with Greg Brice
Over the Halloween weekend, The Soundhouse opened its doors to blues lovers, as they prepared for an evening filled with soulful and emotionally driven songs.
The gig kicked off with Greg Brice who absolutely blew me away. Before the gig began I was a little apprehensive, as blues has never been my thing but I can always appreciate the music genre which is at the root of every band which I adore. But my God, Greg was amazing! He has such an unexpected level of maturity in both his sound and his lyrics, which one can usually only expect from people who have been writing and producing music for decades.
Not only is he an outstanding guitarist but he also has a powerful voice which combined with fantastic lyrics turns into something that simply shouldn’t be missed. His whole performance made me feel like I was in Red Dead Redemption 2, which is one of the coolest games of all time, so I was very excited to experience that.
After a brief break, where I managed to get some lovely recommendations of other bands I need to check out and a quick chat about the art that adorns the smoking area walls it was time for the headliner of the evening: Connor Selby along with his full band.
There is definitely a reason as to why Connor Selby has been the winner of The Young Artist of the Year Award in the 2020 and 2021 UK Blues Awards, him and his band put on a stellar performance. Despite the fact that he forgot to print off their setlist, as he joked with the crowd by telling us that all the murmuring between songs was actually them figuring out what track to do next.
The band were absolutely phenomenal and if there were any mistakes they were simply impossible to notice. Between the strong vocals and the amazingly groovy keyboard, Connor Selby and his full band were a treat to witness and everyone should give them a listen. Both of the artists of the evening have definitely shown me how fantastic blues can be.
The night as a whole was a great introduction into blues for people like me who feel so far removed from the genre. It had something for everyone, from slower more chilled out pieces to fun songs about student loans, overall I really enjoyed my first ever dip into the blues pool.
Reviewed by Alex Velikova
This gig was organised by Casbah MMP Events
If you would like to share this review, please help us by using the share buttons below instead of a screen print – thanks!