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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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

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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 - How Long Have You Known - Kezia Gill and Jade Helliwell

 

As a fan of the UK Country music scene, you will surely have come across Kezia Gill and Jade Helliwell – be it on their own headline tours, their joint “Girls Night In” tour or perhaps at one of the various festivals around the UK.  Both have their own loyal followings, built in part during lockdown with livestreams – which spawned the “Friday Night Club” for Kezia.  Lockdown (can we talk about that as just history now?) also led to remote songwriting sessions for many – and especially for two best friends.

The outcome of one of these sessions – and only the second time of collaborating this way for Kezia – was the song How Long Have You Known.  Now three years on from its creation and after performing it together live on many occasions the pair have now recorded it for release on Friday 31 May.

Written about the shock of finding out your partner is leaving, the song and the performance are emotion laden, reflecting that bolt from the blue feeling

Didn’t see it coming, didn’t think you’d break my heart

Accompanying the two powerful vocal performances is a beautiful string arrangement which blends perfectly and highlights the soulful delivery and feel of the song.

As well as being able to now download or stream the song, you’ll have the chance to hear both of these artists live later this year, as Jade takes to the road in October for her How Love Goes acoustic tour while Kezia will be touring in October and November with her The Story So Far tour.  Tickets for both are available now and selling fast!

 

 

How Long Have You Known, 

the new song from Kezia Gill and Jade Helliwell is available on all platforms from Friday 31 May

 

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Gig Review - Matt Hodges - Actress and Bishop, Birmingham

 

Matt Hodges spends most of the year on the road, so it seems apt that his latest tour is called – “On The Road”

That road brought him to Birmingham last night where he played at The Actress and Bishop with special guests Gasoline and Matches.

Looking very comfortable on stage - as they always do – Sally and Steve of Gasoline and Matches admitted being slightly nervous of both the hometown crowd with many friends in the audience – and of the smoke machine as they seem to have a reputation for venues burning down!  The evening was also an unofficial continuation of Sally’s birthday celebrations from the night before in Manchester.  Although mostly ignoring doctor’s orders to rest her voice, Sally did have to relinquish vocal duties to Steve, notably on their track Smiling Viper, which did sound slightly different with Steve on lead.

Matt told us that he doesn’t like calling his opening act a “support act” – and Gasoline and Matches demonstrated this by giving a polished, powerful show, with Jamie Clayton on bass and James Randle on drums, filling the room with sound.

 

We’ve seen Matt Hodges play acoustic, in a songwriter’s round, with an orchestra and, finally, last night with his full band (Morgan Smith on Bass, Simon Hant on drums and Cole McNulty on lead guitar).  Matt has such a commanding presence and such a gruff, powerful voice it doesn’t seem to matter who is backing him – his vocal will take up the stage and the whole space, he can quite easily just stand and sing, capturing the audience.

 

Matt has been on quite a journey throughout his career in music, playing covers in Nashville, returning to songwriting after an 8 year break to now playing at independent festivals and being recognised with awards.  He is keen to include the audience on that journey and speaks fondly of the UK Country family – both artists and fans alike.  His set includes a song he wrote when he was 18, a song written in one hour as a challenge, a cocktail list inspired track, and a song used by couples for their first dance at wedding.  Matt is a down to earth, no nonsense performer.  He’s hard working – although he’s reduced from 310 shows last year to “only” 250 this year (and the year isn’t over yet!)

He highlighted the line from the song written by 18 year old him.

I know somehow I’ll always be proud to be me

Ending the show with two party hits that had the audience up dancing (with Sally and Steve back on stage), Matt has plenty to be proud of.

You can catch Matt on the remainder of his tour this month, and next Friday you can download his new single Make This Our Town

You can find Matt on Facebook and Instagram and follow him on Spotify

Silverball Country attended this show as guests of Matt Hodges

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Single Review - Jolene - Jess Thristan

 

We all know her. Flaming locks of auburn hair with ivory skin and eyes of emerald green – that  man stealing hussy.

We all know the song, we can all sing it word for word. 

It's a well-known song about a well-known story. The man has his head turned, his wife doesn't want to lose him. She's not afraid to admit she's begging.

It’s an absolute staple for country fans and non-country fans alike, it’s a karaoke classic, a guaranteed party singalong.

It has also been covered, by Mindy Smith, The White Stripes, Strawberry Switchblade, Olivia Newton John, Me First and the Gimmee Gimmees, Dolly’s Goddaughter Miley Cyrus – there’s even a dance remix!  In the 78 versions, there’s a Dolly Parton cover – in collaboration with Pentatonix.

To record not just a cover but an interpretation takes some guts - even with three of your friends backing you up.

Jess Thristan has taken on the challenge, and having assembled her girls – Kezia Gill, Jade Helliwell and Demi Marriner - as her back up she has released a new imagining of the classic Jolene.

The delivery of this version is faultless, with all four voices combining in near perfect harmonies, with the tempo slowed right down, and an almost ethereal quality to the sound.

Rather than the begging of the original, this feels like defeat. He’s gone, she’s taken him from you – its over.

Down but not out, this new single has allowed Jess and the three singers to show off a level of inventiveness and skill that perhaps they don’t always get to do.  You can witness more of this as the quartet are taking their popular “Girls Night In The Round” back out on tour in February with dates in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow, Gateshead and Leeds.  Tickets are available now, and are sure to sell very quickly!

Jolene, the new single from Jess Thristan is available to download and stream from Friday 2 February

You can find Jess on Instagram and Facebook, and follow her on Spotify

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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

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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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