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Live Review: Bonny Light Horseman, Philadelphia, PA, Feb. 5, 2020

At Boot & Saddle, Bonny Light Horseman blurred the lines between centuries with contemporary arrangements of traditional songs that have been around for hundreds of years—plus a few ringers from the 1970s. The band drew heavily on sounds of the ’60s and ’70s, including singer/songwriter sincerity, all-natural harmonies and psych-inspired guitar solos. At times, the blended voices of Anaïs Mitchell and Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats) sounded earthly and otherworldly at once.

Erin Rae opened with a solid solo set, then returned to join Bonny Light Horseman for a stripped-down version of “The Wild Mountain Thyme.”

Highlights: Bonny Light Horseman’s “Bonny Light Horseman,” “Jane Jane” and “Blackwaterside”; Rae’s “Bad Mind” and “Wild Blue Wind”

—M.J. Fine; photos by Chris Sikich

Erin Rae