Superb live music at Starcross Church - Rebecca Loebe & Luke Jackson

I love that live music gigs around here are performed in churches, active ones at that. Is it a particularly South Devon thing? The only comparable space I remember from Sussex was All Saints in Lewes, but it doesn't have quite the same vibe. As of Saturday night we have a new venue to add to our music roster, St Paul's in Starcross which is near to Exeter. It's about 40 minutes from Torquay (or closer to 45 if you get turned around in the Starcross one way system when leaving!).

Our gig was a co-hosted event with Alison and Tim of St Paul's running a well-stocked and very reasonably priced bar that, I happily noticed, had a good selection of soft drinks as well as wine and beers. There wasn't any cake - we've been spoilt by Kingskerswell! - but I did spot and buy a half dozen of Charlotte's Eggs for £1. I assume Charlotte is the name of a chicken? The music itself was organised by Greg Hancock of Exeter Secret Gigs. A musician himself, he is also a great Luke Jackson fan and had apparently leapt at the chance to be a part of Luke's current short tour with Austin singer-songwriter, Rebecca Loebe. There's still another six opportunities to see the tour this week and you can find venues and ticket links towards the end of this post, just before the YouTube of their stunning finale to the Starcross gig.

The 'stage' at Starcross 

Both Rebecca and Luke are accomplished singer-songwriters independently and, had we simply heard each of them do their sets we would have gone away happy. However, the four songs they sang together took the gig into a whole other dimension. Those harmonies! Outstanding and particularly gorgeous with the church acoustics. We semi-joked with Rebecca after the gig that they need to record their own Raising Sand-type album together although perhaps their music could be described as closer to that of Civil Wars. Both Dave and I felt very lucky to have stumbled across such talent in such a beautiful intimate venue.

You can catch Rebecca Loebe and Luke Jackson at:
May 2, St Margaret's Hall, Bradford-on-Avon, BUY TICKETS
May 3, Cecil Sharp House, London, BUY TICKETS
May 4, The Hopyard, Forest Row, BUY TICKETS
May 5, The Stables, Milton Keynes, BUY TICKETS
May 6, Tower Of Song, Birmingham, BUY TICKETS
May 7, The Wee Gig, Abington, Lanarkshire, BUY TICKETS