Gig Review - Jade Helliwell Rebegin Tour - Hare and Hounds Birmingham

 

If you’re heading off to see Jade Helliwell on her rebegin tour this week, make sure you’re there in time for the opener – Matt Rogers.  Matt is a Nashville based singer songwriter with a humble demeanour, a great talent for storytelling and clearly – from some of his songs – a rather cheeky side!

Matt worked hard to awaken the Tuesday night crowd, throwing out options for song choice, not being defined by a set list. He even taught them “Holla and Swalla”

 

Despite the big, deep voice, Matt comes across as humble, giving the backstory to each song. He is bound to hook you in. Warning though, he not a fan of the cosplay cowboy, hailing as he does from a farm in Atlanta.

 

The room grew darker and the band (Arnie, Harry and Luke) took to the stage first, before Jade made her entrance. In room 1 of the Hare and Hounds the artists must make their way from the back of the room, across the dance floor and up a flight of steps.  Later than advertised, it was a confident entrance and Jade looked great (especially having a 5-month baby) in a black bodysuit, sparkly trousers and cow-print arm tassels.  No messing, straight into her opening number, full of energy.

Although the tour and album are called “Rebegin”, when Jade took to the stage, it was the Jade we know and love. 

Jade played a mixture of old and new music including the 2022 BCMA Single of the Year – Smoke.  Asking if there were any couples in the audience, she decided “How Love Goes” to them, rather than husband Luke. Incorporating their names in the same and a slight hint at another baby (“a house built for 4”) she displayed not just her writing skills (it’s absolutely one of her best songs) but her sense of humour and ability to interact with the crowd. The performance and vocals probably belong on a West End stage belting out musical theatre.

After ending with “Drink You Outta My Mind”; Jade briefly exited the stage, returning for the encore with “Women I am”, despite Luke’s claims that they “didn’t know any more songs”.

Motherhood hasn’t slowed Jade down at all, a new album, a tour and booked up for an array of country festivals this summer -  but it has influenced her merch, adding a Baby grow to the mix alongside her first vinyl album!

Don’t worry if you not got your tickets for this rest of this tour yet -  Tickets -  you can catch up with both Matt (with full band) and Jade at Buckle and Boots Festival in May.

 

Find Jade on Facebook, Instagram and her website and follow her on Spotify

 Silverball Country attended the show as guests of Jade Helliwell and UK Country Live

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Gig Review - Emilia Quinn Bare Faced Tour - Hare and Hounds Birmingham

 

The Emilia Quinn Bare Faced tour has been around the country, and on Sunday night it reached its final stop in The Hare and Hounds, Birmingham.  The venue has a special place in music history, and in Emilia’s own journey.  A year ago she played here with her full band on her very first headline tour, and the show was recorded so that a series of live singles could be released.  This time around there was no band, just Emilia, her guitarist John W Doyle, a coffee table and some mugs of tea.

 

The relaxed set up suited the intimate, seated audience and perhaps was a welcome rest at the end of a tiring tour.  In another break from the “normal” concert style, the warm up act was John – just him, his guitar and his stories.

 

If you’ve seen Emilia live over the last couple of years you’ll easily recognise John W Doyle, not just for his amazing beard, but also for his skilled guitar playing.  This tour allowed him to take centre stage, if only for a while, and show off those quite incredible guitar skills and his songwriting.  Normally with either Emilia’s band or a blues band, he displayed a fabulous intimacy with the listening audience.  Although he doesn’t believe in talking too much about the songs “because if you've done a good job, the song should tell the story” John is fun to listen to, with a mix of stories and one liners – and great song writing.  Inspired by his time on this tour he performed a song that he had finished that morning with the great title and repeated line Whiskey Into Wine, a song that really suits his soft yet gruff voice.

Before finishing his solo set, John apologised for singing depressing songs but said “A brighter future is coming”  Throughout the whole evening, from Emilia coming out to introduce John on stage, to the duet main show the genuine affection and mutual respect was very obvious.  These two have a genuine chemistry and have clearly enjoyed this quite special tour – the catchphrase being “I’ve had a lovely time”

 

There was a short break before Emilia came to the stage along with John – slightly delayed by eating cake in the green room!  Somehow even hearing about the cake added to the feel of the evening as we all shared in the story, if not in the actual cake!

 

Emilia is the ultimate rock chick.  An Outlaw, a firecracker, the baddest bitch in the land and has rocked out festival stages with her boundless energy, but on this tour she has gone “bare faced” and stripped back – and it suits her just as well as those big stage performances.  We were promised old songs, new songs and reimagined songs – and boy did she deliver!  Notable was the smoky, jazzy version of her anthemic Outlaw, so reimagined that it took a moment to even recognise it.  Vocally and stylistically, it was Emilia channelling her inner Amy Winehouse.  If there was ever any doubt about Emilia’s sheer musical range, this one song crushed that! 

We had a new song inspired by a chat gpt prompt, we witnessed Emilia play cello on a number of songs (incredibly well!) including on a reimagined Pretty Pink Pills, we had a “full circle” moment when we heard Let It Burn which was recorded at this venue and only ever released as a live track.

Emilia paid tribute to the important people in her life – during Father's Daughter she sang to her Father on Facetime, she dedicated the next song to her ever-worrying mother and of course she praised her wife, tour manager and voice of reason Tammy – “Everybody needs a Tammy”

 

All too soon this show, and the tour, had to come to a close (with a cover of Chris Stapleton’s Fire Away and an encore of Without You) but Emilia can’t sit still for long – she’s already announced her next live shows!

 

An album being recorded, a single release planned for February in London and Manchester all on the heels of a great tour with a change of style.

It seems there is no stopping Emilia.

Find Emilia on Facebook, Instagram and her website and follow her on Spotify

 Silverball Country attended the show as guests of Emilia Quinn

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Gig Review - First Time Flyers - Hare and Hounds Birmingham

The autumn tour season was opened yesterday by the first night of the First Time Flyers “Jump On Tour (part1)” – a teasing title, hinting that there may be more than just the three dates currently announced.  For their second headline tour since forming as a band, and their second full show in Birmingham they moved to the iconic music venue The Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath.  Its one of those “imagine who has played here” places, having played host to some legendary names over the years, and indeed Poppy Fardell promised from the stage that they would “always remember the night we played the Hare and Hounds”
 
Each night of the tour has a different supporting artist, and for those of us who saw the Birmingham show we were treated to the deep transatlantic tones of Jake O’Neill.  Hailing from Liverpool (“One of the good parts, I promise”) Jake has been gathering quite some attention, and in the summer played the Paddock Stage at Buckle and Boots festival – his first ever festival appearance.  Jake’s set was mostly his own compositions, each with a little explanation of its origins or what it means to him.  These included his first single after his semi final appearance on TV’s “The Voice”, his latest single and one written across the Atlantic, with a two second delay.  He’s also written a song in 15 minutes whilst sat on the bedroom floor at home, about wanting to leave his small town!  If you get the chance to hear Jake’s voice, and his songwriting, you really should take it!

 
Slightly delayed by some tech issues (it was the first night after all) our headliners took to the stage.  Almost immediately we were encouraged to “make some noise Birmingham” by Vicki Manser before the intro track kicked in.  Although on a small stage in a small room, the band certainly know how to let the crowd know they’ve arrived!  The songs are powerful from the off, the bass line and drums thumping.

When it comes to genre, its hard to classify First Time Flyers.  Their pedigree is solidly country, mixed with an absolute gift for performance – including between them the West End and some of the biggest stages you can imagine.  The songwriting is a collaborative affair, with experiences from all four thrown into the pot which is the honest storytelling we expect in Country Music, but the delivery at times is pure energetic pop.  Described as the “ABBA of UK Country” when you hear the pop vibe and energy and see the synchronised hand dancing from the girls during Heartbreak Handshake I’m tempted to call them the “Steps of UK Country” – in a tongue in cheek and loving way!

What is not in doubt is that all four – Tim Prottey-Jones, Poppy Fardell, Vicki Manser and Jake Morrell – love being on stage, love performing and love being on stage.  Their stage presence and their interactions demonstrate that not only is this a band made up of a lot of individual talent but also four very close friends.

The band were joined on stage by KT Parker on Bass and Lewis Jenkins on drums

Their final song was “Happier” – fitting for how much fun they were having – and was sung by the whole crowd with gusto.  The encore, after 90 minutes on stage was Say What You Wanna – with the lyrics delivered at machine gun speed, suggesting that, if allowed, they could have gone for another 90 minutes.  I guess we’ll have to wait for part 2!
 

High energy, high tempo and high volume.  However you classify them, First Time Flyers sure know how to put on a show!

 

You can catch Jump On Tour in London on 13 September and Manchester on 18 September.  Details on their Facebook and Instagram, music on their Spotify!

 

Silverball Country attended the show as guests of First Time Flyers 

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Gig Review - Alyssa Bonagura - Hare and Hounds Birmingham

 

Birmingham has always had a thriving music scene, birthplace to (among others) UB40, Duran Duran, Ozzy Osborne and host to many touring acts, recently including The Shires at Town hall supported by a certain Alyssa Bonagura.  

Kings Heath’s Hare and Hounds - itself an iconic venue – was the venue for the first date of Nashville Unicorn Alyssa Bonagura on her first ever headline tour.  We call her a Unicorn because she's a Nashville native, growing up on a tour bus as the only child of travelling musicians with Baille & The Boys.  Despite her American upbringing, Alyssa has a real fondness for the UK, having performed here many times and graduating from Liverpool Institute Of Performing Arts.

Opening for her Birmingham show were close friends and Brum natives Gasoline and Matches.  Equally accomplished as an acoustic duo and a full band, tonight saw just Sally and Steve on stage entertaining the crowd with personal stories, and songs from their ever-growing catalogue.  Both could relate the story of when they first saw Alyssa when she was playing as part of duo The Sisterhood and how their friendship grew, including hosting her as part of their popular “Nashville Sounds In The Round” literally across the road in the intimate Kitchen Garden Café.  Its not a Gasoline and Matches set unless they finish with their popular drinking game/song “Never Have I Ever” which was joined in with gusto – despite it being a school night for most!

 

Alyssa took to the stage with a cry of “Are You Ready To Rock?” and for the next hour or so showed us what can be achieved with just two guitars and excellent songwriting.  Three guitars – she took delight in playing a beautiful blue guitar that was just “£80 in Denmark street”

 

Alyssa was accompanied on stage by Steve Shirley who plays lead guitar and boyfriend!  Together for two years, Welsh born Steve brings his own Birmingham connection having graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Physics – “Shout out to all UoB physicists” was possibly the most niche shout out ever!

 

Its very clear how much Alyssa loves being on stage – and it doesn’t matter how big the stage.  She’s performed all over the world but seems incredibly at home in any venue. Talking about how much she enjoys hearing stories of how her fans relate to her stories she described her audiences as “We start as

strangers but leave as friends”.  The whole set could be best described as upbeat acoustic with songs drawn from across many years.  “This could be my Eras Tour” she said before inviting the audience to suggest what they sing next – which did mean a little bit of discussion over how songs start and showed that Steve isn’t just a guitarist/boyfriend but a great support to her on stage. Writing “happier songs” over the past two years, even Alyssa’s more heartfelt songs still have an element of energy to them, and we were all thrilled to light up our phones in memory of friend and collaborator Roman in a lovely tribute.

 

I caught up with Alyssa after the show, and after she’d taken time with every audience member – signing merch, posing for selfies – and asked her, after a lifetime touring, how different this – her first headline tour – feels

 

It’s a dream come true.  I’ve been wanting to do this since I was a little kid and its crazy when people buy tickets to your show and your able to pack out a venue.  Tonight was sold out.

It’s a total dream come true

 

In the words of her song Road Less Travelled

 

I ain't gonna chase money or fame

I'm just gonna do what makes me smile

 

You can catch Alyssa on her UK tour for the rest of June as well as find her on Facebook & Instagram and follow her on Spotify

Silverball Country attended the show as guests of Alyssa Bonagura and Gasoline and Matches 

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Single Review - Daddy's Girl (Live) - Emilia Quinn

A few short years ago, the Paddock stage at Buckle and Boots played host to a girl and her guitar – she was just about to release an ep, and we even recorded a promo clip with her.  The next time she was at Buckle and Boots she was back on that stage, playing an absolute storming set with her full band.  From there she went to the main stage, and this year she will be headlining the main stage!

We are talking, of course, of Emilia Quinn, whose journey from mid-afternoon slot to headliner we have felt part of, and seeing her on her headline tour was of course very exciting!

Emilia not only understands how to entertain a crowd, she also understands value – that headline tour having now produced a second live single, both recorded at her Birmingham date (we were at that one! Review )

Her new single – Daddy’s Girl – originally appeared on her Wanderlust and Breaking Rules Album and in fact supplies the name in its first words!  Recorded through the sound desk at the venue it is a “clean” recording (no crowd noise etc until the end of the track) but it captures Emilia’s performance vocal and energy that comes from being on stage in front of a live audience.  The song will be familiar to many – opening with a strong guitar line (with a wonderful mix of electric and Emilia’s acoustic) the instrumental has a very “western” feel to it, and the vocal is very much that of a story teller.

Emilia describes it in a way that is almost a description of herself…

A feisty, sassy, and take-no-prisoners kind of song, layered in metaphors which is one of my favourite ways to write. It is a story of standing up to the patriarchy that seems never too far away in life and particularly in the music industry. Read between the lines for a whole new perspective to this song...

These live recordings (along with the previously released Head Rush) are a great way to hear Emilia, although the best way to to see her live!  With a list of festival appearance this summer, you have plenty of opportunity!  Check Emilia’s socials and website for more details of where you can see her play.

Emilia is also on her own "Barefaced" tour again later this year

Emilia has come a long way since that first Buckle and Boots Paddock stage appearance – we can’t wait to see where this feisty, sassy take-no-prisoners artist goes next!

Daddy's Girl (Live) - the new single from Emilia Quinn - is available to download and stream from Friday 3 March

Find Emilia on Facebook, Instagram and her website and follow her on Spotify

 

Emilia Quinn is represented by ZimagineD Artist Management

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Gig and Album Review - Wanderlust and Breaking Hearts - Emilia Quinn

 

“You’ve made my dream come true”

Emilia Quinn took the stage in the intimate but iconic venue 2 at The Hare and Hounds in Birmingham on Wednesday night as part of her Wanderlust and Breaking Hearts tour – a tour that could have been titled the Dreams Come True Tour.  An opportunity to not only play a headline tour but also release – in fact “celebrate” her debut album was clearly a massive deal for Emilia who has seen her standing in the UK Country scene grow over the past few years, from acoustic solo sets to main stage performances at Buckle and Boots.

 

Accompanied by her loyal and very talented band – John W Doyle on lead guitar, Michael Addy on bass and Steven McMurray on drums – Emilia spent an hour and a half on stage playing not just the new tracks but some old favourites too. The night was certainly a celebration – of the new album, of Emilia’s vocal range and her songwriting ability.

 

With two opening acts, the night was certainly good value, and in a lovely touch, Emilia made a point of coming to the stage to personally introduce each one.

Friend and fellow Yorkshire resident Matt Hodges opened the show with an acoustic set.  Most people will be more used to seeing Matt with a full band – or even an orchestra last summer! – but with nothing more than an acoustic guitar and his deep, gravelly voice he warmed up the crowd for the night to follow.  With catchy sing along songs and a superb set ending rendition of Friends In Low Places it is easy to see why Matt spends most of his year on the road performing – and he has just finished his own UK tour along with Ruthie Collins.

Matt gave way to Midlands band Wood Burnt Red.  Formed in 2020, WBR have exploded onto the UK country scene.  Squeezing five of them on to the stage they brought their style of southern rock which complements Emilia’s own style.  Playing their back catalogue and their latest single – 18 Stone -  you could sense the room warming up ready for our headliner!

 

Emilia Quinn has come a long way, but it her own words she’s not stopping!  Despite the scale of the undertaking – an album and a headline tour all in one week – she remains a calm, professional performer, although she did say to us before the show

I’ll take it in when its finished 

The band support her superbly – even filling in while she changes guitar! – and provide a strong platform for her voice.  Probably her best loved hit, the rocky and feisty Outlaw certainly got the crowd going, and they listened attentively to her sadder songs.  The inclusion of Girltalk called for an additional singer – and if you weren’t at the Birmingham show you missed the sight of Tom Franklin from Wood Burnt Red in a blonde wig filling in for the multiple female vocals on that single!

 

The album itself is a bit of a departure from some of her previous work, with a gospel/blues influence to many of the tracks.  Hearing it live was hugely different to listening to our review copy, especially as Emilia explains the influences behind the songs – her wife Tammy (Magpie) , the loss of her grandfather (Rosary Beads).  We learned that Mountains is just Emilia and piano because the band couldn’t fit in the studio when recording it and decided that they couldn’t add anything to it.

Southern Gospel influenced River rightly opens the album, and opens with just Emilia’s voice before the backing instrumentation comes in softly.  This sets the tone for what is to come and demonstrates a maturing since the earlier work, whilst Magpie shows that Emilia hasn’t lost her rocky edge.  Nothing To Lose blends a soft opening with a uptempo rhythm.  Previous single Mr Shame is a nod to bad relationships and a nod to more rock/pop infused country.  In My Boots is bluesy with a thumping bass track that we all clapped and stamped to at the live show, while Mountains is slow and heartfelt, working perfectly as just keys/vocal.  On The Run is again blues, whilst Daddy’s Girl gives us the album and tour title, opening with the words “Wanderlust and Breaking Rules”.  Rosary Beads is clearly very personal, and was an outpouring after the loss of her Grandfather, a very measured and gentle tribute.  Final track Backroads also closes the live show.  Is a fitting close to both as it has the message of overcoming your struggles and keeping on to your goal.

 

If the album showcases Emilia’s developing songwriting ability, the live show showcases her developing performance.  Entertaining, talented and professional, she’ll “keep travelling down these backroads” and it should be a great journey!

Silverball Country attended Wanderlust and Breaking Rules at the Hare and Hounds  as guests of Emilia Quinn and ZimagineD Artist Management

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Gig Review - Jessica Lynn - Hare and Hounds Birmingham July 2023

In a week when The Chicks played arena shows and Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel both filled London’s Hyde Park, we went back to a roots music venue in Birmingham to catch up with a band who have become friends over the years.

Although the Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath is a relatively modest sized venue, it is filled with history having played host to many up-and-coming artists – Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Basement Jaxx as well as being the venue for the first ever gig by legendary Birmingham Band UB40.

Despite the main room not being concert hall sized, that doesn’t mean that the shows are small.  This was certainly the case on Thursday evening when the stage was filled by Jessica Lynn and her band, plus her two support acts – Georgia Jones and Gasoline and Matches.

Gabriella Jones opened the night with a blues infused set punctuated by her fabulous chat and banter.  Tasked with warming up the crowd, Georgia made sure that she had fulfilled her task, encouraging sing-alongs and asking us all to be loud enough to be heard in the dressing rooms.  With her easy rapport with the audience it was easy to see why she is running a new open mic night in Sutton Coldfield.

 

Gasoline and Matches were up next, recreating their headline show from Buckle and Boots.  With the addition of a saxophonist and an opening spoken introduction, Sally, Steve and the band are going from strength to strength.  With Gasoline and Matches you know you are going to see a polished, high energy, professional show.  As close friends of Jessica, they are the obvious choice for support, especially in Birmingham and they didn’t disappoint.

On the subject of support acts – Jessica selected a different opener for each of the shows in the UK, giving a platform to local artists which is great to see, and absolutely fits the friends and family feel

Jessica Lynn and her band haven’t made the trip from their New York State home to the UK since 2019, with their previous tours being cancelled because of – well, you know why!  If you haven’t seen the band in action, they are certainly a band with a difference.  As New Yorkers playing Country Music they are already outside the mainstream – something that Jess feels she shares with UK Country fans! – but they are also a family. With husband Steve on lead guitar, dad Pete on Bass, mum Victoria n keys/backing vocals and even Matthew Bauer on drums is such a long time friend (15 years!) he is considered a brother!  This close relationship is evident in how effortlessly all 5 interact, play, dance and even punch the air in absolute unity.  The enforced sabbatical wasn’t wasted time – Jessica used the time to fulfil a dream and release an album, which had great success.  Most of the show was songs from that album, all well received. 

After that enforced break, Jessica and the band have been playing shows and festivals in a range of countries across Europe.  What is evident from their social media posts is that they are seeing and making friends wherever they go – and they have played to some big crowds!

If its your first time seeing Jessica play you can expect country with a rock edge, all performed with high energy and big smiles! Jessica took a moment to reset her Fitbit to count calories, apparently the challenge was to beat the calories burned in Switzerland fuelled by the energy from the stage and the crowd There is no doubt that the whole band are having a great time – and that transfers to the audience too. The standout exception to this was Jessica taking to the stage alone, while the band joined the audience, for a haunting rendition of Stevie Nicks’ Landslide.  For the whole song there was appreciative silence from the crowd. 

It wouldn’t be a Jessica Lynn show without her hit single Roadhouse, with its signature dance – and Steve from Gasoline and Matches showing us all up with his own dance floor moves - and a very different rendition of Johnny B Goode.  This used to heavily feature “Uncle Bob” who has stepped back from touring, but the new version would have done him proud and allowed the whole band to share the spotlight, with Jessica transferring to the drums without a beat being dropped, pushing Matthew to take centre stage on maracas and Victoria showing us her own stunning vocals.

 

“One More” demanded the crowd, and one more we had – with Jessica joined on stage for an unrehearsed “Man, I feel Like a Woman” by Sally and Gabriella.  The sheer energy and fun in that song reflected the whole night, both on stage and off as we were shown that the size of a venue doesn’t affect the size of the show!

 

Come back soon Jessica!

Silverball Country attended The Hare and Hounds as guests of Jessica Lynn

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