Jack Dryden at Colour of Whispers 20/07/21

I haven't heard Jack Dryden for a while so when I saw that he was playing at the Aussie venue Colour Of Whispers, or COW as it is better known I decided to head on over. COW is a great laid back venue with a stage over a billabong (google its an Aussie thing), where you can dance in the sand or on the green grassy slopes surrounded by an array of Aussie animals.

One look at Jack Dryden standing on stage with his cowboy hat perched atop of his head, hands caressing his acoustic guitar you can tell that this man from the UK is a real country boy at heart and while his songlist includes most genres of music Jack readily admits that he just loves playing country, and play he did.

Starting off with The Highway Man I found myself totally captivated as Jack has a voice that is so soft and gentle and as he sings his words wrap around you like a cocoon, making you feel calm and at peace within yourself. He is like seeing a rainbow after the rain has stopped, that smile that you get when you see it bright in the sky. There is something very special about rainbows and there is also something very special about Jack Dryden. Here is a man who is not afraid to show emotion for when his partner Mei arrived not long into the set the love that he has for her was clearly evident and he was not shy in expressing how he feels about her to all in attendance. Mei Dryden you are one lucky woman to have a man that loves you like Jack does.

Jack sang a lot of wonderful songs tonight, taking time in between to interact with his audience, telling us about why certain songs are special to him or the memories that they invoke. Songs like I Recall A Gypsy Woman, a song from his childhood and The Only Hell My Mum Raised, the best country song that he knows...and yep it was as country as it gets. While his version of Tennessee Whiskey was just simply beautiful, one of the best that I have heard, as was First Day of My Life, a love song he sang for Mei, my favourites of the night were two by the late Kenny Rogers, Daytime Friends and The Gambler.

As he finished up I found myself thinking that Jack Dryden really is the definition of chicken soup for the soul.

Make sure you get along to one of his shows, become a CrackerJack, slap that tag on and wear it with pride.

(side note, I was so lost in Jack's music that I forgot to take pics of the venue so jumped back when it was empty)