Thursday 8th January 2015

The Musician, obsUnplugged

Tonight’s line-up: Jack Halls, Remy Turi, Edd Saffell, Benn Hartmann and his band and George Simpson and his band.

Photos from the show by Kevin Gaughan:

Tonight’s eclectic obsUnplugged line-up wasn’t quite as varied or unusual as I have seen on some of the other nights, but some names I recognised as some of Leicester’s finest and well established musicians.

First on this evening’s show was Jack Halls, a local thin line blues/rock guitarist. Armed with only his distorted electric guitar, he made a wonderful sound, if you like that sort of thing, which I most certainly do. Although the songs were simple and sultry, the distorted guitar contrasted well with Jack’s voice to provide a gorgeous, addictive sound.

Second on the bill for tonight’s show was Remy Turi, an eighteen year local singer/songwriter. It was very hard to believe such a young lady could perform in such an accomplished way, relaxed, and already with an impressive array of her own songs with captivating story lines and impressively catchy melodies. I particularly enjoyed The River from her latest EP (iTunes).A fine performance from a young lady punching years above her young age.

Next we heard from Edd Saffell, a singer/songwriter from Castle Donington. Armed with his acoustic guitar and something he tapped with his foot which sounded like a drum which was a welcome addition. His lyrics were enjoyable to listen to and slightly humorous which was nice.

Following on from Edd as accomplished Leicester singer/Songwriter, Benn Hartmann. Benn has played guitar with a number of Leicestershire musicians and bands and has earned an enviable reputation as one of Leicester’s prolific songwriters and talented guitarists. Tonight, Benn performed with his band who played mostly his own material. On keyboards was George Simpson who provided well matched vocal harmonies with Benn, especially during their cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish you were here’. I rarely like covers of my favourite songs, but this one hit the spot big time!

Last on tonight’s line up was George Simpson, the very same one that played Keyboards in Benn Hartmann’s band. Although good friends, their styles of music are very different. Benn’s music was more rock guitar based whereas George’s is more commercial sounding and more about the vocals and rhythm. George, from Melton Mowbray, is also a well established musician who has earned an enviable reputation on the scene. His music has been played on the national BBC network which is no surprise as most of the songs sound like they could be national chart toppers in their own right.

A fine end to a fine night, yet another wonderful evening down at the Musician.

See also:

Kevin Gaughan’s review of obsUnplugged on 6th January | See Kevin’s photos from that show

See more reviews of obsUnplugged on our round-up of live music in January