A woman, her banjo and harmonica, and the truth—that sums up Live in London, a three-track EP and video from Rust Belt refugee Rita Bliss, who now calls Austin home, that was recorded on February 21, 2026. I mentioned in my initial impression of Peaches and Apple Pie, her full-length debut in 2024, that she reminds me of the folksingers I discovered via the Fast Folk Musical Magazine LP series during the 1980s; that sentiment remains.
The opening “July,” which was born from Bliss teaching herself how to play Joni Mitchell’s “You Turn Me on I’m a Radio” on the banjo, is a bittersweet ode about memory and moving on, about how a past love sometimes lingers long in the heart’s shadows until, one day, we roll out of bed and realize the pangs pang no more. “Texarkana” embraces the folk ethos with what could well be a Dust Bowl tale about love, regret, and death; if you told me it hailed from an ancient 78rpm record, I wouldn’t be surprised. (It’s not, though. As with the other songs, it’s an original.) “Two Dollar Bill,” about letting go of heartbreak, hails from Peaches and Apple Pie; stripped to its essence, it resonates all the more.
The audience at the Green Note—a small but iconic London club—is warm and appreciative throughout, while the recording (by Oscar Cainer) is pristine. While I wish that the EP was a few songs longer (or even album length), what’s here is wonderful. The songs are strong, Bliss has an engaging vocal delivery, and the banjo-harmonica combination echoes the ages.
(It will be available to stream from all the usual suspects on June 5th and can be ordered on CD via Bliss’s online shop.)
The Old Grey Cat 