The folk duo of Jo and Danny, organisers of the Green Man festival, are headlining a mini-Green Man tour, where the support act in each city is a band on this year's festival bill.
Opening proceedings for this show are Birmingham collective Shady Bard. With an extraordinarily accomplished EP already under their belts, the trio's gentle psych-folk shimmers and soars in equal measure.
With an electric piano as the focal point, their radiant folk-pop is embellished by cello, violin and harp. From the Ground Up is stately and elegant, while Memory Tree is a woozy lullaby worthy of Grandaddy, its near-whispered harmonies cracked and bewitching.
Jo and Danny are joined by a live band, and are fleshed out to a quartet, with drums and electric guitar added to their usual folky stylings.
To coincide with the tour, the duo have recently released an EP for download, featuring remixes of their songs by artists such as King Creosote and Leif.
Drawing on material from their most recent album, last year's critically acclaimed The Quickening, Jo and Danny also pluck songs from Lank Haired Girl to Bearded Boy, their debut record from 2000.
Their Celtic-influenced folk recalls Fairport Convention and Pentangle, with an obvious debt to Bert Jansch, and Jo's wispy voice is perfectly suited to their melodic indie-folk.
The addition of a mandolin has a great effect, but not everything they try works so well. Reliably shambolic and often beautiful, though, Jo and Danny have long been at the forefront of a folk revival, and they deserve to stay there.
Simon Harper
