Live Music - A Look Back..

I'm going to blame it on the pandemic. Missing live music happening is really starting to get to me and as a result I've started to reminisce about some of my favourite gigs over the years.

One that sticks firmly in my mind is the Whitney Rose gig I went to back in July 2019. At this point, it feels only right and proper to thank my friend Steve for introducing me to Whitney's music. I look forward to the day when we can be at a Whitney gig together. Hopefully, it will be at the Long Road 2021 (the first drink is on me!).

Whitney Rose is one of those rare artists where, with very little effort, I like everything she's recorded. I like the way she approaches songwriting. I like her voice - traditional-sounding country but with a contemporary twist. She's most definitely one of my favourite artists.

And so as soon as the 2019 UK tour was announced, I jumped at the chance to buy a ticket. The concert was at St Lawrence's Church in Biddulph, close to where I grew up, but now some fifty or so miles north of my current location. The gig was a Friday night and, after leaving work later than I intended, I endured a fraught rush hour journey north up the M6. A very quick McDonalds en route provided me with sufficient sustenance and I made it to the gig with about ten minutes to spare. Phew.

The concert kicked off with a support set from Demi Marriner and Robbie Cavanagh. I had seen Demi previously at a different gig in Birmingham but I had not seen her parter Robbie before. They each played a couple of songs individually and also came together to play as a duo as well. It was an excellent support set and, as is usually the case in a seated Church venue, the sound was superb. I thoroughly enjoyed their music and managed a brief chat to them in the interval and was happy to buy a couple of their CDs.

Robbie Cavanagh and Demi Marriner

After a short break, it was the moment I had been waiting for. Whitney Rose took to the stage. Without delay, she effortlessly and brilliantly performed several songs from her most recent (at the time) album, Rule 62. The zenith of the evening for me came with Whitney's version of the Lesley Gore song, "You Don't Own Me". This was delivered with power and passion and even ended with Whitney climbing into the church pulpit, which seemed a very brave thing to do! At the end of the song, I really wanted to give a standing ovation but I reneged on this thought. At a seated church concert with a mostly senior audience, it didn't seem appropriate but I regret not doing it to this day. It was a performance more than worthy of adulation.

The performance ended with much of the audience wanting more, which was duly supplied with an excellent encore. After the concert had finished, I was happy to join the sizable queue to chat to the lady herself. Whitney was just as charming as I expected and was happy to chat and sign a couple of things for me.

Meeting the lady herself after the gig - a sheer delight!

I wonder to myself why, more than twelve months on, am I posting this review now?As mentioned before, I am really missing live music at the moment. The memories of this gig are quite vivid, such was how much I enjoyed it and the impact that it had on me. Coming into the gig, I had very high expectations but they were more than met and plenty more. It was a wonderful evening.