Single Review - Look What You've Done - Jade Helliwell

 

There’s some big things coming in Jade’s world (and one very special small thing!).  Although she released two albums in her younger, formative years, she is now working on what she will consider to be her debut album, the first one since the massive leap in her music career (thanks to a small thing, that became a big thing – that Youtube video!)

In the same week that she reached her kickstarter target, Jade releases her new single Look What You’ve Done. Written in conjunction with Laura Oakes, and produced by Alyssa Bonagura, this is certainly a blend of some real powerhouse women of Country Music, and we are here for that!  A tale of falling for someone despite trying your best not to.  It’s a summer pop song, the melody is sublime, the instrumentation as ever is superb and Jade’s vocal just floats over the top.  The theme is certainly something most people can relate to and it really shows off Jade’s vocal skills.  You can certainly hear the country roots in the song, although its not strictly in that genre – but Jade is all about the performance and blurring the edges, taking inspiration from different sources.

“Born to be on stage” is a over used cliché, but Jade was definitely “determined to be on stage” – in her latest (and hilarious) kickstarter video she tells her story, from school day singing to getting more serious and winning competitions, gaining awards and plaudits along the way.  She’s graced so many festival stages now, and performed alongside some huge names, but she’s not taking any of it for granted – and if you’ve met Jade in person, success has never gone to her head or changed her, she’s still that friendly and approachable lass from Batley.

It feels like the new album marks a new era, but really its another step.  Not even Jade is sure where those steps will take her, but right now she’s just having the time of her life!

With that new album promised, we can’t wait for its arrival and a chance to review it – and we’re looking forward to that other arrival too…do we review new babies?

Look What You’ve Done, the new single from Jade Helliwell is available to pre-save now, and download or stream from Friday 27 June

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

 

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

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 

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

Single Review - Jump - First Time Flyers

Ahead of their UK headline tour, First Time Flyers are releasing their new single Jump.  Inspired by a band member’s real life love story, the title refers to the way that you have to sometimes make the choice to jump into a relationship - as Poppy Fardell puts it

It’s about fearlessly jumping into love heart first

Gaining a reputation not just for their on-stage energy and off-stage chemistry, First Time Flyers also embrace different takes on the country genre with this new song giving a nod to the modern country sound and also – dare we say it – the Beyonce style of country music, but with their own twist to it.

Musically this track can be described as “bouncy” with the tempo and delivery matching the title.  The vocals are smooth, the instrumentation drives the song without being overpowering and the production is spot on.  Without question a well put together song, with a summer feel but that slight edge to the lyrics –

They say don’t jump cos we’re only going to fall

I’m going to jump, I’m going to fall

We are encouraged to ignore the doubters with their advice, and to take that jump – even if we fall.  It’s an empowering message while still being an anthem to love!

You’ll be able to hear Jump, and the rest of the band’s catalogue when they take to the road later this year with Jump On Tour Part One.

Happening in September 2024 the band are playing three shows in Birmingham, London and Manchester

 

Jump, the new single from First Time Flyers is available to download and stream from Friday 28 March.

Find the band on Facebook, Instagram and follow them on Spotify

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

Gig Review - Girls Night In The Round - Birmingham Symphony Hall

I’m not sure that I’ve ever been to a show that opens with all four performers strutting/dancing on to the stage to the sound of Shania Twain singing “Lets Go Girls”, opening and pouring  the wine and then taking their seats – but then again, I’ve never been to Girls Night In…The Round before!

If you are yet to see this show, let me set the scene a little.  Its four of the very best female singers from the UK Country Music scene in a songwriters round…but fuelled by Jamshed wine (legitimately - they are sponsors!).  Once in their seats the four introduce the show by singing their own theme song, taking a line each and ending with a beautiful harmony.

The four are (in the order they were sitting) Kezia Gill, Jess Thristan, Demi Marriner and Jade Helliwell who are all friends away from the stage – in fact the tour was apparently conceived in a hot tub session.

As is fitting for such a night, there was a lot of sparkles on stage, with a special mention made for Jess Thristan’s jacket, although the comments were also slightly envious from the others!

 

In many ways, this show is not about music.  Well, it is, but it’s not just about the music!  The interactions, the jokes, the stories (a fight at the Glasgow date last tour) and the very obvious closenesss of the friendship all make this quite a unique tour.  It also adds to the flow of the performances – when Jess started a song and was advised politely, and then lovingly but less politely, by the others that she need to tune her guitar, there was no awkward silence as often happens.

The rounds are grouped by themes/titles (which is a great idea!) – including introductions, co-writes (Jade has co-written with all three!), Cry in your Wine and notably the Unreleased Round where each artist sings a song that is so far unheard, and these songs will change from venue to venue – accompanied by a plea to not put any videos on social media, making it an intimate treat for each audience.

In all there were 6 rounds with a short interval with the first half rounded off by an absolute showstopper How Long Have You Known and the recent single Jolene which we reviewed here.

It would be almost impossible to properly describe all the humour, situational jokes (Jade and her eyelashes), music choices and stories – and I wouldn’t want to spoil the fun if you are seeing the tour this week.

Suffice to say the show gives an insight into what it might be like to be on a night out – or a night in – with Kezia, Jess, Demi and Jade, and you can make your own mind up about who might be the ringleader of any shenanigans.  It also showcases the writing and performance skills of all four.

 

Girls Night In The Round is on tour all this week until Saturday 17 February taking in Liverpool, Glasgow, Gateshead and Leeds.

Tickets are available via Ticketmaster or direct from the venues

 

Although it was a girls night, we can’t forget to mention the input from Lloyd and Luke, husband and husband to be respectively of Kezia and Jade.

 

Silverball Country attended Girls Night In The Round in Birmingham’s Symphony Hall as guests of Zimagined Artist Management and UK Country Live

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

Gig Review - Jade Helliwell - Sunflower Lounge Birmingham

Jade Helliwell has quite a backstory that seemingly everybody knows, but not everybody knows the backstory before the backstory!  Despite gaining almost instant fame from the 2017 viral video (23 million views and counting) Jade was in fact already recording and releasing music, the video was just a leg up, the additional exposure she needed.  With this in mind, it was great to see that Jade chose to give the same chance to other artists on her Heroes and Heroines headline tour, inviting artists to submit a video of them covering one of Jade’s songs with a chance to open the show at one of the six dates across the UK.

We went to the second night of the tour – which opened in Manchester – at the Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham city centre.  An intimate venue, the performance space is downstairs, evoking old school club vibes, the perfect place to watch upcoming artists, and being able to say “I was there”.  The whole crowd can say “I was there” for Jades (surprisingly) first ever headline show in Birmingham, although she has played the city previously as part of other shows.

 

Opening at both the Birmingham and Manchester shows was Staffordshire  singer/songwriter Emily Lockett, whose video submission had hugely impressed Jade and her team.  If there were any pre-show nerves they didn’t show on stage as Emily played a selection of her own material, sharing some stories behind them, including the song that was apparently inspired by a Tik Tok video about a newspaper crush column – “Don’t judge me” added Emily, which is typical of her disarming charm when addressing the crowd.  Emily filled her 20 minutes with songs and stories, and no doubt winning some new fans along the way.

 

Support for the whole tour comes from Brighton based Gina Larner.  Taking to the stage with just her guitar (and some fabulous boots!) Gina gave a stunning performance, backed – as she put it – by some new toys in the form of backing instrumentals and vocals, so that the lone singer on stage was giving an almost full band performance!  Gina has been working hard this year having had her own headline shows and is now on her second support tour in a matter of months!  Despite this gruelling schedule she was full of energy on stage and is clearly really enjoying herself touring with Jade!

 

Jade came to the stage looking every inch the seasoned performer, in a bright and sparkling outfit – demonstrating her collaboration with official fashion partner The Bluebird Boutique.  The opening song grabbed everyone’s attention – the very fitting, anthemic Woman I Am.  The familiar band line up (Luke Thomas, Phil Donnelly and Luke Barrett) had a surprising addition – Laura Oakes has joined the tour on acoustic guitar and backing vocals.  This welcome addition maybe due to Laura writing one of the songs on the set list, but equally might be due to her recent marriage to drummer Luke!

Not only did Jade treat us to her well-known songs – Drive, Smoke and award-winning Boom Tick, but we also heard some earlier, very country songs!

The band left the stage, with just Laura Oakes remaining to accompany Jade on acoustic guitar for the plaintive Telephone before Jade gave her solo rendition of Numb/How Love Goes.

Reminding us that the tour is about Heroes and Heroines Jade was rejoined by Phil Donnelly taking over the acoustic guitar duties for a heartfelt tribute to two musical heroines – Judy Garland and Eva Cassidy with Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

After a few more songs with the band the show was all too soon at its end.  No fake encores from Jade, and only one choice to close – a stunning rendition of the titular Heroes and Heroines brought down the curtain on a first – but surely not last – Birmingham headline show.  Jade is not only a great songwriter and musician but a polished and seasoned performer, always putting on an entertaining and energetic show.

Over to Jade for her own take on the tour:

The tours going really well, we’re only two nights in and I’m looking forward to the rest of the dates and ending in my home town of Leeds

 

Jade Helliwell is on tour around the UK with tickets still available for some shows – check her website for details. 

 Silverball Country attended Heroes and Heroines at the Sunflower Lounge  as guests of 

Jade Helliwell and ZimagineD Artist Management

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

 

Gig Review - Country In The Afternoon Nov 2023 - Half Moon Putney

 

This weekend saw the 9^th Country In The Afternoon at the Half Moon Pub in Putney, South West London, and on each occasion Gavin and Christine Chittick put together a lineup of 4 great acts each day from both the UK and overseas, it’s never the same but generally it sees the atmosphere build - so much so that you forget it is the afternoon and often are reluctant to leave! 

Saturday was opened by Terri Leavey, whose career seems to have started, or been accelerated by a karaoke night at Dixie fields where people discovered her voice, leading to an appearance on stage at Buckle and Boots.  Since her discovery at Dixie Fields, she has been building her brand and recording her own music. But, undoubtedly she has stage presence and anyone who watches her will not be disappointed but in for a good time - we can forgive the covers. There was nothing but positive reviews from her, and the support that she brought with her helped to form the biggest audience for any opening act at Country In The Afternoon so far

 

When we see Christine and Gavin at festivals, they always have their list of artists to check out, and they are always on the hunt…  At Black Deer festival last year they came across Liam Cromby in a songwriters round.  Black deer was Liam’s introduction to the UK Americana scene, and that’s quite a debut!  Liam told us that his songs can take 20 minutes to write – or seven years!  On a visit to Nashville (courtesy of his uncle’s business!) he had a writing session with Kenny Foster – another Country In The Afternoon favourite.  Accompanied on stage by guitarist Alfie and backing singer Shawn, Liam gave us a preview of his forthcoming album.  Liam has a superb voice which had the very full room listening to every word.

It was Raintown who gave us the fact about this being the 9^th CITA, but Gavin who gave us the fact that it was their first London appearance since before Covid.  Lockdown and “life” (a second child) have had an impact on Raintown’s touring, but the enforced break means that they too have an album coming up, and they used the time to continually polish it! Clair and Paul, with Stevie on guitar and Fiona on violin gave us a few of the new songs plus some absolutely foot stomping songs.  Raintown add a Scottish folk edge to country – and they also added that edge to a quite unusual cover.  As they started singing “One Love” you could see the crowd realise they knew it and they joined in, line by line. Originally a hit for Blue in 2002 it was a great version – and a bit of nostalgia!  With that album due out in March next year, it gives us something to look forward to after Christmas – and pre-save/save up for!

In between acts there is a chance to get a drink from the bar while the next band sets up – but also to meet the artists as they all hang around supporting each other, which is a great chance to grab a selfie, a chat, and catch up on the latest gossip!

Headliner Cody Pennington mixes covers with his original music for his touring show, and he obviously had brought quite a crowd to his only London show of this tour.  Opening with his recent singles Cowboy Sitting At The Bar and How About Kentucky the room weas once again singing along.  Cody’s belief is that you need to give the crowd what they want and good time so that they come back – throw in your own songs and they learn those too – its like a cycle.  He certainly gives a good time – and in return the venue gave him an unexpected extra ten minutes on his set!  Along with stand in Christiano Pochesci on pedal steel and his regular bandmates Niran Mistry on bass and Lee Brooks on drums Cody took the opportunity to drop in a medley of Country favourites including  9 to 5, Ring Of Fire, Folsom and the Gambler before a massive singalong to Country Roads.

What an end to day 1 of the 9^th Country In The Afternoon!  The Sunday promised to be a great day too, featuring The Blue Highways , The Handlers Band , Tim Gerard and Emily Faye 

 

What will the tenth show bring? We know it will be on 18-19 May 2024, and we can’t wait to see the line ups!

Silverball Country attended Country In The Afternoon as guests of Cumbrae Promotions

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

Single Review - Heroes and Heroines - Jade Helliwell

 

Jade Helliwell caught the attention of the public when a video of her singing with a busker went viral on YouTube and got 23 million views across social media platforms.  Whilst that video put her firmly in the limelight, and boosted figures for her previously released ep, it is not down to a single video that keeps Jade at the top of the UK country scene, performing on festival stages all over the country – that is down to her songwriting skills and excellent performances.

 

Ahead of her second UK headline tour, which kicks off in November, Jade is releasing her new single Heroes and Heroines (which is also the title of the tour).  Fittingly for a song about acknowledging the people in your life who are everyday heroes the track was co written with JessThristan and produced by Alyssa Bonagura – two people that Jade has worked with and admires.

 

Jade has carved her own pop country niche in the UK country genre, combining meaningful lyrics with catchy, up-tempo instrumentation.  Backed by some great guitar sounds (unsurprisingly given that she is engaged to a very talented lead guitarist in Luke Thomas!) the song is very much driven by Jade’s vocals, with the production and mixing keeping her very much to the forefront, although with well-timed instrumental breaks and inserts.

Here’s to the hold it togethers

Here’s to the no regreters

Here’s the see it throughers

Here’s to the hallelujahs

An anthem to the ordinary heroes, people doing what they can, day after day – this one will sound great on stage whether at a festival or that forthcoming tour.  Overall, it’s a great sound, and we can’t wait to hear it live!

 

Heroes and Heroines – the new single from Jade Helliwell – is available to download and stream from Friday 6 October.

Tickets for the Heroes and Heroines tour are available from here: tickets

You can find Jade on Facebook and Instagram and follow her on Spotify

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

Single Review - Honky Tonk Girl - Danny McMahon

 

To describe Danny McMahon as a singer/songwriter is accurate, but really doesn’t go far enough.  As the owner of a recording studio in Bristol – Puzzlemaker Studios – along with producer Andrea “Drea” Succi Danny is helping other artists with releasing music and achieving their own dreams.

On stage Danny is just an absolute ball of energy.  Since meeting him for the first time at Buckle and Boots in 2018 and hosting him on the Paddock Stage we have had the chance to see him perform many times – at festivals, as an opening act, as a headliner and even in a social club in Birmingham.  It doesn’t matter what the stage is, or what size the crowd, Danny and the band play every show as though they are headlining a stadium tour! 

With his new song Danny captures that energy and distills it into a 3 minute story.  Honky Tonk Girl is a story – almost a true one!  Based on a trip to Nashville and trying to find love for the bass player (never an easy task!), the phrase “Honky Tonk Girl” was coined – and from those words Danny found a song.

The instrumentation is very much guitar driven, giving the song energy, but with the melody backed by synth keys and a thumping bass line – very much a full band sound perfectly punctuated and enhanced by the drums.

The vocal is pure Danny – powerhouse delivery, pacy but clear and easy to hear the story he is telling.  Told as a performer, there is some wonderful music based imagery in the clever lyrics, and a happy ending

I was down and out, but right about now

I’ve found my Honky Tonk Girl

But did the bass player find love that night?  Sorry – what happens in Nashville, stays in Nashville…or has a song written about it!

 

Honky Tonk Girl, the new single from Danny McMahon is available to download and stream from Friday 29 September. 

Find and follow Danny on Facebook, Instagram and on Spotify

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta 

 

Gig Review - Cody Pennington Country Show - O2 Academy Birmingham

 

It was a slightly different kind of gig for us on Friday night in Birmingham – the Cody Pennington Country Show.  Different in that it was a mostly a show of big Country Music hits performed by Cody and his band, interspersed with some of his original material.  Not really a “covers show”, more a tribute to Country music.

In a show of two halves, Cody Pennington opened for Cody Pennington with some big crowd pleasing songs to get everyone singing along in the first half of the show, kicking off with Luke Combs’ smash hit Beer Never Broke My Heart which really got the show going. The whole of the sell out audience were certainly up for a party, singing along to pretty much every song, including favourites Wagon Wheel and the set ending The Gambler.

In truth the set list was Luke Combs heavy – Cody wasn’t shy about wanting to open for Luke on his next UK tour and he even asked the crowd to tag Luke in their photos and videos to persuade him that Cody would be ideal for this!  The crowd roared their approval of the songs and also the idea - Luke may get a surprise when he checks his social media! 

After around 45 minutes the band took a short break, partly for Cody to change into a T shirt as it was – in Cody’s words – “a hot sweaty gig”! Academy 2 is not the largest of the rooms at Birmingham’s Academy and as Cody’s popularity grows he will almost certainly return to a larger room or larger venue.  The heat allowed Cody to show his humbler side, as he turned his fan round to cool down his pedal steel player - he also made a point of thanking the venue staff and especially the bouncer at the front who was handing out water in front of the stage

In the show’s second half Cody showed off those vocal, musical and showmanship skills including – not easily done by a male vocalist – Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 and Shania Twain’s Man! I Feel Like a Woman! complete with a bum wiggle – to the crowd’s amazement and enjoyment.

As we looked around the crowd we didn’t see any familiar faces, so this was a crowd of Brummies out for a good night.  There were some glittery cowboy hats, some boots, plenty of plaid shirts, but when Cody belted out the big hits, the crowd were right there singing along, and when he dropped in his own singles – Downtown, Cowboy Sitting at The Bar, they still sang it back to him.

 

If you haven’t come across Cody Pennington yet, Cody is a “unicorn” - he is actually from Nashville!  He told us a fascinating story of how he first met Chris Stapleton when working in CVS in Nashville.  On checking a customer’s ID, he noted the name was C Stapleton.  That was it – that was the story!  It was a great intro to performing a Chris Stapleton song though! 

Cody is now UK based, taking the Nashville sound around the country with his show.  Cody plays electric guitar throughout the show, accompanied by Holly Carter on pedal steel, plus his drummer and bassist. Cody does use some reverb on his mic and a small amount of backing tracks to allow a banjo sound plus piano when he sang Walking In Memphis.  The microphone effect brings a big sound to a small venue – while other acts offer us the feel of a Nashville Honky Tonk, Cody and his band are without doubt bringing us the US Stadium sound, even in Birmingham on a Friday night.

The Cody Pennington Country Show delivers exactly what it says on the tin – some of the biggest hits of modern country performed as they should be.  For many, this is the only way they will hear the likes of Luke Combs songs performed live.  People will come out for covers, and they will love the originals.  UK festivals would do well to get Cody on their line ups – before Luke Combs steals him away!

The Cody Pennington Country Show is touring the UK throughout the year, with four shows in Scotland in November.  Tickets are limited for many dates – see CodyPennington.com for details.

If you can’t make it to a show, check out Cody’s music on Spotify, and follow him on Facebook and Instagram.

Silverball Country attended The Country Show as guests of Cody Pennington

If you've enjoyed this review, please give us a follow on our Facebook page and on our Insta