Buckle and Boots proved to be a great chance to catch up on people that we have not seen a while or who don't normally perform in our area. Falling in to the former group are Jonas & Jane who we last saw at The Green Note supporting Danni Nicholls some years ago. In those days their set had songs about going to the beach at Portsmouth but after a trip to the States they have had something of an epiphany and while keeping their instrumentation and harmonies their sound has somewhat shifted in a more bluegrass direction.
Gathered around a modern version of what look like an old BBC microphone they opened with a traditional blue grass song "My Long Journey Home" with the great line "Lost all my money but a $2 bill". That old time feeling continued but was in the shape of a new song "Don't Cry For Me" about leaving on a good note which saw two things guaranteed with and Jonas and Jane set - some great guitar picking and some sweet harmonies,
For "Hold Me" Jane provided some beautiful harmonica that really set the scene and then later emphasized the feeling of the song, while for "Too Little Time" it was time to break out the banjo in a song that saw them switching vocals. Incidentally as we parked on the Sunday we pulled in next to Jonas and Jane practicing on the banjo which prefaced the day for us beautifully and was a glorious way to start the day.
Their love of bluegrass music just shines though and they brought an almost gospel like feel to the Bill Monroe tune "I'm Blue and Lonesome Too" With 2 ep's to their name it was time to plunder the second EP "Whispered" for a couple of tunes, "Think Of Me" is a slow gentle ballad once again exemplifying just how well their vocals work together, while "Traveling Kind" seemed to examine the different ways people find to escape whether it be drink or traveling or singing.
Things again moved again in the bluegrass direction for "Newhaven Train" before a final visit to the "Whispered" EP and a last run out on the banjo for "Down For Dead" which once again transported us to the Southern states for an engaging chorus even if it was about people getting shot! The Sunday Paddock stage was truly a myriad of styles and the time with Jonas & Jane in the hot tent was time well spent.