Taking the stage tonight at the Hare & Hounds, looking far too young for her age of 30, more like 20, is Tenille Arts! This informal gig is the third time she has visited the UK in the last year, she must like us. By informal, that is just a drummer and herself. And this multi-award-winning Canadian-born, Nashville-based country singer, treated the audience to a classy, velvet toned performance, with tracks from her fourth album ‘To Be Honest’, along with a mix from the other three, and a few nice covers. Like a cracking version of The Chicks’ ‘Wide Open Spaces’, and Taylor Swifts’ ‘Love Song’. But she’s not just a cover artist. The delivery of her own songs, like the newish single ‘Jealous Of Myself’, have a warmth to them, even the break up ones. Arts has a charming way about her and a beautiful voice and is also gathering quite a following in the USA, appearing no less than three times on the reality show The Bachelor – as a singer, not a contestant – and on this showing, it’s not hard to see why. She is classy. We hope that her love affair with the UK continues and that we get another chance to see her, maybe with a full band next time.

Photos by Geoff Griffe
Review by Jenny Griffe