@ Hopetoun: A dosage of heart-warming folk acoustic was exactly what the doctor ordered on this cold Saturday night. Intimate, little Hopetoun was packed with fans waiting for Portland (US) based songwriter M. Ward. But first, minus his band Art of Fighting, Ollie Brown headed up with nothing but his strumming guitar and earnest self. All of his songs have a similar quality: a lilting gentility that strains with yearning and desperation.

M. Ward has the appearance of a nineteen-year-old boy with the smoky voice of a ninety-year-old man (although he’s somewhere in between). His songs speak of heartbreak and nostalgia, at times whimsical and yet timeless. His mix of classic American country, blues and folk transports you to a dark, musty saloon or around a crackling fire in the Old West. And it must be said that his manipulation of the harmonica and guitar is nothing short of impressive.