"I NEVER knew anyone could sing like that", the woman sitting behind me whispered to her friend halfway through Kate Rusby's charming show at Oswaldtwistle.

For such a slight figure, it comes as a shock when such a pure voice fills the room.

All corkscrew hair and with an impish grin, Kate Rusby is an unlikely leading light on the British folk scene.

On record she manages to combine modern and traditional and then live adds a further dimension - one of pure enjoyment.

A virtually full civic theatre - it just shows, get the quality of act and the audience will come - lapped up the two sets she performed with her now familiar band of musicians, each one of the virtuosos in their own right.

Having been to several Kate Rusby shows, this was one of her more understated evenings.

She seemed to be battling against a bit of a sore throat, but that didn't diminish the enjoyment.

We were treated to the title track from her forthcoming album Awkward Annie plus many favourites.

Then there was the between song banter which is as much a part of the show as the songs themselves.

We even got a recipe for sautéed mushrooms - you had to be there!

For those who dismiss folk music as being one-dimensional, old fashioned or just plain odd I challenge you to go along to see Kate Rusby and tell me you didn't enjoy it.