On Friday 26th March, 23 Promotions and Immersive TV hosted a night of live music straight from our own living room where the likes of Flew The Arrow, Sadie Marie, Colin Hunter, Red Hearted Vibrations and The Laurettes took to the stage for a night full of incredible live sets. Have a read at what our Chelsea and Michael had to say about the night below now…
Chelsea’s Review:
Flew The Arrow
Lee McGilvray, aka Flew The Arrow opened up this captivating set with a track he wrote during lockdown about following your dreams, called Follow Your Bliss. The soft acoustics blended well with his Scottish vocals leaving the virtual audience gripped.
My favourite track of Lee’s set had to be his second track: ‘All You Are Looking For Will Find You‘ with the opening lyrics: ‘I’ve been a drifter all my days‘ oozing fans in. This was actually the first time this song has been performed in front of a crowd and went down extremely well and just goes to show the creativity within Flew The Arrow’s music.
Think Bon Iver meets Ben Howard. An Incredibly talented songwriter, Lee writes the type of uplifting lyrics that make you feel something. There’s a peaceful aura that flows throughout all his music that takes listeners away to their happy place.
Flew The Arrow’s ended the set with track, Huntress, a fast paced Celtic folk song with soft guitars and infectious lyrics. Certainly a strong opener for the night….
Sadie Marie
Next up was folk singer songwriter, Sadie Marie who went straight into her set with her original track, Paradise from her self-titled EP. The electric guitar collided perfectly with the acoustic strings allowing her strong soulful voice to be highlighted. Talented female singers such as Amy MacDonald meets Joni Mitchell come to mind.
Up next Sadie performed ‘Waiting’, a mix of beautiful melodies that blend together making listeners zone out of reality to really appreciate the intricacy of the track. The harmonica blended really well with sliding guitar and really emphasised the talent of Sadie’s natural vocal range.
My favourite track of the set, Senoia was an upbeat folk song with a hint of country based in the town of Senoia in Georgia, US. Funnily enough I see a lot of Americana folk in Sadie’s music so it made sense that she’s been influenced this type of music. Such influence makes her music stand out from just another singer songwriter. There’s a clear talent within not only Sadie’s musical abilities but also within her song writing talents and I can imagine her being successful all over the world.
Another track that stood out to me during the live set was In the Movies, a slow but uplifting song that reminded me a bit of The Lumineers. Listeners could hear the raw emotion within the music and lyrics which certainly left me wanting to hear more. Sadie wrote it during lockdown and this was the very first time performing it live which she absolutely smashed. Certainly a musician I’ll be keeping my eye on…
Colin Hunter
A witty personality with an art for story telling within music, Colin Hunter had the crowd at his finger tips during Friday’s set. For those who haven’t had a chance to see Colin live, I can guarantee you haven’t seen anyone like him before.
Colin treated listeners to some new material from his unreleased album, The King of Rats. Think an acoustic Twin Atlantic meets Glasvegas – that broad Glaswegian accent that we all know and love that write music based on real life that we can all relate to.
Colin writes the type of music with story telling lyrics that reel people in and do not let them go. Slow but catchy acoustics, i was hooked throughout the entire set. His cheery character shined through the entire set making him stand out the crowd.
My favourite track of his set had to be Loudon Hill. You could hear the emotional through Colin’s strong vocals leaving the virtual audience hooked.
This was my first time listening to Colin and I’ll certainly be making a point of seeing him play another live set in the future.
Michael’s Review:
Red Hearted Vibrations
A sound from another time, full-on 80s hair rock guitar sounds, the solid union between drums, bass and keys forming the backbone, and the powerful, rasping voice of singer Laura Nelson.
The cover of Black Velvet by Alannah Myles was excellent, and a good way for the band to display their capability as a live act, and to hear Laura’s vocals really unleashed.
Of the originals performed, ‘Wildfire’ was immediately catchy, and ‘I’ll Be On The Mountain’ was a nice change of pace to the set, displaying that the guys are capable of creating a more sombre mood.
The front three interacted well with the virtual crowd, which was undoubtedly a bizarre experience, with the echoing zoom audience eagerly showing their appreciation between songs.
Overall, an enjoyable and well executed set, the guys from Red Hearted Vibrations handled the virtual gig with ease, an encouraging sign for the viewers at home that the band are well worth seeing in the flesh in future.
The Laurettes
In a word, fun. A jam-packed set from Lauren and Lynette was a perfect way to close out any night. Shout outs to viewers during songs was a nice touch, and starting with Cotton Eye Joe planted a fun Dixie Chicks style vibe that permeated throughout the set.
Starting a show, virtual or no, with a microphone not plugged in is the stuff of nightmares for any band, but the girls took this in their stride, having a laugh with the audience, and showing that there’s more to stage presence than simply playing and looking good.
Covers bands that go down well need to be able to put a unique spin on classics without ruining them, which the Laurettes did well. Seeing couples dancing on screen was the evidence of an entertaining set, while the girls harmonised, laughed, joked and blazed through the songs effortlessly.
Combining two or more tunes into a medley is an effective way to keep listeners engaged, and the multi-tasking across a number of instruments on display from both Lauren and Lynette was both engaging and impressive, allowing them to keep the chemistry that they have as a duo without feeling like more band members would be required to fill out the sound.
Again, another act that will have picked up more fans for returning back to real venues, something that we hope to see before the year is out.
The Music Files 