If you only associate
Cumbrae Promotions with the fabulous Millport Festival each year, you are
missing out on some incredible events on a slightly smaller scale – although
certainly not smaller quality!
The latest offering from
Gavin and Christine was an “Intimate Nashville Songwriters Round” in the
beautiful and historic Olympic Studios in Barnes, SW London. In order to fit
everyone in, it really did give it an intimate feel, everyone was in touching
distance including the artistes, with 3 rows in a semi circle around the
microphones. There was to be no crowd movement during the set to sneak to the
bar. Everyone had to move together and mind the cables leading to the poor
sound guy squeezed down the side of the bar.
The artistes on the bill
were quite a choice too – frequent visitors to the UK American Young alongside
their close friend Lewis Brice on only his second visit to the UK, following
his appearance at Buckle & Boots earlier this year.
The setting seemed to really
suit American Young, although they are quite comfortable headlining a festival
stage, the intimacy really brought out Kristy’s violin playing and Jon’s almost
delicate vocal, much of the time moving away from the microphone so we could
hear them in their purest form. Next to
them Lewis managed to deliver a big stage performance whilst standing
still! Even in this small room, Lewis
showed that his style is capable of filling a room without overpowering it.
Rather than a traditional
round, all three, whilst alternating the lead, were clearly having a fun time
jamming together, joining in with each other’s songs and swapping banter –
mostly at Kristy’s expense with some good-natured teasing from the boys
flanking her. We were treated to a real
mix of new material, older songs, favourites, unreleased material and
covers. Jon in particular seemed
incredibly relaxed from the start, enjoying a glass of pinot noir whilst
waiting for everyone to arrive and this set the tone for the whole evening.
The setting and the
atmosphere felt we were part of a casual jam session not at a concert, there
were no set lists, confusion over who was singing next, at least on Kirsty's
part as she would start a story and Jon would interrupt, Lewis happy to go with
the flow and wait. There were forgotten words, a little retuning, drinks passed
forward and glances outside the room where Kirsty ‘s son Jesse was watching.
It seemed natural, a chat
you have with good friends, that Lewis
sang a brand-new song and asked our opinion on whether he should record it. The
answer was a resounding yes!
Kirsty said Lewis was the 3rd
member of American Young, it was clear they knew each other well, Jon and Lewis
frequently write together and therefore perfectly fitting to hear a smooth rendition of “Just the Two Of Us” which then
became “Just the Three of Us”.
Twice it was suggested that
the singing had come to an end, but nobody wanted to leave; even Kristy called
for an encore. Apparently not something artistes should do but absolutely fine
with everyone so more songs were sung including slightly imperfect but utterly
wonderful encore of Hotel California
Truly an intimate, unique
and entertaining night of music, an unmissable event. Cumbrae Promotions – you’ve done it again,
thank you!
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