Friday Feb 25th saw the birth of a new promotional company based in Mid Wales as Live Music? Live Music! (LMLiveMusic) hosted its inaugural event at The Hampton Hotel, Llandrindod Wells. A plethora of differing local musicians took to the stage and were ably supported by some renowned touring acts; together they rocked the very foundations of the Hampton, a venue that is fast gaining a reputation as one of the hottest underground music venues Mid Wales has to offer.
Preparations for the night started months prior and involved a myriad of local music enthusiasts joining forces with fellow supporters and artists who collaborated to host a truly memorable show. Builth Wells High School sixth form student Barney Williams, who provided artwork for the posters as well as being the photographer on the night, summed-up the overall opinion on proceedings by saying “The night was awesome, I am really looking forward to the next one.”
These sentiments were echoed by all those who experienced what was another very well attended gig. Rhayader’s Oliver Belfield, himself a budding musician and keen supporter of the local music scene, said “I can’t wait to get more practice under my belt and play at one of these gigs in the future.”
Hardworking PA guru Geoff Greaves, who provided splendid sound and lighting along with his assistant Matt Lodge, expressed his enjoyment at the calibre of musicians performing. In turn the ever grafting technicians, often fading into the background and getting little recognition, received widespread appreciation from all the musicians for the quality of sound and lighting they supplied.
18 year-old former Llandrindod High School student James Oakley, a devoted music follower who had his first experience as a promoter under the stewardship of LMLiveMusic, was buzzing for days after the show and has since shown a keen interest in being a part of more events “It was an epic night, thanks so much to everybody who came along and to the bands for putting on such an entertaining night.”
Yet it wasn’t only Mid Wales music connoisseurs who savoured the night, two touring bands were booked to play and had just as much fun. Worcester’s Zebedy Rays, stars of the Indie Rock scene, said after their rousing roof raising set that Mid Wales was a “joy” and the gig “truly rocked, Wales just needs some straighter roads!” lead singer Adam Ben Hickman joked. They enjoyed themselves so much however that they have already booked two further dates in the area on the back of the support they received from the local fans.
The trio came to Mid Wales whilst in the midst of their 12date War and Whiskey tour, which took in stunning and famous venues such as Thekla in Bristol, Kasbah in Coventry, Marrs Bar in Worcester and London’s Electric Ballroom where they were supporting Terrorvision. Yet Mid Wales held its head high and once again proved a viable location for touring bands. Zebedy Rays even took time from their busy schedule to send a personal email of thanks to the organisers, saying “Mid Wales was amazing. What a wicked night! We can’t wait to come back!” This sentiment is certainly mutual.
Another touring band who were made to feel thoroughly at home were Newport’s Hit or Miss, they enjoyed the night so much that whilst hosting their weekly slot on Newport City Radio, they dedicated part of their show to thanking everybody in Mid Wales, as well as giving feedback to the organisers. Bass Guitarist Tom Tsambanakis beamed on the night “The whole gig was wild, it is one of the best gigs we’ve played,” whilst he also mused on air to his listeners “We want to talk about Friday night in Llandrindod Wells, what can we say? To have everybody really enjoying our music and wanting to be a part of the show means such a great deal to us. We’re definitely going back to Mid Wales for more gigs.”
Dane Lloyd, lead singer of the band, put on an impromptu acoustic set to open the night, and was taken aback by the support he received, “the fans really got behind me, several people came up to me after the show and said I sounded great, somebody even said I sounded like Justin Beiber, but please don’t mention that! The crowd were awesome and sound set-up and lighting really great.” In truth Dane’s lyrical aptitude was far more inspiring than that of Justin Beiber, his remarkable vocal cords truly doing justice to Marvin Gaye’s classic Let’s get it On, for example.
The local acts who took to the stage were also eager to express their thanks for the support they were shown. The Loose Cannons, a relatively new act to Mid Wales are gigging extensively in the local area and are fast gaining an array of fans. They chose this show to unleash some of their new releases for the first time, and they received a thoroughly universal seal of approval. Lead singer Tom Mills of Builth Wells expressed his thanks to everybody on the night and the band are planning many more gigs in the area throughout the year.
The headliners were local Pop Punk favourites Kill it with Fire. The band have been going from strength to strength during recent months. Already having their track Don’t Look Me Up featured on pop punk compilation CD Sing Your Heart Out Loud released by Hang Tight Records, the quintet have been gigging far and wide. Their attendance at LMLiveMusic’s first gig also showed fantastic professionalism and willingness to support the local music scene as the band had spent nearly all week in London recording and putting the finishes touches to their EP, they subsequently dashed back to Mid Wales to entertain their fans before offering a support slot at Swansea’s Sin City for Reading’s Lost Boys the following day.
Yet despite some serious sleep deprivation, lead singer and synth player Andrew Carrington, a modest Rhayader lad, orchestrated their customary high octane set, ripping through the band’s repertoire of crowd pleasing anthems. In truth Andrew carries such a humble persona at times he seems almost oblivious to the headline-grabbing set he and his band are delivering, epitomised as he said post gig “I’m exhausted, but that was fun!” indeed it was, and merely taken in stride by a seriously talented musician. Being flanked by guitar wielding and ever smiling Jonny Davies, vastly improving bassist and real presence on stage Malwyn Ball and dynamic drummer Rhys Davies they brought the night to a barnstorming crescendo. Newest member, guitarist Bronek Wilson, also seemed to enjoy his first taste of a Hampton gig. On this latest evidence their meteoric rise into the higher echelons of the UK Pop Punk scene shows no signs of slowing and they are a local gem on the verge of breaking free from Mid Wales onto the national scene.
Expect to hear much more on these in the coming months as they put the finishing touches to their EP, plan a video for their debut single release as well as get a featured band review in The County Times.
LMLiveMusic has many more gigs planned, including a purely acoustic night happening at The Hampton Hotel, Friday March 25th, featuring 5local musicians. They are also joining forces with other local organisations and fellow promoters to do a day of live acoustic music at the Rock Park, planning a series of gigs throughout Mid Wales in April as well as an all day rock festival in the offing for July. This is the start for LMLiveMusic and it merely serves as a taster as the music scene in Mid Wales gets set to explode.
Preparations for the night started months prior and involved a myriad of local music enthusiasts joining forces with fellow supporters and artists who collaborated to host a truly memorable show. Builth Wells High School sixth form student Barney Williams, who provided artwork for the posters as well as being the photographer on the night, summed-up the overall opinion on proceedings by saying “The night was awesome, I am really looking forward to the next one.”
These sentiments were echoed by all those who experienced what was another very well attended gig. Rhayader’s Oliver Belfield, himself a budding musician and keen supporter of the local music scene, said “I can’t wait to get more practice under my belt and play at one of these gigs in the future.”
Hardworking PA guru Geoff Greaves, who provided splendid sound and lighting along with his assistant Matt Lodge, expressed his enjoyment at the calibre of musicians performing. In turn the ever grafting technicians, often fading into the background and getting little recognition, received widespread appreciation from all the musicians for the quality of sound and lighting they supplied.
18 year-old former Llandrindod High School student James Oakley, a devoted music follower who had his first experience as a promoter under the stewardship of LMLiveMusic, was buzzing for days after the show and has since shown a keen interest in being a part of more events “It was an epic night, thanks so much to everybody who came along and to the bands for putting on such an entertaining night.”
Yet it wasn’t only Mid Wales music connoisseurs who savoured the night, two touring bands were booked to play and had just as much fun. Worcester’s Zebedy Rays, stars of the Indie Rock scene, said after their rousing roof raising set that Mid Wales was a “joy” and the gig “truly rocked, Wales just needs some straighter roads!” lead singer Adam Ben Hickman joked. They enjoyed themselves so much however that they have already booked two further dates in the area on the back of the support they received from the local fans.
The trio came to Mid Wales whilst in the midst of their 12date War and Whiskey tour, which took in stunning and famous venues such as Thekla in Bristol, Kasbah in Coventry, Marrs Bar in Worcester and London’s Electric Ballroom where they were supporting Terrorvision. Yet Mid Wales held its head high and once again proved a viable location for touring bands. Zebedy Rays even took time from their busy schedule to send a personal email of thanks to the organisers, saying “Mid Wales was amazing. What a wicked night! We can’t wait to come back!” This sentiment is certainly mutual.
Another touring band who were made to feel thoroughly at home were Newport’s Hit or Miss, they enjoyed the night so much that whilst hosting their weekly slot on Newport City Radio, they dedicated part of their show to thanking everybody in Mid Wales, as well as giving feedback to the organisers. Bass Guitarist Tom Tsambanakis beamed on the night “The whole gig was wild, it is one of the best gigs we’ve played,” whilst he also mused on air to his listeners “We want to talk about Friday night in Llandrindod Wells, what can we say? To have everybody really enjoying our music and wanting to be a part of the show means such a great deal to us. We’re definitely going back to Mid Wales for more gigs.”
Dane Lloyd, lead singer of the band, put on an impromptu acoustic set to open the night, and was taken aback by the support he received, “the fans really got behind me, several people came up to me after the show and said I sounded great, somebody even said I sounded like Justin Beiber, but please don’t mention that! The crowd were awesome and sound set-up and lighting really great.” In truth Dane’s lyrical aptitude was far more inspiring than that of Justin Beiber, his remarkable vocal cords truly doing justice to Marvin Gaye’s classic Let’s get it On, for example.
The local acts who took to the stage were also eager to express their thanks for the support they were shown. The Loose Cannons, a relatively new act to Mid Wales are gigging extensively in the local area and are fast gaining an array of fans. They chose this show to unleash some of their new releases for the first time, and they received a thoroughly universal seal of approval. Lead singer Tom Mills of Builth Wells expressed his thanks to everybody on the night and the band are planning many more gigs in the area throughout the year.
The headliners were local Pop Punk favourites Kill it with Fire. The band have been going from strength to strength during recent months. Already having their track Don’t Look Me Up featured on pop punk compilation CD Sing Your Heart Out Loud released by Hang Tight Records, the quintet have been gigging far and wide. Their attendance at LMLiveMusic’s first gig also showed fantastic professionalism and willingness to support the local music scene as the band had spent nearly all week in London recording and putting the finishes touches to their EP, they subsequently dashed back to Mid Wales to entertain their fans before offering a support slot at Swansea’s Sin City for Reading’s Lost Boys the following day.
Yet despite some serious sleep deprivation, lead singer and synth player Andrew Carrington, a modest Rhayader lad, orchestrated their customary high octane set, ripping through the band’s repertoire of crowd pleasing anthems. In truth Andrew carries such a humble persona at times he seems almost oblivious to the headline-grabbing set he and his band are delivering, epitomised as he said post gig “I’m exhausted, but that was fun!” indeed it was, and merely taken in stride by a seriously talented musician. Being flanked by guitar wielding and ever smiling Jonny Davies, vastly improving bassist and real presence on stage Malwyn Ball and dynamic drummer Rhys Davies they brought the night to a barnstorming crescendo. Newest member, guitarist Bronek Wilson, also seemed to enjoy his first taste of a Hampton gig. On this latest evidence their meteoric rise into the higher echelons of the UK Pop Punk scene shows no signs of slowing and they are a local gem on the verge of breaking free from Mid Wales onto the national scene.
Expect to hear much more on these in the coming months as they put the finishing touches to their EP, plan a video for their debut single release as well as get a featured band review in The County Times.
LMLiveMusic has many more gigs planned, including a purely acoustic night happening at The Hampton Hotel, Friday March 25th, featuring 5local musicians. They are also joining forces with other local organisations and fellow promoters to do a day of live acoustic music at the Rock Park, planning a series of gigs throughout Mid Wales in April as well as an all day rock festival in the offing for July. This is the start for LMLiveMusic and it merely serves as a taster as the music scene in Mid Wales gets set to explode.
Review by: Kevin Martin
(published by The County Times: 11th March 2011)
