I first discovered Amy Speace back in 2006 with her wonderful album 'Songs for Bright Street' and immediately became a fan of her voice and socially aware song writing. Tonight was my first chance to see her live — and the 19-year wait was far too long. What followed was a gorgeous evening of songs, humour and stories, complete with some well-placed name-dropping. The set blended covers, older favourites and newer material from 'The American Dream' and her latest release, 'The Blue Rock Sessions'.
Speace has long been praised for lyrics that are sharp, empathetic and unafraid to confront tough subjects. ‘Dog Days’ perfectly captures the slow drift that can settle over a long relationship, and from the first note her voice — often compared to Joan Baez and her mentor, Judy Collins — was warm, pure and arrestingly powerful. She later joked that those comparisons once held her back in the industry: “Apparently we don’t need any more sound-alikes,” she quipped. “Shows you what the experts know.”
‘There Used to Be Horses Here’ offered a bittersweet reflection on simpler times — a sentiment that feels especially timely today. When she blanked on the lyrics to ‘The Sea and the Shore’, she leaned on her acting background and, with great comic timing, called out: “Someone Google the lyrics — let’s see how famous I am!”
Her performance of ‘The American Dream’ looked back through a child’s eyes, but with the Springsteen-like acknowledgement that the myth has a darker underside. ‘Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne’ — which quite rightly won AMA Song of the Year — was a vocal tour de force. Some of those high notes must still be hanging in the rafters.
Between sets, Amy mingled with the crowd, graciously posing for selfies and chatting with clearly delighted fans.
‘Back in Abilene’ was another standout, a personal and national look back that asks, gently but pointedly, if this is really the best we can do. Its vivid recollection of the Kennedy assassination remains haunting:
Watching Walter Cronkite cry
And it all felt like a bad dream
Back in Abilene…
We were treated to a striking re-imagining of Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’, retold from the viewpoint of its young female protagonist and delivered with real pathos.
‘The Killer in Me’, originally a duet with Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople, came with tales of cockney accents, her son’s Harry Potter obsession and her own acting-inspired audiobook performances — including a Scottish Hagrid in honour of Robbie Coltrane.
The festive ‘First United Methodist Day Centre Christmas Show’ brought smiles to anyone who has endured a chaotic school nativity. ‘The Weight of the World’, one of her must-play songs, earned a warm reception before she lifted the tempo with the country-tinged ‘It’s Too Late to Call It a Night’.
Speace also paid tribute to our own Ben Glover before performing ‘Hymn’, closing the night with a beautifully delivered version of his superb ‘Kindness’ — a quality the world is desperately in need of.
With a book of poetry due next year and a promise to tour with guitar in hand, here’s hoping Belfast is now firmly on her map.