Come along with me as I go to James McNulty’s first single launch for ‘Country’ at Roots Music Venue where he showcases his percussive fingerpicking style of guitar that leaves you mesmerised.
Chris Spalding – FIND THEM HERE.
What a way to start off a show! Raw, gritty vocals paired with an acoustic guitar will always be my favourite kind and Chris sure shows his core talent with only voice and acoustic, playing a range of covers to get the crowd warmed up and ready for the night ahead. A personal favourite of mine was his cover of ‘Indian Summer‘ by Stereophonics, where Chris’s voice really shines bright and powerful. A great start overall to get the crowd going and get them buzzing for the acts ahead. Chris’s band Around 7 have just released their new single ‘Your Demise’ and will be supporting a previous reviewee of mine, Copper Lungs on the 30th of May at Church Dundee if you want to catch another show of his.
Benn Brown – FIND HIM HERE.
Next up was Benn Brown…teacher by day, musician by night. Benn’s heartwarming, personal lyrics paired with soothing acoustics left the crowd moved as he sings of his Grandmother in one song. Benn produces strong acoustics and vocals that fans of Pavement will find familiar and enjoyable. Alongside his originals Benn also did a very impressive cover of ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’ by Ed Sheeran, where he switched between singing and rapping leaving the crowd singing along to this forgotten banger from the 2011. Who would have thought Ed Sheeran could warm up a crowd so well?
Archie Dye – FIND HIM HERE.
Archie Dye played a mix of covers and originals with mellow keyboards, acoustic guitar and a soft vocal that almost created an ethereal feeling, mesmerising the crowd. It was amazing to see young talent taking on slightly bigger gigs other than open mics and the talent that he possesses definitely makes him someone to look out for. Switching from keyboard, to guitar and back again during his set to giving the crowd a wide range of music and sounds to enjoy. Personally I feel fans of Cavetown may like Archies music with its heartfelt lyrics of love and his calming, melodic playing.
Josh Moncrieff and ‘Shug’ – FIND THEM HERE.
Local Dundee boys strike again. Josh and Shug blew the crowd away with their upbeat catchy music that warmed up the crowd before the main man came on. Playing a couple of covers but mostly his own music, Josh is making waves as he entices the crowd with his Scottish twinged vocals alongside his catchy guitar playing, pair that with Shug’s Cajon playing and every song is a banger . People who know of Josh and Shug will have recognised the familiar sound of ‘City Lights’ as well as ‘Into the Blue’ which is available to stream on Spotify and ending on ‘Lunan Bay’ …memorable as always. Alongside the Open Mic Josh runs every Thursday in the Dubliner, you can catch Josh and Shug supporting The Rooks Friday the 9th of May at Roots once again.
James McNulty – FIND HIM HERE.
Now the star of the show! Tirelessly organising his single launch of ‘Country’, James blew it out the park with his percussive fingerpicking style of guitar playing that wows anyone who’s listening. The raw talent and practice is evident as Jame’s plays his set, getting lost within the music just as the crowd gets lost in listening. By isolating the guitar with no vocals, the crowd can’t help but pay attention to the intricacies of the composition and the story it intends to tell.
Now, what we are all here for, ‘Country’ was James last song of the set and my goodness what a last song it was. The song starts out slow, building a sort of momentum before picking up as if you are being taken on a journey. I can already see this playing in some sort of country western movie, the main character riding along on his horse through the countryside. Just over half way through, the song picks up as James plays percussive on his guitar, emanating a tension in the story of the music. It then mellows back into the familiar melody from before, pulling the song into a delicate conclusion.
Even though there was unfortunate technical difficulties with feedback, James handled it like a pro, continuing to play and power through to deliver the best performance as possible. It is incredibly refreshing to see different styles of guitar playing surfacing in Dundee and overall this performance was one of my favourites of the year so far. I can’t wait to see what James has in store for us next.
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