Martha Wainwright at Birmingham Town Hall -  January 30, 2017

ON an evening when hundreds of people gathered in Birmingham's Victoria Square to voice their feelings about Donald Trump, a somewhat smaller crowd gathered in the neighbouring Town Hall to witness Martha Wainwright demonstrate that there is still beauty in a world that too often shows us it's ugly side.

Originality is a rare commodity but Martha Wainwright possesses an abundance of it, both in terms of her songs and the way she sings them.

The Town Hall proved to be the perfect venue as Martha's distinctive vocals soared like a beautiful bird throughout the glorious old building.

Wainwright is touring to promote her current album, Goodnight City, that contains a combination of songs she has written herself with those written for her by a very talented group of family and friends. 'Francis', written by brother Rufus, is a particularly fine example. Many of her own songs are very personal, such as 'Franci', written for one of her young sons.

Martha's band provided excellent backing throughout but a highlight of the set was the section where she sang alone onstage with just the accompaniment of her acoustic guitar.

At the end of a very enjoyable evening, an appreciative audience welcomed Martha back to the stage for an emotional and very beautiful encore of 'Chelsea Hotel' and 'Proserpina', the last song written by her mother, Kate McGarrigle. It was a fitting finale to a concert that provided a much needed boost for the soul in these worrying times.

GKH