Nathan Evans, Glasgow review: 'a personable underdog hero'

Nathan Evans | Andreas Rentz/Getty

Nathan Evans & Saint Phnx, SWG3, Glasgow ★★★

Nathan Evans, a postal worker and budding singer-songwriter from Airdrie, became a worldwide viral sensation in 2020 when he released a TikTok video of him performing the traditional New Zealand sea shanty Wellerman.

Many theories have been posited as to why this happened, chief among them being that its earthy, spume-flecked romanticism chimed with millions of people looking for an escape from the restrictions and uncertainty of lockdown. And that’s probably true, but I personally think it became a ‘novelty hit’ because it was catchy, charming and good.

That’s Evans’ slim oeuvre in a nutshell. Now a full-time professional musician, he writes unpretentious, steadfastly sincere and accessible singalong songs in the country/folk-pop vein which strike a chord with listeners who don’t want anything more than that. Sometimes you don’t really need anything more than that.

This sold-out gig, during which Evans performed alongside Scottish sibling duo Saint Phnx, was a celebratory affair – the summation so far of a feel-good grassroots success story.

Our personable underdog hero grabbed the moment for all it was worth, at one point stepping down from the stage to sing a commendably personal song about anxiety and depression from a spot in the middle of the crowd.

Is Evans a major talent? No, but at his best he knows how to write simple, effective Caledonian hoedown confections. Highland Girl, for instance, has a sweetly daft and corny “la-de-deedly-la-de-da” chorus hook. He knows what he’s doing.

An encore version of John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads was a cheerful acknowledgement of his benign modus operandi. It’s the populist blueprint for pretty much everything he’s written to date. He may well be on his way to becoming a kind of national treasure.