To quote Alan West - "All Things for A Reason", and so when Devon Mayson took to the stage in the acoustic tent with some striking eye make up, somewhat towered over by her temporary guitarist, Ben Gurney from Journey Home she may have felt a little more nervous than normal. If you also add in the fact that Ben had only had the songs for 7 days, the stage was possibly set for a car crash of a performance, however it turned out to be quite the opposite, with Devon's confident vocals supported by some great flourishes from Ben who instinctively seemed to pull out exactly what was required.
Take the opening song "Tonight", which on Devons exceptionally fine debut album is a piano led ballad, here, Bens delicate playing perfectly paired with Devon's intonations on the chorus. Similarly on "Lie To Me" the result was once again exceptional with Devons singing on the chorus almost operatic in its beauty.
Things were to advance a little further on a cover of "When You Say Nothing At All", with Ben throwing in a lovely acoustic solo while Devon encouraged the crowd to provide the additional backing vocals which they were more than happy to supply. Possibly inspired by Chris Stapleton's revival of the war time pot boiler "You Are My Sunshine", Devon decided to take it on and in true Devon style took everyone slightly aback by doing it beautifully acapella for the first verse before the crowd once again became a major part of the performance.
To close things out it was back to the debut album for the unerringly catchy "No" a song that once heard will stay in your mind for days, before closing with the hard to believe, but excellent anyway "You Only Love Me When You Are Drunk". From the jaws of disaster then an absolute masterpiece, Devon was a great host and an excellent performer - I believe the main stage is surely calling for her next year, and for Ben great kudos for being part of something quite special