The latest Nashville Sounds in the Round took place on Leap Day – and as Sally from hosts Gasoline andMatches said – “strange things happen on Leap Day” so the night was a slightly different format to the usual songwriters round.
Rather than four separate
guest artists, we were treated to an evening with the four artists who make up FirstTime Flyers. I was unsure how this would
pan out – and Sally admitted to me that she felt the same!
One thing that became clear
very quickly was that although First Time Flyers is made up of four very
talented performers, the band is definitely not just a collection of four
soloists.
Interspersed with songs from
our hosts, the first half of the evening was made up of songs and anecdotes from
First Time Flyers – with the stories being mostly told by Vicki Manser and PoppyFardell, with interjections from Jake Morrell and Tim Prottey-Jones sitting on
either side of the ladies. Hearing about
how the foursome write songs – apparently via group chat and on one glorious occasion,
through a window because Jake had Covid – it becomes apparent that this band
gels together very well, as any genuine group of friends does.
There was a brief Q+A from
Sally and her band partner Steve which touched on “who came up with the idea of
the band?” (Jake apparently), “how do you write the songs?” (all ideas into a
pot and Tim laying down tracks as he is a producer) with all of the answers
again pointing to how close the four are, and why the band seemed to be a
natural progression - especially as they had all worked together in various
projects previously.
The chat and the stories
flowed seamlessly, with nobody really acting as spokesperson and nobody talking
over anyone else.
After a brief interval we
returned to an almost traditional songwriters round, but with each of the six
participants singing one of their own earlier songs – in each case “from before
they were in a band”
As well as being physically
in two halves, the evening seemed to be made up of two parts – the music (which
was excellent. Seeing FTF swap leads and
even instruments was fascinating) – and the chatting. “Chatting” because despite apparently copious
notes for introductions all of those on stage had history demonstrating the
closeness of the UK Country Scene.
We were treated to
recognisable older songs as well as the forthcoming singles from both bands
(Could Have Been A Love Song and Looking Back), a potential release (“please
vote for whether we should release it”), stories, laughs and even an audience
Q+A.
As a different format for the
evening, it was not only a refreshing change but also a very enjoyable style,
one which Nashville Sounds In The Round will hopefully repeat in the future.
As for First Timer Flyers –
as a band they really work. With so much
experience between them I can’t wait for the opportunity to see their full band
stage show (which I have so far not seen!) – although we got a glimpse of it
with their closing song “Happier”
Pretty good for a “strange
things happen” show!
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