"Are you as nervous as I am?" Stretch asked his audience after his first two songs, Come Back to My Arms and Nothing Can Hurt You Again.
On July 22, the Dannevirke Fountain Theatre audience responded with laughter but Anthony Stretch was sincere, admitting that "it was not easy to put your stuff out there in front of people you know".
He need not have worried because from the opening ballad, the absolute sincerity of his lyrics and the deep, soulful tone of his voice, coupled with his huge skill in making his guitar sing, had the audience in the palm of his hand. After the show he commented that the evening was not one in which he and the audience were separated as performer and listeners. "We were at one," he said.
Stretch is not mainstream as a performer. His refusal to sing other artists' covers stems from his desire to put his own experiences and philosophies out there, performed in his unique style. He is unique and that uniqueness is due to the fact that every word he sings he believes, because he wrote it after long thought and inspiration.
As a songwriter Stretch has a unique gift. His inspiration comes from almost 50 years of living – some are narratives, others philosophies about life, some capture moods and others celebrate or mourn events.