I was in Nottingham on Record Store Day this year (Saturday 23rd April) and there were plenty of people around, with a noticeable buzz around Hockley and the Lace Market in particular.
The queue for the record shop at Rough Trade reached all the way down Broad Street and round the corner at the start of the day and grew almost as long at several points later.
Upstairs, there was a well-curated programme of DJs and musicians performing from noon until late, with the bar and stage area near full for most of that time, and pretty well packed at some points. I was able to pop in and out a few times, catching three sets altogether.
The first was from Ella Clayton. She's a modern folk singer-songwriter from East London.
Ella released her standout debut album in September 2022, quickly establishing herself as a name to watch. She travelled up to Nottingham for the day to perform on the Rough Trade stage as part of the RSD line-up.
I wrote a short piece about her set for Nottingham's LeftLion ...
A little later in the afternoon, Eevah performed. I discovered this electronic/alt-pop duo only a couple of weeks ago, and was thrilled to find them on this line-up. They're a really exciting act, formed in 2019, with Nicole Hope Smith providing vocals and keys, and Richard McNamara (also of Embrace) playing guitar.
Their music combines euphoric, eyes-shut, jump-around, energetic beats and loops with straight-to-the-point vocals. It's infectious stuff, which would really work well in a larger setting - think late night festival dance tent - but didn't feel out of place at 5pm on a small indie stage either. Eevah instantly brought the feel of a warm up to a big night out on the town, and most of the packed room seemed to be lapping it up.
I quickly forgot there were only two people on stage - that simple set up is more than made up for by the combination of exuberant energy from Nicole - who has great presence and personality - and crashing, confident guitar from Richard. The sequencing of the backing tracks felt rich and full with limited whitespace.
A highlight for me was 'An Apology', which had become an immediate favourite from their catalogue as soon as I heard it. It has a great pace and ebb and flow - I’m a real sucker for those elements - and although many of the sounds in the music are familiar, Eevah presents them with fresh packaging and in a genuine way. The music feels like a true expression of what they want to say, not just an attempt to follow a musical fashion.
'Take Me To Bed' ("It's not sexy, it's about being drunk", said Nicole) and 'Look What You Had' were also particularly memorable parts of the set, which by the end must have raised the temperature (and humidity) of the live space by a significant amount.
Their Record Store Day set was a good taster of what Eevah could deliver, and they are now high on my list to see again.
Jemma Johnson played at 7pm. The Derby-based artist has just released a new single 'Sing It With Me', described as "an anthem for a heartbroken youth that we never knew we needed." It's a really great pop record - effervescent, captivating and featuring particularly strong vocals. Having heard this and the last couple of her releases, I was very keen to see how her brand of alt-pop translated to a live acoustic set.
Jemma gave us 7 songs, starting with 'Shatterproof' and working through to the new single before ending with 'Love Rush', her previous release.
I really appreciated her third song, 'Let It Go'. Jemma introduced it by saying it was about a closest friend, that's always there for her - anxiety. This was a very revealing and intimate moment, particularly coming at such an early point of a gig like this. It provided an instant connection between artist and audience, and set up a real warmth of feeling.
The next one, 'Something Like I Love You' stood out to me too, but this time for its tender directness.
Based on this performance and the really well-written, catchy tunes she writes, it's pretty easy to see why Jemma has been finding so much success (including festival slots at Y-Not, Off The Tracks, Bearded Theory and Acoustic Festival Of Britain, and airplay from national, regional, and internet radio stations including BBC Radio 1, Radio X, Amazing Radio and BBC Introducing). Make sure to look her up and listen to her music.
And if you've never been to a Record Store Day event before, be sure to check it out next time - it's a great way to support great artists, and the independent stores that make up the essential fabric of the music scene.
