Set to the backdrop of a sun-soaked June evening, St Mary’s Church played host to Beverley Folk Festival’s first headline act of 2025. The night saw Irish-English folk group Ranagri take centre stage, bringing their utterly captivating and joyful sound to the festival. Supported by the supremely talented and mystifying Ella Gowers, the night held such breadth in musicality and emotion.
Ellie Gowers stood dwarfed beneath the vaulted ceilings and towering stone walls of St Mary’s, yet with the first strum of her guitar and ring of her haunting vocals, the space became hers. Her vocals – reaching so easily and beautifully through her acrobatic melodies – left the audience completely awe-struck. Paired with her precise finger-picking guitar, she created a completely enchanting sound.
Her performance drew us in like a gentle tide. Gowers’ songs emanate with the rhythms and cadence of nature, utalising the microphone to create moments of quiet and distance, and moving to the tempo of emotion. Truly a master of the stage, her musical talent paired with keen storytelling, cements her as a true folk performer.
Gowers told of her time in Canada, a time that translated into songwriting of absence and longing. This was particularly prevalent in A Moment, as she sings ‘I have your weight released from my chest’, a lyric relatable but guttural in its physicality. Her guitar playing gives echoes of Jeff Buckley, creating a nostalgia that only furthers the themes of her writing, as we find both a sense of familiarity and the unknown in her writing. She closed her set with The Stars Are Ours, a song calling for audience input. Where a sing-along may seem out of place between Gowers’ beautiful melodies, she was able to transform us into a gentle choir between the pews, able to fill the grand space with her.
Where Gowers’ performance brought the reflective, Ranagri came all whistles blazing into their set with their signature modern, world-inspired take on traditional folk. A hopeful, joyous energy emanating from every guitar strum, harp tickle, flute whistle, and dulcimer drum. The set began with The Hare. The musical ensemble immediately displayed their ability to create vast musical landscapes, taking us from the Beverley church to green pastures and mossy forest floors, growing until we were ensconced in the sound.
The set continued in high energy as they moved into The Bogeyman – a perfect example of their ability to embody and expand the folk tradition. Utilising narrative voice and an extended narrative timeline to tell a story oh-so-known; the tale of the eternal pessimist. The use of harmonies felt like a battle cry of unity as the band sang out ‘its all such a shame, were all so afraid… its only a bogeyman knocking my door’ in unity; Dónal Rogers’ (vocals and guitar) foot stomping echoed by Jordan Murray’s Bodhran beat reinforced the defiant narrative whilst Eliza Marshall’s flute solo created a moment of joyous whimsy between it all. It truly felt, as the band played out this joyously defiant tune, like the sun shone a little brighter, turning the red stage lights a burning orange, lighting up these eternal optimists.
As masters of folk, Ranagri’s storytelling came both easily between songs and indeed in the very heart of their songwriting. The band whisked us away to the Irish countryside, to Ranagri, the farm Rogers grew up on, to explore family life, tradition, and nostalgia musically. Washing in the stream was a moment in the set that beautifully explored Rogers’ upbringing through interesting and poignant motifs; the recurring ‘swimming with the salmon’ lyric conjured a vivid image in its uniqueness. These images were only expanded by the mystical musicality – Eleanor Dunson’s enchanting harp melody felt like the gateway to memory lane, and Rogers’ deep, homely vocals brought a familiarity and intimacy to the words.
As the last drips of sun fell beneath the stained glass, Ranagri’s set came to a close. After a standing ovation that called for an encore, the band fell into You Could Do Better. Arguably, the absolute perfect closing number – solidifying their endlessly hopeful sound lyrically and musically, ending on the expansive, joyful sound we began with. The energy was only confirmed by the rapturous spirit of the crowd, bringing the night to its full-throttle conclusion.
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