I've been to festivals where there have been eight other people in the room, and that's including the bar staff. Last year, the legendary Richard Thompson, arguably one of the finest guitarists alive, played a village social club near Daventry as preparation for headlining the Cropredy Festival in front of 25,000 people. I'm sure both were great shows.

Steve Knightley is another who is no stranger to the ups and downs of the music business. As half of the West Country duo Show of Hands, he has twice filled the Albert Hall. Yet here in Leamington, barely 150 people turned out to hear him.

It didn't seem to matter though and the crowd might still turn out to be one of the bigger ones on this Cruel River Part Two tour which includes a fair smattering of village halls among the artier venues.

Steve has a wonderful, powerful voice, sings mainly his own songs and plays a variety of guitar-type shaped instruments including the cuatro which is a kind of grown-up ukele.

Many of the songs in Thursday's concert came from his solo Cruel River album and the latest Show of Hands release Witness. It's hard to describe the emotion-packed punch of many of them: it's much better to listen to them. All I can say is that it's rather a shame he's not much better known but then I've never been much of a fan of really famous musicians (you can never get to see them anyway, unless you count a stadium where they're about an inch high).

Steve's young son Jack was diagnosed with leukaemia last year and is still being treated in hospital. He spoke about it briefly just before the final song, The Dive. This tells of a man going diving, then surfacing and finding he has drifted a long way from his boat - so far that there is no one in sight. Abandoned, he doesn't know what to do - only to see his father emerge from the mist, on his way to rescue him. I wasn't the only one to shed a tear. John Howes 9/10

Find out more about Steve Knightley on www.myspace.com/steveknightleymusic

Steve was supported by singer/songwriter Jenna whose voice seems to get better each time I hear her. There were two stand-out songs from her - Alive and Brother, both well-crafted and exciting.

Steve Knightley, Spa Centre, Leamington, Thursday January 24.