Rock Regeneration

Jul03

Live & Unheard: Featuring – Matt Griffiths, Jade Norris (with her band Quayside), & Barefoot Soul

on July 3rd, 2019 at 18:42

Sherling Studio, Lighthouse, Poole

This is getting a bit of a habit going to the Live & Unheard event at the Sherling Studio at the Lighthouse in Poole. Well many of us are creatures of habit and I for one thoroughly love turning up here every month to see what delights our host Matt Black has for us. This month there are once again three artists that have all impressed his critical eye and deserve a chance to get up, (or down in this case) on the stage.

The first of these is a seasoned musician that has been treading the boards for quite a while now, firstly as a solo artist and also a collaborator with other artists. In fact, he played guitar with Helena Mace in last month’s event. Matt Griffiths is a singer/songwriter who tells stories through his emotive lyrics and in some cases from personal experiences in the military. Kicking off with the title track from his album “England’s Shore”; which was recorded in Matt Black’s studio Hangover Hill, he is relaxed and looks really comfortable in these surroundings. Matt provides some excellent sounding folk/country-influenced tunes with his substantial voice benefiting from the highly acoustic surroundings. His natural skills with the guitar are shown in his original tunes like “July 1916” about the historic First World War battle of the Somme and a really upbeat Irish-style tune called “Patrick McGee”. The set is ended with a beautiful song called “Dreams”, where Matt truly excels giving the audience something truly inspiring to take away with them.

Matt Griffiths 1–2–3

Next is a true rising star in the making. She has while studying at Bournemouth Academy of Modern Music (known locally as BAMM) has won awards for her work and excelled beyond expectations. Jade Norris is a young lady that as you can easily tell from the opening number “Unkind”, has a voice and personality that with the right decisions could take her to the world of stardom. Jade’s natural effortless ability and her confident sass warms the audience to her immediately. Backed by her band Quayside featuring a young talented guitarist Jake Trim and an ultra-tight rhythm section of Tim Baldwin on bass, with Shaun Brown on drums. The set contains so many highlights including many varied styles from the jazzy “Cleanse” to the powerfully emotional “Far Gone”. You cannot fail to be entertained – as I look around the studio there are many smiling faces, especially Jade’s proud family. As the set ends with her final number “Material Things” the place erupts with applause with a huge enthusiasm that is certainly the best I have heard since this event started. Jade and Oceanside take their music to the large stage at this year’s “Grooves on the Green” on Saturday 20th July – be sure to catch their performance, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Jade Norris And Quayside 1–2–3–4–5–6

The final act of the evening is Barefoot Soul, a five-piece band featuring frontman Jim Bryant who used to front former local act “Coke Can Jack”. To understand the courage that these guys used to get to the stage tonight, they announce that last week Jim’s Father; fellow songwriter and musician Richard Bryant passed away. To say music helps the healing process is an understatement and the band kicks off strongly with “Bourbon Eyes”. The band combines electric and acoustic guitars, to give a rootsy upbeat rock sound.

Next is a highly infectious tune call “Butterfly” which has such a catchy chorus that many of the audience are singing it with the band after the first run through. A song written by Richard called “Got You On My Mind” stirs up lots of raw emotion and half of the band understandably have to leave the stage to compose themselves. However, the remaining duo Matt Sawyer and Jon Beale continue to entertain with a lovely tune called breaking waves. After many hugs and the wiping away of tears, the rest of the band return and the mood is lightened with an unexpected cover of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream”. I am sure that Richard would be incredibly proud of his fellow musicians and the way they performed tonight with class and dignity. After a couple more originals including an older number from the Coke Can Jack days, it was now time to let their hair down with another cover. This time its Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” and the band get some of the audience up to join in and dance. Matt Black even comes to the stage and does his hilarious Stevie Wonder impression, raising a few laughs. It’s a perfect way to end the evening with a great well-performed upbeat tune that the audience really appreciated. When I lost my own Father a few years back; music was a massive comfort to me and certainly helped me with the healing process, and I’m sure this will be the same for the Bryant family…….RIP Richard Bryant.

Set Lists
Matt Griffiths
England’s Shore
Dear John
July 1916
Slow Dance
Avalon
Patrick McGee
Dreams

Jade Norris & Ouayside
Unkind
Medicated
Make Me Cry
Rebound
Cleanse
Far Gone
Break up with your Girlfriend
Material Things

Barefoot Soul
Bourbon Eyes
Butterfly
Where You Are
Grey & Old
Just a Girl
Got You on My Mind
Breaking Waves
Teenage Dream (Katy Perry)
Don’t Know My Mind
Bad News
Careless Beauty
Beg Steal or Borrow
Superstition (Stevie Wonder)

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