This is the second evening of British country music to be held in the 'Songwriter's Nights' new home at the Town Hall in Bilston. These evenings are always a pleasure to attend.
I must say I think the new venue's acoustics sound really good. Andy Hughes was the first performer of the night and the sound quality from where I was sitting sounded amazing. I have always thought the tone to Andy's voice was stunning. Tonight it sounded even better and it was teamed perfectly with the intricate finger picking on his guitar that is Andy's trademark. Thank you Andy for singing 'It's The Little Things' too. It sounded amazing and people made some lovely comments about it. So thrilled to have had a hand in writing it with you. Andy also invited his friend Sam Shemmell up onto the stage to sing a couple of songs with him. Another singer songwriter with a stunning voice.
Next to take to the stage was a new artist to me. Charlotte Young hails from Birmingham and she has quite a smokey sounding, but powerful voice. Singing a selection of her own self written songs and throwing in a few well known covers for good measure, Charlotte was very entertaining. She was outgoing and welcoming and chatted easily with her audience. I am looking forward in getting to know her songs too.
Our final artist of the evening was Gareth Thomas. Most people will remember Gareth from the band Dexeter but he is now just embarking on a solo career. He says its a bit daunting, standing up there on the stage alone when you are used to being part of a band. But he needn't have worried. He did a great set. Singing a mixture of well chosen, but very different from the usual covers to go along with some classic Dexeter tracks that he has reworked slightly to suit a male vocal and some lovely new songs. He assures us that we will only have to wait 3 weeks before we can get hold of some recorded songs from him. I cannot wait because I think Gareth is an amazing songwriter.
All in all another fabulous evening. Thanks to Jim Duncan and Pat Swindells for their continued efforts and support for British country music.
The next Songwriters Night will be on 28th September.