This fictional band is like a country and folk Spinal Tap crossed with the amazing harmonising of Simon and Garfunkel.

Newbury Ace Space is giving off more village hall than town hall vibes tonight but is firmly sold out for Sons of Town Hall and the venue is clearly a labour of love for those involved, all volunteers. Money raised from events is used to support the venue and local charity projects and what a fantastic thing that is. From Listening to the conversations there is a mix of very big fans of the podcast/music and curious people who enjoy supporting live events at this venue.

The podcast in question is called Madmen Cross The Water. It focuses on the make-believe adventures of George Ulysses Brown and Josiah Chester Jones that led to the writing of the songs. George is played by British songwriter/producer Ben Parker and Josiah by American songwriter/author David Berkeley. The podcast is hosted by fictional super fan Elias Worthington; each episode tells a story and features the band’s music. Live, the pair tell their own versions of these stories between the songs. 

You don’t have to listen to much of Sons of Town Hall’s music, either in person or recorded, to understand that this duo have an amazing understanding of harmony, there must be some classical music training as they both hit notes extremely well. They have a wonderful grasp of each other’s strengths and combine to be greater than the sum of their parts. So, whilst there is some very funny comedy here, the Monty Pythonesque ‘The Sausage Song’ being a standout highlight, there is some excellent songwriting craft present too.

Whilst the music is played fairly straight in character, they are quick with an ab-lib and a wry in character observation. This proves especially useful when a brief issue with an electrical cable crops up causing some interference. As the venue staff sort it out, they come down to the floor and do a track without amplifiers and microphones, and it sounds amazing.

Their biggest track in terms of streaming numbers is highlight ‘The Line Between,’ which sounds very fine this evening. Of the two albums song ‘Morning Fields’ has rapidly become a firm favourite of ours. It pulls you into this strange little world they have created and touches deeply. It is a very unusual mix as a live show, somewhere between gig, stand-up comedy and performance art. It wouldn’t hang together if they weren’t such skilled musicians, but they do such a good job of the character building it creates unusual levels of audience reaction.

This is an extremely interactive show. Some good-natured heckling almost reduces Ben Parker to a giggling wreck at one point. Most songs have a section where the audience are expected to join in. Most of the time we are told we are doing a much better job than Bristol managed, though it all goes a bit wrong in a more complicated call and response song. It is about four days where George and Josiah worked on laying railroad tracks. After a bit of teacherly scolding and encouragement we are finally considered to be ready to sing the song.

It is a generous show. They play for an hour before taking a 20-minute interval for a breather and to man ‘The Dry Goods Store’ for a bit. Then it is another hour. Whilst there is a lot of talking it all works well in the context of the show, and you never have to wait too long for another high-quality song to appear.

Sons of Town Hall is definitely something you need to see with your own eyes to truly get a handle on. It is one of the quirkiest live experiences we have had all year but also one of the most musically impressive. If you see their vessel ‘Son Of Town Hall’ pulling up at a shore near you we heartily recommend popping down.