A beautiful review from FATEA Magazine
Venue: Wildman Studio
Town: Ilkley
Date: 7th February 2026
Website: https://hollytaymar.co.uk/
I first saw Holly Taymar at Wetherby Folk Club in July 2025. What struck me immediately was not only the quality of her singing and guitar playing, but the warmth and sincerity of her performance. Here was a singer who really cared deeply about both her music and the audience. She has a totally engaging personality on stage and makes everyone in the audience feel like a good friend.
Her set on that evening comprised a number of self-penned compositions plus a couple of Eva Cassidy classics, a singer that Holly admits to being both her inspiration and her idol. At the time, Holly said that she was hoping to do a show totally devoted to Eva’s music, and the result was last night’s production, “Holly Taymar Sings Eva Cassidy.” And what a stunningly beautiful two hours of music ensued!
Thanks primarily to Terry Wogan, Eva became a household name in the UK after her death. Born in 1963 in Washington DC, Eva’s musical career was part time around local clubs and venues, always playing the music that she liked and not necessarily what was most popular. She admitted herself that she was not a good songwriter so took the decision to play other composers’ music and put her own spin on it. It is so sad that she never got to see the impact that her beautiful vocals and guitar interpretations were to have on the music world.
On Saturday, the audience in Ilkley were treated to a superb 2-hour journey along the road taken originally by Eva, this time delivered by the incredible talent that is Holly Taymar. The accuracy of both her guitar interpretations and her vocals was a total joy to behold. The 20 songs delivered included all of Eva’s hits plus a number of album tracks. Compositions by Lennon, McCartney, Sting, Paul Simon and so many others were included, starting with “Songbird” and finishing with the beautiful and poignant “What A Wonderful World” the last song that Eva ever performed live. Apart from two songs for which audience participation was requested by Holly, the remainder of the evening’s music was played to such a mesmerised audience that a pin dropping would have been deafening. Holly truly held the audience in the palm of her hand and delivered an evening of supreme musical magic.
In sincerely thanking Holly for an incredible performance, I must also thank Eva Cassidy for bringing so much love and musical excellence to the World, and once again to Terry Wogan, the best radio presenter ever, for bringing this magic to my attention.
Rory Stanbridge Words & Pic