Those of you who follow my social media will have seen plenty of posts from me in the run up to this event - it was my first Music Observer promotion. I was very happy to be able to bring these four artists together for an event at Duffy's Bar in Leicester - and hopefully everyone who was there would agree that it was a great night, with a supportive and open atmosphere. The venue was excellent - they have a great stage area, in a separate room to the rear of the pub, with top-notch equipment (and serve top-notch Guinness). Here are some of my thoughts on the gig ...
First on stage was Emily Carr, a very talented local singer-songwriter who I'd seen once before (last summer at an acoustic gig outdoors at The Soundhouse). Her wonderfully mellow vocals and evocative songs struck me then, so it was a pleasure to be able to see her perform again.
She was even better than I remembered. She delivered a very tidy, engaging 30-minute set, mixing original material with a nice sprinkling of covers. Emily has quite a distinctive approach to her song-writing, and a very recognisable warmth to her sound.
This is another songwriter who refers to her songs as 'sad' (Chloe Lorentzen I'm looking at you here too!) - while they're certainly not danceable numbers, to me they're primarily incredibly honest, real songs: the kind of songs you can relate to as they tell stories of life with all its ups and down. I really enjoyed 'Mason', a gentle, touching and really quite perfect package of a song (which just happens to be about a very special dog).
Second on the bill was Greysha (a long-term favourite of this blog for well over a year now, even before I started managing her). I've now seen her and Dan Bradley play live four or five times but each time is still a real pleasure.
A benefit of seeing an artist multiple times is that you notice how their live set evolves. I've noticed that Greysha has added new elements to all of the songs she performs, learning from each experience and building on it. A standout example is her live version of 'Aspirin', which has become a strong end-of-set anchor. Here, she closes the song with an extended repetition of the refrain, "Baby you're nothing to me", her voice rising in intensity and volume over swirls of dark noise. This is very effective, and quite different to the mellow studio version.
Third on the line-up: JJ Lovegrove, who played a key part in getting this gig set up and helping me find the venue, and also provided some very useful advice along the way. She's featured here before, but I'd actually never heard her live before.
'I'm Fine' has always been one of my favourite JJ Lovegrove tracks, and it didn't disappoint in Leicester. Judy's voice played a central role, holding the song aloft and pushing it through to a triumphant climax. Another highlight, and one which I'd been looking forward to in particular, was 'things Only THE daRk knows', the title track from Judy's latest EP. She saved this till last, and it worked very well there. The song features a long, dramatic build and really beautiful main melody, which seeps into a gorgeous guitar solo section. I was impressed by everything I heard and saw from Judy, and would love to see her play again live soon.
Finally, the headliner Emma Mae, performing with a full band and handling bass guitar duties herself, too. Emma is Leicester born, although I found out after booking her that she hadn't played a headline set in the city before. To be honest, she blew me away. Her brand of 'bitch-pop' - which on the recordings is polished and cleanly-produced - was transformed into a great balance of indie/melodic alt-rock thanks to the full band backing. And her voice is incredible. Despite mentioning a few times that she wasn't on top form, she sung with impressive power and control, showing great range and purity. There are many very well-known singers in the pop genre who just can't cut it when singing live, so it was refreshing to hear someone who sounds so good on a record smashing out the songs on stage, too. That's true talent.
Emma properly engaged with the audience at this intimate venue, appearing entirely relaxed and very likeable from the first instant. You also could tell she was enjoying the experience just as much as (or perhaps even more than) the rest of us. The band played a key part in this, too: they fitted right into Emma's vibe, showing great judgement in the way they supported her.
She opened with 'Boys In Bands', a joyous takedown of toxic male behaviour (something Emma excels at). It was a great choice to start the set as it allowed the boys in her band to make the most of the song's tension-building and really catchy riffs, which sounded wonderful on live guitar. From there, she moved into 'Better Man' (a track from her 2020 EP). This is a slightly slower and more intimate song, and Emma delivered it in style.
During the central part of the set, the band maintained the pace and energy, holding our attention well. I particularly enjoyed the rendition of Emma's 2021 single 'When Paris Calls': it was bouncy and perky, which somehow made the lyrical twists all the more hard-hitting. "When Paris calls, you run to her; getting over me under her ..." the song goes; and Emma made sure that message rang loud and clear.
The set closed with Emma's latest single, 'I Should Sell My Story To A TV Network' - a witty, clever and well-written song based on memories of some of her tragi-comic life experiences (you must check out the video). I enjoyed the live interpretation based around a perky snare drum beat and, again, Emma's willingness to be entirely open and genuine on stage.
The set somehow passed by too quickly - a sign of a great performance. I definitely went away wanting to hear more (and hope to be able to in the not too distant future). I recommend you do, too.
Emma is managed by the unparalleled Rich of Indie Midlands, and you can read more about her on Facebook or her own website.
