And so to the beautiful Symphony Hall Birmingham on a Saturday morning for the latest episode of Nashville Sounds In The Round. The popular songwriters round started in 2017 as a collaboration between hosts Gasoline and Matches and curator Dan Wharton of Your Life In A Song. Since then it has moved on from its first home in the intimate Kitchen Garden Café , replicating the feel of the Bluebird Café in Nashville – as well as its capacity of roughly 60.
As the show has grown it has
moved to its new home in rather grander surroundings at the Symphony Hall in partnership
with B:Music, the charity who run the Symphony Hall and Town Hall in Birmingham. Normally setting up in the Jennifer Blackwell
Performance Space the increase in capacity was very much needed for this show
with the audience well in to triple figures.
The show is hosted by the
familiar faces of local artists Sally and Stephen, and their guests range from
unsigned artists to touring acts, especially in festival season – and this year
it even took to the road with a special event on the paddock stage at Buckle
and Boots festival.
While the format remains the
same, the ever changing line up means that no two shows are the same, as every
writers round is affected by the interaction between performers as well as with
the crowd which ensures that even a regular event stays fresh.
The line up this month was
three relatively new acts who are all making quite an impact on the UK Country
scene, and who all played at Buckle and Boots this year. For us it is an extra treat to be able to sit
and listen to acts that we may have missed while working at the festival, as
well as hearing them talk about their songs and tell their stories.
Robyn Red is
a familiar face to us now, having hosted her on the paddock stage as well as
seeing her perform at Country In The Afternoon and Country on the Clyde. With her trademark red hat (now available to
buy from the merch stand – great idea Robyn’s mum!) Robyn is hard to miss! When she talks between songs Robyn displays a
disarming charm, although she still sounds very quiet and nervous when speaking,
but the moment she starts singing it is almost a different Robyn with her
powerful vocal! Singing clearly releases her confidence and in orchestrating audience
participation, encouraged by her facial expressions her stage presence belies
her age. Still only 18, her songwriting
tells her life as seen through a teenager’s eyes, including a story of her
friend drunk at a party! Its honest, it’s
hilarious and it is beautifully delivered!
In his first year on the UK
Country scene, Luke Flear is having a blast! Having met him on Thursday night at Buckle
and Boots and then seeing him on and off during the weekend we saw the personal
side to him, keen to make the most of his opportunities and keen to be a part
of the festival, including helping out with keyboard for a songwriters
round. 21 year old Luke was brought up
on music (mostly rock) and was bought a drum kit when he was only 5/6 years
old. Noise complaints took him from
drums to piano (self taught) to guitar (self taught) and now to stages! He carried his keyboard all the way up to the
performance space only to be told he could use the Steinway grand piano – and use
it he did! Luke seemed so at home on
such a beautiful instrument and his songs did it justice. Luke’s songwriting comes from personal experiences,
including a touching tribute (Tattoo) to his brother’s friend who lost his life
recently to a song inspired by his girlfriend wearing Tassels and Flares, and
his voice has a raw, country edge to it.
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| photo courtesy of Nashville Sounds In The Round |
The third of the guests was MattHodges who owned the main stage at Buckle and Boots performing with the Country Orchestra. On that night he looked and sounded every inch a Country star, as he did again in Birmingham. A hard working musician he performed at 311 gigs last year, travelling 87,000 miles in the process. He has realised that the best way to placate his partner when he is way so much is to write her a song and buy presents! With a friendly Yorkshire charm and a deep booming voice Matt is funny and entertaining, as well as a joy to listen to, with songs including a reply to “my boyfriend cheated” type songs and his forthcoming single inspired by a cocktail menu!
The three guests had all
travelled quite a distance to perform, Robyn from Glasgow and Luke and Matt
from Yorkshire – Leeds and Wakefield respectively – as had some of the
crowd. There were familiar faces dotted
around from both the north and the south, as well as a couple of other
performers – Leanne Brumfitt and Sarah Riches both enjoying the show.
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| photo courtesy of Nashville Sounds In The Round |
Our hosts Gasoline andMatches as ever held the show together with ease, introducing the guests,
playing along with them and of course telling their own stories and performing
their own songs. Their latest single – Patient Wolves - was held over to the
second half “To make sure you all stay” and of course there was some talk of the
Crooked House fire and the media circus around it. Some people did notice the fire engines
outside the building, but we were assured it was just coincidence! Sally and Stephen have such a wide catalogue of
songs they can pick and choose the set list for each show, opening this time
with their first release Fools Gold and including their excellent last single Afraid
To Fall. It is a joy to hear that they
sound just as good whether as an acoustic duo, full band or in a studio.
Nashville Sounds In The
Round goes from strength to strength, showcasing independent artists and
showing that there is a definite country scene in Birmingham. The next show is a weekday lunchtime show on
6 September – and its free! The line up
includes Neeve Zahra, Eleri and Emily Lockett, hosted by Sally!
More details of this and future shows can be found on the B:Music website
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