WEST TEXAS country singer-songwriter Kimmie Rhodes made her third appearance in a year in the area when she played The Cluny, in Newcastle – and again performed an excellent gig.

Husband Joe Gracey (bass) and son, lead guitarist Gabe Rhodes, didn’t accompany her this time, but her acoustic guitar/mandolin player and harmony vocalist manfully filled the void. His fluent work on guitar and sharp, incisive solos on mandolin were especially effective when Rhodes utilised material soaked in a Mexican Borderlands feel.

Rhodes, who hasn’t forgotten her roots, paid homage to singer-songwriters from her native state, Rodney Crowell and Townes Van Zandt, by including their popular compositions, Till I Gain Control Again and If I Needed You, respectively.

As expected, her current album, Walls Fall Down, was the source of a considerable proportion of her material, but, to the delight of the audience, she didn’t forget the old ones either, as favourites, I Just Drove By, West Texas Heaven and Gracey’s timeless gem, Contrabandista, were performed in an accomplished fashion.

Maurice Hope