KATE Rusby is not one for the radical overhaul, more inclined to subtle change that never veers too far from the folk tradition, but 2014 has been a progressive yea for the Barnsley nightingale.

First came her inaugural Underneath The Stars festival at Cannon Hall Farm, South Yorkshire, already confirmed for a return next July. Next arrived Ghost, her first studio album of original material since 2010, launched at the festival with a website teaser that she and her co-producer, husband Damien O'Kane, had been "experimenting with effects and electric guitar sounds to create a fresh new sound".

In the flesh, last Saturday night at the Scarborough Spa, the effects took a back seat, but new recruit Steven Iveson's electric guitar was present, augmenting several songs in Kate's two sets, as he played alongside bouzouki and acoustic guitar player Aaron Jones; accordionist Nick Cooke; double bass pin-up Duncan Lyall and guitarist and banjo player O'Kane.

Some things don't change in a Kate Rusby show: her omnipresent mug of tea; her plug for her craft stall (merchandise in layman's terms); her ready banter and Yorkshire humour; a solo spot for O'Kane and a break from "girly songs" for some "manly tunes" in a dazzling run of reels by O'Kane and co after the interval.

Some things do change, however. All but two of the dozen songs on Ghost were aired, as a raft of Rusby staples were given their P45, although Kate still found room for The Wishing Wife, The Lark, Awkward Annie and an encore Of I Courted A Sailor, specially for Scarborough. The opening The Outlandish Knight, We Will Sing, Ghost, The Magic Penny and especially Martin Said will surely become Rusby regulars too, and now turned 40, Kate has never sung better, so mournful yet uplifting.

An extra voice haunted the first set from the seats, not a ghost, but a jarring interruptive presence, liquid taken on board, followed by an assisted interval exit cheered to the rafters. "I hear we're going to have a quieter second half," said Kate, ever so tactfully. She resisted dedicating Silly Old Man to him, instead letting her songs of women outwitting men do her bidding for her