…

A superb and uplifting live act – spot-on guitar & banjo picking, fronted by the soaring vocals of the inimitable Amy Harrison, by turns soulful and raucous, with songs to raise the roof and soothe the heart. – Stuart Reed, Founder of the popular Brighton Acoustic Session

If you liked the soundtrack to ‘Oh Brother Where Art Thou’, you will love this band. With an extensive repertoire stretching over 80 years, from Charlie Poole’s ‘Leaving Home’ in the 20′s to Gillian Welch’s ‘Wayside Back In Time’ from a few years ago and all points inbetween, they stand apart from many of the other bluegrass style bands based in Brighton. Steve Clements, Brighton posted on ents24.com

Had a wicked gig at the Ritzy Picturehouse in Brixton.

I’m lucky here at St Julians club in Sevenoaks to have a ready-made venue so, when I couldn’t find the time to get down to see the bubbling Brighton scene, I decided to book one of its brightest stars, Amy Harrison and the Secondhand Stringband, to come and  play for us.  What a great evening!  Amy is one of those amazing petite singers with a powerful voice – rich on the sentimental ballads, powerful and gritty on the fast bluegrass standards; oh, yes and she can also do high, lonesome.  The band did a well-honed show – all those nights playing Brighton pubs obviously tighten up the arrangements nicely.  Lead instrumentals came from Malcolm Mcleod, playing some very neat and impressive banjo and a bit of harmonica, and Dan Edwards on guitar – he also sang the principal harmony vocal and some lead.  Tim Slade is an excellent bass-player, and he sang baritone in the trios.  Listening to them took me back to my young days exploring the traditional bluegrass sound, and I’m thrilled that a young band today can also find that excitement with the same songs and sounds which started me picking back then. Rick Townend