I have watched Danny George Wilson play before numerous times, with many different numbers and variations of band members. So musically I was in very familiar and friendly territory. However I didn’t realise that I’d be attending the first ever music event that would be outdoors in the beautiful garden of The Oxfordshire Museum. One of many things organized by Laura Dean, the Access and Engagement Manager at Oxford County Council. That was a very pleasant surprise given that it was a lovely summery evening, and the set up of the garden was like an amphitheatre (they did host some theatre shows there last year) - so it was also perfect as a music venue, with the walls of the garden and the museum holding the sound. A small but well stocked bar was ready to take orders throughout the show, as was a grill serving pork and steak and corn on the cob.

Those who were a little more clued up had brought their own chairs, but most sat on the grass, as we did, on the verge where the lawn descended gradually down to the entrance of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum. It was a large space, and could easily fit in more people, but either way it would still be an informal setting, which was all in all the perfect environment for the characters of Danny George Wilson and Paul Lush and their guitars. They glided into their first song by way of what seemed like a conversation between the two instruments for the first few minutes, before the Danny’s signature soulful lyrics began: “You can’t buy love of the truest kind”. Followed by Red Tree Song, with the chorus of “I wanna stay here a while”, Danny’s relaxed, warm and kind of Americana accented voice (which has been accurately described as ‘weather beaten’) soothed and relaxed everyone into the evening.

There are times when music really does take over an environment, and this was one of those instances: Paul’s shirt was the same shade of green as the lawn, and his guitar and occasional electric mandolin on reverb also echoed around the space in quite a spellbinding way as Danny’s lyrics continued to sound similar to mantras “I just want something real and be happy with that” (Talking a Good Game). He was the perfect choice as the first to play at this sort of event.

At this point I should say that I’ve never heard Danny paired with just one other band member. The most stripped down version that I’ve seen before has been three, and from his Danny & The Champions of the World set up (The Champs) there’s usually anywhere between five and ten musicians. Clearly there’s a lot of layers and sound with the larger numbers, but the three and now two pairings also strip the songs down in a way that doesn’t lose the strength of sound, but improves the focus of it.

And speaking of sound, that was being controlled from a roaming tablet by a guy occasionally lying on the lawn as we were and tweaking a few touch screen dials, which also looked very simple in comparison to the usual sound booths installed for concerts, but which worked just as well. We were all encouraged during the performance to continue to get another drink or something from the grill, as they ‘won’t get precious about any of that’, and I felt that on this performance I got more insight into some tracks than usual.

‘Henry the Van’ being about The Champs van that broke down on the way to Aberdeen, but the song was more about the band than the van. And the absolute classic song - for me at least - of ‘(Never stop building) That Old Space Rocket’ being about Danny’s memory of hitchhiking with his dad on a holiday in France to a Thunderbirds concert 20 miles away from their campsite. His dad had already had too much Pastis to be able to drive… I mean, highly likely that at other gigs the larger band and setting had meant that I wasn’t as focused on the chat and the music to have got that detail before, but that was what this location and set up provided.

Danny has been described as a ‘songwriter on an honest and unpretentious quest for some truth’ which I think is a very accurate summary of all of his music to date. There were a fair few songs from their latest album ‘You are not a Stranger Here’, and the last two high energy songs of the evening were from ‘Hearts & Arrows’. Had we actually taken advantage of getting more food and drink during the performance the audience as a group may have had the energy to get up and dance; but the previous tracks in the beautiful, open surroundings had been so tranquilizing that instead it was more of a wake up call that the concert was nearing its end. I think that was a good thing, though I also hoped that the band realised that this was because we had put under some kind of trance by the sound and simplicity of the previous songs in the set list.

At one point, Danny joked: “Who needs Glastonbury when you’ve got the Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock?!” - but actually I guess the venue definitely has the potential to be fairly festival-like. Minus the heavy politics. And the museum toilets were far more National Trust than long drop. And did Glastonbury also have a Dinosaur Garden to look around afterwards? I think not.