Celebrating the legacy of a folk legend
Josienne Clarke tells Sam Wonfor about the joy in bringing new life to Sandy Denny’s timeless songs – and the responsibility which comes with it
When Josienne Clarke takes the stage at Gosforth Civic Theatre in Newcastle this May, she won’t just be performing a concert - she’ll be channelling a folk legend.
On tour with her new project Across the Evening Sky, the acclaimed singer-songwriter is bringing the music of the seminal songwriter and performer, Sandy Denny back to life in an evening of heartfelt homage and interpretation.
“I’ve had this idea in my mind for years,” says Josienne. “But I always felt I had to wait until I was ready. Sandy’s music means so much to so many people - it felt like a responsibility.”
More a reimagining and retelling than a typical tribute, it’s clear this show has been crafted with deep appreciation by an artist who owes a large part of her musical DNA to the late Fairport Convention singer.
Josienne is no stranger to comparisons with Denny. With a voice regularly described as haunting and evocative, fans often draw parallels between the two… and you won’t hear any complaints from the 42-year-old who has her own back catalogue boasting 11 albums and counting.
“If you’re going to be compared to anyone… she’s the greatest singer there ever was.”
Denny, who sang with The Strawbs before joining Fairport Convention - releasing three albums with them between 1968 and 1969 - went on to release a string of solo albums before her untimely and tragic death in 1978 at just 31.
Josienne remembers the first time she performed a Sandy Denny song – it was Lily of the West at a folk night when she was 17.
“I’d heard it on a Joan Baez record,” she says. “Someone said, ‘You sound like Sandy Denny’. I had no idea who that was, so I went home and looked her up - and my god, there was all this amazing music.
The idea for a full concert of Denny’s work finally crystallised at Celtic Connections in Glasgow back in January, where Josienne debuted the project, kicking off a 17-date UK tour which arrives at Gosforth Civic Theatre on May 16.
A recent review noted that her interpretations were not imitations but transformations: “Filling the vessel but assuming her own shape too”.
Josienne is also putting her own mark on the setlist, ensuring the show is more than a greatest hits collection.
As the show’s title suggests, audiences will of course hear the iconic, Who Knows Where the Time Goes, but there are also perhaps lesser-heard tracks to look forward to, such as Late November and Topsy.
“I gave the show the title it has because I knew the question everyone was going to ask was, ‘are you going to do Who Knows Where the Time Goes?’ so I wanted to let people know they could relax,” says Josienne.
“But there are also songs that maybe haven’t had as much airtime in other tributes. I wanted to balance what the audience might expect with what I could genuinely bring to life on stage.”
While a Josienne Clarke concert usually sees her performing solo with just a guitar or two for company, the set up for Across the Evening Sky required some additional personnel.
For this tour, she’s enlisted a full folk-rock ensemble - drums, bass, guitar and piano to unlock the full sonic palette of Denny’s recordings.
“The band gets to really play,” she says. “With Sandy’s big, sweeping arrangements and that big Fairport sound, they can cut loose a bit more. It’s a totally different energy.”
Meanwhile Josienne herself is embracing a different feeling on stage too.
“I thought maybe that I would feel a little short changed as a songwriter, because I’m doing a whole evening on somebody else's music - but actually, I've been enjoying it so much,” she says.
“I get to step out of my own head for a night. To just sing, without carrying all the baggage that comes with performing my own songs. I can sort of put myself to one side and just concentrate on singing these songs the way that that I believe they should be heard.
“There’s something incredibly freeing about that.”
Although she’s just wrapped a new album set for release in the autumn, Josienne suspects this tour will leave its imprint on future work – not that Sandy Denny hasn’t already left her mark on the Clarke back catalogue.
“I would have to say that she was already the most influential artist on the way that I approach and think about songwriting. That balance of melancholy and hope, the light and the dark has always appealed to me.
“While I’ve often included a Sandy Denny song in my live sets, immersing myself in her music will undoubtedly influence something in the future.
“They’ll come out in my own voice eventually.”
But that will be a bonus outcome for the tour which Josienne says is primarily aimed at spreading the joy of Denny’s legacy that little bit further and wider.
“If I can introduce just one of my fans to Sandy Denny, then I’ve done my job,” she explains. “These songs are too important to be forgotten. They need to be passed on.”
Though this tour stretches across the UK, the North East is lucky enough to get a duo of dates. As well as the evening at Gosforth Civic Theatre, there’s also a gig at The Witham in Barnard Castle the night before (May 15).
And Josienne – who will be back in Newcastle in the autumn under her own steam for a gig at Alphabetti Theatre to promote the new album - says audiences at both venues should be prepared for “a journey”
“It’s a night of deep, dark ballads and joyful folk stompers,” she adds. “Songs about love, time, and the ghosts of memory. Songs that still matter.”
Josienne Clarke sings the Songs of Sandy Denny at Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle on May 16 and The Witham, Barnard Castle on May 15.