Emma Donovan ~ Till My Song Is Done ~ Cabaret Festival Review 2024

Emma Donovan - Till My Song Is Done Dunstan Playhouse Thur 20 June These days Emma Donovan fronts her own band, and in this official launch of her new album, Till My Song is Done, she seems very happy about it. After her band had established a solid groove Emma sauntered on stage barefoot, in an elegant long black dress and a beaming smile – a gorgeous sight. She delivered several songs from the new album: an anthemic call to action, Change is Coming, was full of raw emotion, and a lovely song called Away were highlights. Donovan loves to chat about where her songs come from – what they’re about, who wrote them, and why they came into being. Some songs she says she writes just to ‘pick herself up’ and get the strength to keep going. Several songs on the night’s bill were written by her large extended musical family. The music ranged from soul, a little funk, rock, gospel through to country rock. Her band’s rhythm section was especially tight and effortlessly coped with the various styles. Pedal steel guitar was featured on most songs and while providing some great melodic moments I’m not sure that having it featured so prominently is the best way to go. However, the song that featured just pedal steel with Donovan on a colourfully decorated ukelele had me drifting out over the Pacific somewhere near Hawaii and loving it. On this song, and on another uke tune, Donovan’s voice shone through best. She has a powerful voice when she needs it, but she chose mostly to be fairly restrained in the band songs. She’s not into vocal histrionics and exaggerated long notes. Her vocal style is more about blending in with the sounds around her. It felt like a lot of people had come from far and wide to hear Donovan sing. There were lots of greetings for all the people she knew in the audience, and for all those connected to those people. In the end I think we all went home feeling a little connected to Emma Donovan and her mob. Till My Song Is Done was a lovely evening of cool music and uplifting social interaction. 4 stars Michael Coghlan #TheClothesline