FBC REVIEW – Corn on the Cob 13/12/18
I have only ever heard great things about the Corn on the Cob event run by Steve Young so I was really thrilled to be finally going to one. The Hertford Corn Exchange is a very old school venue, filled with sofas and chairs to give it a warm and welcoming feeling.
The one-year anniversary of this event included a songwriters circle followed by three performances by different artists including the wonderful Elles Bailey. Here is my review of the songwriters circle.
Photo credit: Peter Alan Gill
BETH KEEPING
First onto the stage was Beth Keeping. I had heard a lot about this lady but never had the pleasure of hearing her live. The song she started with was called ‘Flashbacks’. Beth explains that this song relates to those moments in life that take you back to a specific moment in the past that you may want to forget. I can tell you now that this song was my favourite of the three she performed. It was absolutely beautiful – I loved the high tones in Beth’s voice that brought the song to life.
The second song that Beth performed was ‘Strangers in the same City’. This song talks of the inevitable feat of the potential to bump into that person you don’t want to even in a large city. I particularly loved the lyrical content in this song.
Beth finished with ‘Building Bridges on the Dance floor’. This song talks of music and dancing bringing people back together. This was the most country pop influenced song of her set and I really enjoyed this approach. I am really excited to hear the finished product once it has been recorded and produced.
I will definitely be taking the time to do and see Beth perform again!
Find out more here - https://www.facebook.com/bethkeeping/
DANNY MCMAHON
Danny started his set with the very upbeat ‘Broken Hearted’ which relates to the notion of not being broken hearted. Danny is great at emphasising the beat in his modern country-pop influenced music that makes you want to tap your feet.
His second song was the beautiful ‘When I See You’ which reached Number 1 in the UK iTunes Country Charts. This is the first single that Danny has released which he did not write. It is a song about the writer’s grandfather that passed away… It’s true, I did wake him up at 3am… This song is definitely a tear-dropper.
Dannys third song was ‘It don’t work that way’. This song is on the EP ‘Momentarily’. Danny explains that this is his favourite song to have recorded at this moment in time. It is a driving song to commemorate his ability to drive after being unable to do so due to severe epilepsy that he suffered with as a teenager.
Find out more about Danny here – http://www.facebook.com/dannymcmahonuk/
TASHA ROBERTSON
Tasha is a new artist that I hadn’t heard of before this event and this was Tasha’s first songwriters round. She started with a song called ‘The dust will settle’. She explains the plea to the listen to make a conscious decision to walk away from past demons and look forward. Her voice reminds me of those beautiful black and white videos of female singers that you see on TV with a modern twist – very unique.
Tasha continued her writers round with a song called ‘More’. This song talks of dreams and the battle with self-doubt, addressing questions such as ‘where do these feelings stem from?’ This song stemmed from Tasha’s feeling that as a young girl she always wanted the main parts but during life had lost some of this passion due to self-doubt. She wrote this song in an urge to go back to this mind set. She has a really lovely tone of traditional country music in her guitar playing and melody writing. I loved the premise of this song and thought everyone could relate in some way.
Tasha finished with a Christmas song that she wrote called ‘Boxes’. Definitely my favourite of the set. It is one of those Christmas songs that you could hear on the famous John Lewis Advert… definitely recommend you go check this one out.
Find out more here - https://www.facebook.com/tasharobertsonmusic/