Star Rating: ****

It can only have been a surreal experience for the four musicians from Boston who flew in on Tuesday to find themselves playing, a few hours later, on the nineteenth-century sailing ship, The Glenlee.

However Alastair Moock, Kris Delmhorst, Tim Gearan and Rose Polenzani - all leading lights in the burgeoning Massachusetts folk and country scene - rose to the occasion. All have recorded individually, and as their rapport showed, are obviously good friends.

Delmhorst's We've Come To The Place Where Everything Is Music was both apt and pretty much summed up what lay ahead, as we were treated to some fine solo and ensemble performances. The whole evening had an informal, home-grown feel to it and if jet lag resulted in some rough edges, it only added to the charm. There was a genuine warmth to their performance, with each helping the others out with impromptu harmonies and musical accompaniment.

While most songs tended towards the downbeat, a cover of Taj Mahal's Fishin Blues and the encore, I Wanna Be Ready, with its gospel tinges - written, apparently, by Gearan's babysitter (Boston must really be teeming with songwriters) - showed they were able to rip it up.

This was the first of three performances, the final one being tonight.