Michelle Shiers on February 12th, 2015

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Devon, England, folk troubadour Ben Howard brought his soaring, moody soundscape to the Shrine Expo Hall on Tuesday night. Back-lit and with a bassist, drummer, cellist, guitarist and keyboardist in tow, Howard opened his set with the powerful “Small Things” and “Time Is History.” As an artist, Howard’s style has matured from the Everyman romantic folk-pop to weightier and more textured songwriting. He has released a handful of EPs and LPs over the last few years but it is his 2014 full-length “I Forget Where We Were” that brings an even darker shade of isolation to his sophisticated and meditative folk. Some of the most powerful songs of the night were from this album. “In Dreams,” the title track and “End of the Affair” filled the whole room with emotional-release from slow-burning starts to atmospheric left-handed solos to grandiose codas. His poetic style and emotive crooning held attention although the intimacy of his sound seems better suited for a smaller venue. There were a few mutterings of disappointment that he didn’t play fan-favorite “Old Pine,” but as Howard closed the night with “The Fear” from 2011’s ‘Every Kingdom’ he kept each glassy-eyed admirer tight in his grasp. Howard was preceded by Massachusetts singer-songwriter Willy Mason, whose gravelly voice is beyond his years and whose lo-fi blues-folk songs burned like kindling.

Photos and recap by Michelle Shiers