"It's just like being in Ireland". So said a fellow Irish person at the Islington Academy in London. Er, kind of. The encore had everyone stomping to some kind of Celtic beat, but you couldn't be sure where its roots were at. But anyone who is flanked by a bodhrán and a banjo can't go wrong, especially if they combine to make sweet Devonshire West Country folk/trad. Imagine him with long hair and you might be able to imagine Martin Hayes going hell for leather on the fiddle.

Seth Lakeman is a bit of a curiosity. He has acquired mainstream appraisal from the media but hasn't earned mass word of mouth attention. That said, watching him singing about "Kitty Jay", a pregnant servant girl buried in the Moors in shame is awe-inspiring. It's demented and doleful in the extreme. Seth flailed about the stage barking at the sound engineer (they had major problems with feedback) while the crowd waited for the crescendo.

His latest album, "Freedom Fields", hasn't disappointed as a follow up to the Mercury-nominated "Kitty Jay". Tom Robinson on BBC6 loves him so he must be doing something right.

He supports Billy Bragg (the closest thing England has to Damien Dempsey) in Vicar Street in June.

Published by Colm.