Last night’s Acoustic Rooms saw a return to the more traditional open mic music, with singer/songwriters accompanied by their acoustic guitars dominating the evening.
Opening the night was Tom Pryce who had been to Acoustic Rooms late last year. He opened with his song ‘Falling’ and then went on to play a couple more original songs which set the tone of a calm and laidback evening. Next up was Lee Moore who picked the pace up slightly with his cover of ‘Staying Out For The Summer’ by Dodgy. This energetic and positivity filled number began to get people a bit more excited for the night to come and ready for the next acts.
Josh Turner went on to perform a selection of his original songs including one which he had recently finished writing and the crowd seemed to really enjoy. His sound was also more laidback and emotional compared to Lee Moore and the variation of sound was keeping the audience entertained. Mixing up the mood yet again was Ryan Brooks who played his guitar and sang with enthusiasm and power, incorporating a country and folk feel to his music. Unfortunately, his set was interrupted by an audience member aggressively demanding somebody to play ‘Creep’ by Radiohead, but Ryan handled it well and got a laugh from the crowd- proving that every week is different and never dull at Acoustic Rooms.
Returning to Acoustic Rooms was well-known rapper Jalle who again performed crowd favourite ‘Remedy’. This week Jalle was accompanied not by the usual backing track but instead by Isaac who played guitar for him which mixed things up and gave the performance a bit of added character. Following Jalle was another Acoustic Rooms regular - Junior, who followed on from last week performing some rap music with extreme bass and some shocking lyrics to accompany which definitely got attention from the crowd and stood out from the other performances.
It was then time for Ryan Sparrow, the featured guest of the night who performed a variety of his own songs which incorporated his emotional lyrics, soft vocals and impressive guitar skills which included the use of finger tapping. Ryan originally performed at Acoustic Rooms back in 2017 and made the journey from Birmingham to perform last night. His performance was strong and his lyrics powerful, referencing the troubles of our time and Ryan’s outlook on them.
Following Ryan Sparrow was Nat, another regular to the Acoustic Rooms night, performing some of his impressive rap music with incredible speed and impressive flow. Despite admitting he had a bit of a cold, Nat blew the crowd away with his talent and even mixed things up when he rapped along to a trumpet solo with a 1920’s feel, a drastic change to the usual routine which left the crowd gobsmacked by the performance. Nat went on to perform his final song as a rap battle with Shaman who has performed at Acoustic Rooms previously but not for a while. It ended Nat’s set on a high and the room was buzzing afterwards.
Myles Knight was up next, returning the night to the more traditional acoustic night. He performed a fairly new song to start and went on to perform and acoustic rendition of his latest single ‘Black and Blue’. He finished with his song which he said was “inspired by crack addicts” and he admitted that he writes “a lot of weird music”. The song’s lyrics took on an Alex Turner like feel with the humour and blunt reality of the situation intertwined.
After Myles was Laura Alamn from Kent who told the room she was looking to relocate to Nottingham as she has “fallen in love with the city”. She performed some original pieces which she has been recording in Nottingham and ended with ‘Bird in a Cage’ during which she asked the crowd to contemplate the fact that life is not ownership.
Georgia Moorley followed Laura with a strong cover of ‘Hotel California’. Georgia’s voice was powerful and resembled the likes of Duffy with the attitude behind her vocals. Next up was returning favourite January Moonlight, who hasn’t performed at Acoustic Rooms for a while. He opened with his classic cover of ‘Rule the World’ but this time it had a different sound to it, less aggressive and more focused on the guitar, which improved the performance. He also covered a Deacon Blue song before finishing with is own song ‘Black Fields’ which crescendos with an aggressive guitar section.
Olly Hensby then performed a few of his original songs and ended his set with a song he had only finished writing that day, so he apologised if he made some mistakes during it. However, he performed it well and the crowd enjoyed the performance. Finally, finishing the night off was a female acoustic singer who covered the Nickelback classic ‘How You Remind Me’ which she tried to make her own and the audience was left impressed with yet another successful Acoustic Rooms.
Next week at Acoustic Rooms, guest artist Bethany Dyson will be headlining the night alongside the usual mixture of open mic talent, so be sure to come down and enjoy free entry with happy hour all night long.
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