Farewell Bridie Jackson and The Arbour

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Bridie Jackson and The Arbour gave an emotional farewell performance at The Cluny (Newcastle) last night, as they brought down the curtain on their extraordinary musical journey.

It was back in June 2010 when I first saw Bridie, when she was in the role of support act for Cara Dillon at Durham's Gala Theatre.

We recorded an interview later the same year, which can be found  in three parts here at Marsh Towers (one, two, three).

Bridie and The Arbour went on to perform in many varied places and along the way there was more than a little banoffee pie, sell out shows, innovative venues (including the Endeavour), single launches, album launches, videos, a famous appearance at Glastonbury, an opera and a plethora of unique music. We even worked together for a show at the Cleveland Bay in 2012.

Yes, it has been quite a journey but sadly it has now reached its natural end. They went out on a high over the course of a busy weekend which saw them perform at Lindisfarne on Saturday before returning home for Sunday's finale.

The performance was everything we have come to expect from Bridie Jackson and The Arbour. Their complete professionalism enabled them to come through what was clearly an immensely emotional occasion with flying colours.

They have achieved things nobody else could ever do or ever will do. They created a brand new genre. Their music is unique. In time, there may well be imitators, but anyone with the great fortune to have seen Bridie Jackson and The Arbour in concert will know the truth.

Thank you Bridie, Carol, Jenny and Rachel for the music and friendship. You will not be forgotten and I sincerely hope we will meet again, perhaps on a different musical journey.

Here are the last few images of Bridie Jackson and The Arbour on the stage for the final time.

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One final note. When I saw Bridie for the first time, the band was called The Puddleducks (the name changed for every performance before The Arbour became the official title). At last night's show, the hand-stamp to authenticate concert entry took the form of...a duck! This remarkable piece of synchronicity brought my own personal Arbour experience full circle.