... Childhood stardom-- on a high note? By John Martland Like England's cricketers following their early exit from the World Cup, the team surrounding Charlotte Church, the remarkable thirteen-year-old soprano from Wales, was very much on the defensive in LJttte Big Voice (Presentable Productions for R4 Tuesday, June 1). Perhaps they had been read ing the review describing her chart-topping album ...

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... Kim Criswell Covent Garden Festival: The Talk of London/Peacock If anyone had ever doubted Kim Criswell's versatility before the beginning of this year's Covent Garden Festival, it is unlikely they will have any such reservations now. As the event's featured artist, Criswell was interviewed by Ned Sherrin for radio and gave a masterclass at the Donmar Warehouse, but the real highlights came ...

... Eric Bibb Jazz Cafe/Touring Native New Yorker Eric Bibb, now ensconced in Sweden, has gathered together a group of musicians from across the world to accompany him on this month-long tour of Great Britain and Ireland. Of dapper appearance in contrast to the somewhat clinical surroundings confident and at ease, Bibb proceeded to show case a selection of self-penned songs from his latest album, ...

... An Evening with Nigel Planer Swindon Twenty years on from his pioneering late-night work at the Comedy Store in London's Soho, Nigel Planer has moved his stand-up routine in an entirely new direction. as wen as oeing a iv actor and comedian, he is now an accomplished and challenging poet to date largely unpublished and a novelist with one showbiz novel, The Right Man, in print. It was these ...

... Rick Wakeman-Half a Century Shanklin, Isle of Wight Rick Wakeman recently celebrated his 50th birthday, and within three days of the party was premiering his brand new show, Half a Century. St Saviour's on the Cliff was the perfect venue in more ways than one. Now a born-again Christian, Wakeman performed many of his musical highlights in a quite remarkable show. To help celebrate, he brought ...

... A skim through famous hits Glasgow/Touring Kenny Rogers Standing with the light bouncing off that famous white goatee, Kenny Rogers is very tanned and trim for a living legend. But this old trouper gave the up-for-it Royal Concert Hall audience precious little incentive to get up and groove which is a terrible shame given the quality of his songs. Maybe it was the perfunctory way Rogers and ...

... Roger McGuinn Burgess Hill I like folk songs, 'cause they tell stories, smiled Chicago-bom Roger McGuinn, whose tour is named Voice of the Byrds. Maybe that should read Voice of the Wyrds because-like so many of his sixties contemporaries-his songwriting talent is emphasised through the lyrics over the importance of the music. With pleasing anecdotes detailing lyric-swaps between him self ...

... Dervish Forum This, surely, is a fairly definitive example of a band living up to its name. Sligo-based Dervish plays with a stunning verve and energy, presenting Irish music at its most exciting: driving rhythms, lilting melodies and dynamic arrangements are there in profusion. The level of musicianship in the six-piece band is outstanding ly good, and is demonstrated to equal effect in ...

... Karen Akers Pizza on the Park Even before Karen Akers begins to sing, there is an elegance about her demeanour that is quite distracting. Despite her height-she is almost 6ft tall- the singer still cuts a graceful figure, and with her striking cheekbones and short bobbed stylish haircut, many a model would simply kill for her look. But what has probably made this US concert and cabaret star ...

... Cherish the Ladies Tunbridge Wells/Touring It is billed as Irish-American music, but although Cherish the Ladies are based in New York and five of the six women are American-bom, it is the Irish which invariably dominates. Most of the group are from Irisb-American families and all are totally steeped in the tradition. That is just as obvious in a set of recently self-penned tunes as in the ...

... Bob Goody Tristan Bates What a fantastic place the Actors Centre, just off Shaftesbury Avenue, is. It has exactly the relaxed, amiable air that befits what is essentially a community centre for actors. It is the perfect venue for Bob Goody, a performance poet who recites texts inspired by his expe riences as a performer, some times accompanied by the wonderfully deadpan Urban Tel on keyboards. ...