GIG REVIEW | Grassroots Music Presents: Carly Connor, Warren Capaldi, Toni Woods & Brian Webster

Last Thursday, Grassroots Music Promotions organised a night of some of the best talent Scotland has to offer! With acoustic sets from some of the greats in the Glasgow Music Scene, a cracking turn-out and a bar that serves tequila – it was the perfect event for any music lover!

Brian Webster (Photographer: Chloe Farrell)

Brian Webster was the opening act of the night. With his impressive guitar skills and classic folk styled vocals, think Bob Dylan meets Johnny Cash. Brian’s style is incredibly unique to anything i’ve heard before within the Scottish music scene and from the crowd’s reaction, it’s clear there is a demand for his type of music. He has a likeable charm on stage and connects inevitably well with the audience – a must for any solo singer! The set was entirely based on original songs showing his talents has a songwriter. Brian treated the crowd to his soon-to-be first single, ‘A Warning’ an easy sounding folk song with a country twang which sounds really professional live. Brian writes the type of music, you could listen to for hours. His final song of his set, ‘Before You Pull The Plug’ really highlighted the quality of the guitar in the performance. I just find it incredible how one guy and a guitar can create such an atmosphere – an incredibly strong opening!

Toni Woods (Photographer: Chloe Farrell)

Next on was the wonderful Toni Woods. Now this was the first time I’d actually heard of Toni but wow after her performance she’s quickly became one of my favourite female singers in the music scene today! Her voice is just so effortlessly beautiful with a slight Scottish twang that instantly leaves the crowd in awe. The music in her lyrics are honest and relatable which i think is so important in the industry today. Take her song, ‘Password’ for example, the lyrics, ‘I regret my decision when it came to you’ highlights a past relationship that didn’t end well. It’s the power behind such statements that can really grip the listener! Since hearing, Toni perform ‘Password’ last Thursday, I’ve had it on repeat since. It’s one of those songs, you just need to listen to once for you to automatically love it! Just when I thought I couldn’t love her style more, she drops a Lizzo cover! Seeing ‘Truth Hurts’ as an acoustic cover was seriously impressive and just shows the variety of talent this girl has. An incredibly stunning set in which I can’t wait to see more of in the future!

Warren Capaldi (Photographer: Chloe Farrell)

Next on was Bathgate’s finest, Mr Warren Capaldi. As this was my first time seeing him perform I wasn’t too sure what to expect but expectations truly exceeded themselves. Throughout, the entire set he was just so lost in the music which is a really lovely thing to witness as a music blogger. His music style had more of an indie-rock like vibe which fitted perfectly with his cover of ‘My Hero’ by Foo Fighters. Warren actually dedicated the song to his friend, Andy who recently had brain surgery making the meaning behind the performance that extra bit more special. It was a great song to emphasis Warren’s strong vocals leaving the crowd mesmerised. It wasn’t just his covers that got a good reception though, his originals went down a treat too! My personal favourite was ‘Waiting Here at Home’ – judging from the lyrics, it’s a song influenced by a break-up in which you could see the emotion in Warren’s performance demonstrating his raw talent.

The last performance of the night was the wonderful Carly Connor. Now I had been waiting years to see Carly perform live but after her performance last Thursday, it was certainly worth the wait! She’s just got this extraordinary soulful voice with a vocal range that leave you with goosebumps. I was totally in awe during the entire performance. Songs such as ‘Goldie Hawn Stole My Guitar’ to her latest release, ‘Always the Bridesmaid, Never Mind Bride’ went down exceptionally well with the crowd however, my personal favourite had to be ‘Who’s Gonna Love You?’. This was the first song I’d heard of Carly’s and the first time i heard it, i was totally gripped. Not only does she have the voice but she’s an exceptional songwriter. ‘Who’s Gonna Love You?’ focuses on getting through a break-up which I’m sure we’ve all had to deal with before. The best type of song is one that people can relate to and Carly certainly has the power in her writing to do that. Although some of the themes in her music can relate to break-ups and heartbreak, her songs create this feel-good vibe. I actually find her music incredibly uplifting and ‘Who’s Gonna Love You?’ is a perfect example of that especially seeing it live. Just as I didn’t think the set could get much better, she hits out with ‘Living Easy’. Now this was the first time I’d actually heard the song but within seconds, I was instantly gripped. I find the lyrics: ‘When the lights go out and there’s no-one around, I’m living easy‘ really soothing. It’s a song that just instantly makes me happy and the fact that it was a more stripped-back set really emphasised the power in Carly’s voice. Just as the set was about to finish, she treated the crowd to an old favourite of mine – ‘Darin’ by Frankie Miller. It was just one big singalong which created a fantastic atmosphere in the crowd and a great finish to an overall great night for the Scottish music scene.