Karen Pendley and Lonnie Spiker Gig Review

The Beehive in Swindon was more like I imagined a Texas bar might be when Pennsylvania born singer/songwriter Lonnie Spiker and North Carolina native and veteran fiddle player Karen Pendley played there on the 16th of October. Their excellent blend of western swing and honky tonk songs really brought The Beehive to life. Lonnie and Karen performed a selection of Bob Wills’s songs including a fantastic version of Faded Love, which allowed Karen to do a lovely solo on the fiddle. Lonnie’s style of singing reminded me of the late Faron Young. As the evening progressed Karen and Lonnie mixed together songs of their own with songs by more well known and established artists. Highlights of the evening were a fine version of Ian Tyson’s Some Day Soon and the old Elvis Presley hit Fool Such As I. Lonnie was enthusiastic and extremely funny throughout the evening and both artists were keen to oblige the audience with any requests. Lonnie and Karen performed an amusing version of Merle Haggard’s Working Mans Blues, blending in new words to suit the occasion. The audience appeared to really enjoy Karen and Lonnie’s style of singing as by the end of the night people were up dancing and singing along. Lonnie and Karen continued on until eleven forty-five, mainly due to the fact that they had received so many requests for songs and were trying franticly to fit them all in. The audience were having a wonderful time and really getting into the spirit of things, not wanting the evening to end at all. Overall it was a highly entertaining evening full of fun and good music. I would recommend you catch these two amazing artists if they come to a venue near you.