The Boston Globe
11th October 2007

If it's possible nowadays to be a natural-born traditional singer, this 26-year-old Celtic wunderkind fills the bill. She grew up in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, where Robert Burns spent his last years, and she's gallivanted across stages there since she was 3: first as a dancer, and now as a singer, songwriter, pianist, and accordion whiz. Her crystal soprano and unhurried phrasing sometimes suggest a young Scottish Mary Black. Smith is remarkably comfortable with ancient ballads, singing them as if the stories they tell had happened only yesterday. Her own songs meld the sweeping lilt of Scottish folk melody with lyrics that feel timeless in their emotions and deliciously modern in spirit. 8 p.m. $18. New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill. 508-997-0046. whaling museum.org
Scott Alarick