And so to Biddulph – a small
town just outside Stoke On Trent – to the grandly named Town Hall, which in
reality is a very nice community centre, in a small high street of pubs, takeaways and Sainsburys. Its not a major
urban centre, but to Emily Lockett it is home, so where better to host a
headline concert marking the release of her latest EP, thanking those who
supported her crowd funder and giving us all a chance to see Emily play with
her relatively new full band.
Although technically a part
of Biddulph festival, the gig was promoted and run by Emily’s family – Dad on tickets
and lighting, Mum organised the merch, brother on camera and his girlfriend
head of merch sales – which is very much how Team Emily operates.
If you weren’t aware, Emily
has spent the last three years studying at BIMM Manchester, and part of her
course was to organise a crowd funder and write new music. The outcome of this (as well as her degree)
is her new EP “What The Hell Have I Got Myself Into?”
The show was opened by (formerly)
local performer Celine Ellis.
Keen on the storytelling element of Country Music, Celine overcame the
technical delays to show the almost full hall her folky/Americana voice and her
excellent guitar playing. Celine is
quite a humble performer, just her and her guitar playing her upcoming release
and some songs that she has thought about re-recording. Celine with the fuller sound of a band, bass
line etc will certainly be worth hearing!
We are more used to seeing Emily
Lockett as “just her and her guitar” so to hear her music with four other
musicians on stage was certainly something to look forward to. Emily has always had a great stage presence,
her ability to talk to an audience and interact is one of the best I’ve seen -
as she demonstrated so well at the first British Country Music Festival in
Blackpool playing not only one of the first sets of the weekend, but also the
tricky outdoor stage. Surrounded by her
friends – all of whom are also BIMM graduates - she really comes out, and the
interaction with her band adds to her performance and has clearly added to her
own confidence.
The set list was a run through of previous releases interspersed with all the tracks from the new EP and was very cleverly split into three – full band for the six numbers, Emily alone playing the next four acoustically with the band re-joining for the final four songs and encore. Emily’s style is reminiscent of Taylor Swift without being an attempt to copy, but while Taylor Swift writes a song about every single ex, Emily tends to write about the exes she has never actually had! Able to write from experiences that she is yet to have, she still weaves parts of herself into every song, although the past three years have given her more experiences to draw on – a couple of times she said
“but at least I got a song out of it”!Emily is as gifted at telling stories from stage between songs as she is at telling them in her songs.
Hearing her old songs with the
band gave them a new dimension without detracting from her style and
distinctive voice – which combines beautifully with bandmate Harriet Rose on
backing vocals as well as acoustic guitar and keys. Laura Powell plays guitar and adds mandolin
to “I said Hi” while the boys at the back – Tom Hetzel on Bass and
Michael Shenton on drums keep the rhythm for them all.
It would be hard to pick out
favourites from the evening, but some stand out points need a mention. “If I Live to 100” from the “Do You Wanna
Go Out” EP is the soundtrack to a life, and if it isn’t used as a wedding
first dance or for a wedding video then people are missing a trick. Emily sitting down at the keys to play “If
Only I” from the new EP was a revelation, and demonstrated her evolving
confidence, as she chatted whilst playing the intro like a seasoned
professional. There was just one cover
in the hour plus set, and fittingly it was a Taylor Swift song. How does Emily cover “Love Story”? With her own style of course, and it was
superb! The switch at the end from Emily singing to Harriet was a masterstroke.
The whole performance was
polished (despite their rehearsal space burning down!) and as fun to watch as
it clearly was to perform. Sure, the sound
mix could have been better to highlight those vocals but all five on stage gave
their all to create a performance worthy of any big stage – promoters should
take note of this band!
The encore came all too
soon, and involved the whole audience standing for “Do You Wanna Go Out?” It was a perfect ending and the sheer joy on
the faces of every band member’s face was evident throughout – especially Harriet’s
smile!
Its been a while since I’ve
seen Emily perform, and I was keen to find out what she had been up to, and if
her university time had changed her. In conversation afterwards she told me
“I am more confident now, because I feel like the band has helped bring out the sound, it felt great to play up there live and it is so much fun to play with the guys”
Emily and the band haven’t
been seen on the independent country festival circuit, but they have been
playing big gigs such as Foodies festival – where they have opened for Blue and
will next month be opening for Natalie Imbruglia in Oxford.
Coming out of university with a degree, increased confidence and a talented young band, the future looks bright for Emily. With a pop country/rock crossover vibe (compared to Avril Lavigne and the Cranberries as well as Taylor) Emily wants to emulate other successful UK acts, mentioning Kezia Gill as a level to reach, with a desire to “make it” before she is 30.
There is no reason why that
won’t happen for Emily and the band.
Oh, and that degree from
BIMM? It was a first. Congratulations Emily!
"What The Hell Have I Got Myself Into?" the new EP from Emily Lockett is available now.
You can find and follow Emily on Facebook, Instagram and Spotify
