Gasoline
& Matches hosted another excellent Songwriters Round – Nashville Sounds In
The Round – on Wednesday night.
With a line
up gathered from Norwich, Israel, Colorado and Nashville, as well as Birmingham
of course – there was not a single tassle or drop of glitter on stage, which
could make you question what type of Country performance this would be. The answer was – a cracking night of music,
storytelling and laughter. The main “culprit”
for much of this was Kenny Foster – who we now all know as “Kenton”, his real
name being outed by Sally Rea – who started his own performance with a story
about sausages, a gag which was kept
going by all on stage. This set the tone for the evening of repeated jokes and light-hearted banter between performers
This banter
and quick wit truly reflects the ability of those on stage to express themselves
through words, be it in song or story. It isn’t just humour that comes across,
it is often raw emotion, and we were privileged to hear a deeply personal song from
Steven Marks about his Father which he rarely performs in public.
A songwriters
round allows the performers to share the stories behind the songs, and we
discover that they can take inspiration from almost anywhere – the quirky
tribute to 60s music from duo OandO being a great example.
The round
also allows a glimpse of the performers stripped right back to simply guitar
and vocals. Sam Coe, perched in the middle of the line up showed us the sheer
power and control of her voice when singing her first solo release Hard Times
which is available for pre order now, and all the artists sell their CDs and
merchandise which gives the audience a chance to meet, chat and get selfies.
Although the
round is made up of 4 distinct acts, it almost becomes a jam session, with
backing vocals and strumming guitars, plus Steven’s guitar wizardry. A mass
sing along for the final round which included those parts of the audience who remember
the great Billy Ray Cyrus and the classic Achy Breaky Heart.
Francesca
was attending her first Nashville Sounds in The Round which was also watched
over by Dolly, Johnny and Willy. All four gave their approval of a great night
of music and stories
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