SuRie stars at Retune Live gig at South Mill Arts in Bishop’s Stortford
Tom Ryder, the founder of mental health charity Retune, writes for the Indie
We witnessed something truly magical on Friday March 14 for our first Retune Live show of 2025 – SuRie in full flow sharing her songs and offering up some excellent and insightful chat in between.
Susanna has been a dear friend of ours for many years; her last appearance for Retune was in 2019, in the wake of her Eurovision entry and all the drama that followed. Her career has blossomed since then as she has released a couple of self-penned albums and, most recently, enjoyed a number of theatre appearances, notably as Annie in Annie Get Your Gun.
It was spectacular to see her once more in her natural domain, sat at the piano and sharing some of her most intimate compositions to an appreciative crowd of more than 100 guests.
Earlier in the evening, our house band, The Retuners, performed a set. I was joined onstage by magnificent double bass player John Parker and the sultry sounds of Kim Stoker on piano and vocals.
We then introduced Kate Malden, who played a tune for us unaccompanied on piano. It takes a lot of bravery to step onto the Retune stage and Kate handled the situation with aplomb, ending the song full of confidence.
It could also have easily been a nervy night for Mimi Broughton (Mimi B), the winner of the inaugural Bishop’s Stortford Songwriting Competition, which was adjudicated by SuRie. Halfway through Susanna’s set she introduced Mimi, who treated us to a rendition of her original piece Unexpected Rhythm. This, too, was an assured performance and received a very warm reception.
Retune’s shows are not just another gig – we make sure that the audience are well aware of the close links between creativity and mental wellbeing and this theme pervades the night. It is clear that having an outlet to express emotion is absolutely vital and this was epitomised by all of the performances we witnessed.
I managed to grab an interview with SuRie onstage as her set drew to a close and she spoke brilliantly about how she manages to stay ‘in tune’ amid all the difficulties and the hectic nature of the performing lifestyle. Songwriting is therapy for her and it is clear when paying attention to the details of her craft that wellbeing and music are closely intertwined. For her encore, she performed a stripped-back version of her Eurovision song Storm, to the delight of the crowd. It was a fitting end to a fabulous evening of live music.
We have been bowled over by the positive comments of those who attended this show and this is very heartening as it’s not always easy to bring a crowd out for live music in the current climate. It is clear from this night that the local appetite for original music is healthy and long may this continue.
Our next live show is in June and, in the meantime, we are delivering one of our wellbeing workshops in May, so watch this space.
For now it feels right to celebrate what was an exceptional show and look forward to more good times ahead, working closely with the talented team at South Mill Arts.
