Nearing the end of term, last night was The Mic’s penultimate night at Acoustic Rooms before the Easter break, and as always it delivered a diverse line up of talented musicians, showcasing local artists skills.
Opening the night was Louis Croft who has previously performed at Acoustic Rooms and kicked off with a Jake Bugg feel and continued to play his original songs, ending on a more macabre note. Following Louis were Chris and Stella who also have played Acoustic Rooms before and they returned with their signature covers of classic rock and Motown songs and ended on a cover of ‘Love me Again’ by John Newman.
Josh Turner was up next, and he opened with an original song of his. His voice had an Irish feel to it and a particular highlight was his second song ‘Battle for a voice’ which was a powerful number and grabbed the attention of the audience. A seemingly very nervous musician, Laura, performed after Josh, but she had nothing to be nervous about as her voice immediately captured the crowd. Her first song was a cover of ‘Dreams’ by Fleetwood Mac and she brought her set to a close with a cover of ‘Hey Ya!’ by OutKast but adding her own sound to it and making the well-known song her own.
Kieran Greville who goes by the stage name Villanelle had some guitar trouble to start with so asked the audience to bear with his performance as he didn’t think it would be up to his usual standard. He was going for a very Alex Turner vibe with both his look and his lyrics and he assured the crowd that he’ll be back when he can get his guitar working properly.
It was then time for the headline act of the evening - Bethany Dyson, a singer/songwriter from the midlands. She performed a mixture of covers and original songs which had essences of country and pop. Bethany opened with a cover of ‘Ex’s & Oh’s’ which brought energy into the venue and got the crowd moving and singing along with her. She also covered ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ by Keane which she admitted was her favourite Keane song and her version was beautiful, and also covered ‘You Know I’m No Good’, an inspiration of Bethany. The set ended with her own song, a self-confessed “Funky little number” called ‘Sweet Love’ which left the audience on a high after her performance.
The night then returned to the open mic slots, restarting with another frequent performer at Acoustic Rooms, Ben Smith. His lyrics manage to incorporate some difficult subjects alongside quirky jokes to create a well-built picture for the audience to enjoy. He also told the crowd that he likes to cover local artists due to the abundance of talent in the area so went on to cover a Phil Ashmore song.
Acoustic Room regular Jalle then performed his well known ‘Remedy’ along with a couple of other songs that utilise his sing-rapping style to blend both rap and R&B together for a great performance.
Nat followed Jalle with a performance similar to last week with the same great energy and flow that has become expected from Nat. He uses his ability to perform in different pitches to convey complex emotions throughout and ended with freestyle rap over trumpets in a bebop style.
Returning to the more traditional open mic night artist was a female singer who did a few cover songs including ‘Halo’ and a Meghan Trainor song. She had a great voice and the well -known songs meant the audience got a chance to join in and sing along. Taking it back to rapping was Omari Marsalis who also often performs at Acoustic Rooms. This time he only did one of his songs, ’20 Freestyle’ so the performance was short but enjoyed, as always, by the crowd.
Another singer followed Omari with a few covers including another rendition of Amy Winehouse classic ‘You Know I’m No Good’ and she also had a really good voice and continued to add to the already talent full line up of the evening.
Next up was The Mic’s own Cameron Chadwick and Justin who performed some hip-hop style rap, going by the stage name of Exchecker. The two performed a new song together and it was interesting to see some new artists entering onto the rap scene at Acoustic Rooms and adding some variety to the mix. Hopefully we’ll see the pair back again soon. Following on from Cameron and Justin was Acoustic Rooms regular and well-known musician amongst the Nottingham open mic night scene, Myles Knight. Myles opened with a cover of ‘Believe’ by Cher and then went on to perform his original ‘Black and Blue’ and ended with what he told the crowd was his dads favourite song, yet again demonstrating his talent as a musician.
The night then ended with another talented singer who played his guitar and sang to leave the crowd in high spirits after a talent filled Acoustic Rooms set. Next week is The Mic’s last Acoustic Rooms before the Easter break and features guest band Luna Rosa, a medley of indie/alternative and punk/synth sound and who have performed over 300 shows since they formed in 2015. Supporting Luna Rosa is Joshua Zero, an alternative rock back who are influenced by Pulp and Father John Misty, so next week promises to be an exciting one for The Mic to end on.
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