Home   /   What's New  /  Reviews  /   Country comes to Shoreditch with Jess & the Bandits
Country comes to Shoreditch with Jess & the Bandits

On Thursday night, country music in London officially became hipster as it found its way to Shoreditch!  The delicious and boutique setting of Zigfrid von Underbelly in Hoxton Square was the venue for a capacity crowd being treated to a fabulous evening put on by Sonnet Roots featuring three of their superb acts.  A headline show from Jess and the Bandits along with vibrant up-tempo acoustic sets from Kevin McGuire and Jade Helliwell would be enough to have the usual Shoreditch crowd struggling to find UK Country seriously un-cool.

I have known Jade for just under two years and in this time I really have seen someone that gets better every time you see her.  There is never any doubt of how strong a voice this girl has but her stage presence just keeps feeling more and more natural with every show I see her at but what impresses most about her development as a vocalist is how much vocal control she now has with her vibrato.  It’s not just purely a big powerful voice but a voice and songwriting style that is so warm and open to being creative.  Joined on stage by Luke Thomas on guitar it just showed how hard they are working on new material and how she is constantly looking to showcase new songs that she performs so effortlessly almost as if they had been written years ago.

On the subject of new material, one of the highlights of the set was her forthcoming single “Drive” which is to be released on November 16th.  According to Jade: “Drive is probably my favourite single so far. It’s catchy and upbeat. I wrote it about a personal experience and I’m excited to see what people think to it. I took a lot of influence from the likes of Danielle Bradbury and Kelsea Ballerini so hopefully that shows through too. I can’t wait for it to be available for everyone to hear!”  Catchy and upbeat are definitely what comes to mind straight away when you hear the track and solidifies herself as one of the premier vocalists and songwriters amongst the UK community.  There will be plenty more coming from Jade hopefully both sides of the Atlantic and you can keep up to date with all things Yorkshire on Facebook Twitter & Instagram

This was followed up by a set from Kevin McGuire who also managed to deliver an upbeat acoustic set whilst ensuring the audience did their best to keep him updated on the Celtic score during their 2-1 victory over Red Bull Leipzig in the Europa League.  Kevin is one of the strongest male vocalists in country music this side of the pond with a really natural sound that could easily be placed on any stage as he really just is himself on stage, vocally and in his songwriting.  With a set including favourites from his “Foreign Country” EP and also his energetic new single “As Good As It Gets” which was released November 2nd.  The single is the first release following extensive studio and writing time which has coincided with an array of shows all over the country duringthe last twelve months and if this track is a starting point there should be plenty of excitement surrounding future new material.

As Good As It Gets is available to stream or download from the usual sources but to take you straight to them head to https://lnk.to/asgoodasitgetsTW and prepare to really enjoy what Kevin talks about: “This record feels like a real turning point in my life (not like me to sound dramatic). It’s one of the most honest songs I’ve ever written, even when I thought I was writing as honestly as I could before… this feels like a different level. There’s no hiding. The song is about not wanting to hide your feelings, and if you like someone, the chances are they’ll be aware. But… if they don’t like you back, it’s almost like a ‘please don’t crush me, let me down gently’ statement.”  If you would like to find out more about Kevin along with future dates and releases (in addition to regular educated views on the delights of Scottish football) you can find him on Facebook Twitter and Instagram

The night was rounded off in the usual classy and sassy style of Jess and the Bandits.  Jess has been one of the forerunners or pioneers of the growth of country music in the UK for a number of years and still remains one of the most charismatic performers around.  A Texan that has well and truly been welcomed and adopted by the UK country fans as one of our own, she really knows how to put on a show.  With a vast and dedicated fan base delivering an array of tracks that the entire crowd knew to sing a long to it is no wonder that fans are eagerly anticipating the new music she is getting ready to be unleashed in 2019.  She mentioned this would be the last show for a while to get this new music ready and out there but she sure did put on a great show to round off the year.

A really fun night had by one and all in a super location (guys over here take note, the setting is cool with a great layout plus perfect in size, the sound was great and the beer is really good and a lot better priced than most venues in London!) so Thanks to Luke for inviting me along, Lara and everyone at Sonnet for putting on a great night and the “country family” for not succumbing to turning hipster in just one night.

Tags

Annette Gibbons
Hi, I’m Annette, I have been a huge country music fan since the early 90s those were the days we were lucky enough to have CMT in the UK. I enjoy nothing more than listening to country music whilst having a cold beer (or a moonshine) with friends. I try to as many gigs as I can here in the UK and in the USA; I think of Nashville as my second home and I am lucky to have made some amazing friends in Tennessee. Think Country is something I am very proud of, I just want to share my love and passion of all things country music related with you all.
Related Article