★★★★★ There are Fringe evenings that feel pleasant, and then there are those that feel charmed. Andrea Carlson and the Love Police belongs firmly in the latter category. The Royal Scots Club’s Speakeasy room, with its warm wood and old‑world elegance, proves an ideal setting for a night steeped in vintage jazz. It’s the kind of space where you half‑expect a 1930s bartender to slide a cocktail across the counter.
The Love Police are, quite simply, superb. Dr Bruce Goldman’s double bass has that deep, velvety resonance that anchors the room; David “Bopdrummer” Yager’s percussion is crisp, playful, and beautifully controlled. Together they create a sound that feels both classic and alive, a proper jazz trio with real chemistry.
Andrea Carlson herself is a delight. Born in Memphis and trained in classical guitar at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, she brings a fingerstyle technique that instantly evokes the 1920s and 1930s. Her playing is elegant, intricate, and full of character. When she sings, the room softens. In English, her voice has a velvet warmth; in French Chanson, she is luminous. Her love for the Great American Songbook is evident, but her affection for French repertoire gives the evening a distinctive charm.
Her songwriting credentials are impressive, and she shares them with an easy humility. “Cryin’,” her award‑winning piece from the Philadelphia Songwriters Project, and “Mysterious Moon,” honoured at the Montgomery/Bucks Music Awards, both reveal her gift for melody and mood. She speaks openly about her catalogue of more than sixty songs, and when she performs “Let Me Cook for You”—featured in Jazz Bridges and the Philadelphia Real Book of Jazz—the audience responds with clear delight.
Carlson also offers glimpses of her upcoming performances in the United States, but these feel less like promotion and more like an artist sharing her journey. Her albums—Love Can Be So Nice, Driving Myself Wild, Aimez-vous bien, and Out of My Dreams—reflect the breadth of her musical world: jazz, blues, chanson, romance, and the unmistakable sound of her guitar.
The hour at The Speakeasy feels like stepping into a New Orleans jazz bar in its golden era. The musicianship is impeccable, the atmosphere warm, and Andrea’s presence—gracious, talented, and quietly magnetic—makes the evening unforgettable.
A gorgeous, nostalgic, and musically rich Fringe experience.
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
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