On Saturday The Brink held it's monthly Young Musicians Session, organised by Dave Barnicle and Dominic Dunn, with James taking care of the sound desk.
First up was Millie Courtney, just 12 years old, but with a voice which showed amazing maturity for her age, singing her own compositions. I especially loved her second track "Love Struck". Millie is heading into the recording studio next week to record the last track she had for us today "Storybook" and you can follow her on Facebook. And we rounded off with the house in full chorus to wish a Happy Birthday to Millie's Nan :-)
Second on stage was Nadine McGhee, a 15 year old with a haunting style, her first track I could imagine being played as a train pulled out of a station, pulling the couple apart with tears in their eyes. Her third track was an acoustic cover of Titanium, and she smashed it. She played a good mix of covers and own material, and one of the latter "Breathless" is also on YouTube:
The afternoon's entertainment continued with Madelaine Kinsella who opened with an acoustic rendition of The Cure's, "Boys Don't Cry" which she really made her own. We were then treated to a first performance of her own song about growing up - when you get old(er) you forget what a traumatic time your teens can be as you find your way in the world, Maddy's lyrics of "Where's my place again" really resonated.
She then stepped it up with a cover of Arctic Monkey's "Arabella", followed by Peter Andre's "Mysterious Girl" as you've definitely never heard it before. Maddy finished with her own song "Ambiguous"
Next up was the lad behind the evening, Dominic Dunn. If you read anything I write you'll be familiar with Dominic and of course his brilliant video "Keep Them Tight"
Dominic opened with another song about boxing "I'm On My Way", followed by "La Vie et Belle", before we all joined in, some better than others :-), with "Can't Take My Eyes Of You". Back to sanity then with a song I'm now word perfect with... the aforementioned "Keep Them Tight".
Next a singer I've been looking forward to seeing for a while now. Rosh, a lad who is doing what I thought was impossible and persuading me to enjoy rap and grime. Here is his video "Demon"
What I like about Rosh is all his songs, which he writes himself, have a strong narrative. He also mixes in some cool backing tracks which align perfectly. His song "Alien" used Stings "Englishman in New York" to great effect and his take on "The Power of Love" was a joy to listen to.
Last act of the afternoon was Matty H, another young singer who's maturity of voice belies his age
He opened with a cover of Jessie J's "Who You Are".
Matty's backing track wasn't working so he did an entirely acoustic set, which was the best thing that could have happened, as it allowed us to really concentrate on his vocals. After a couple of covers courtesy of Adele and Bruno Mars he gave a really excellent version of Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" which he owned and gave an insight to how powerful his voice can be. Matty finished with one of his own songs, and it would be good to hear more of them. Definitely one to watch
If you want to hear more of Matty or Nadine McGhee, follow Artist Management on Twitter.
As Dave mentioned during his intros, it's not easy for people in their early teens to get on stage and perform, and it's fantastic that The Brink is offering them a showcase in such a friendly environment.
Young Musicians takes place every month at The Brink, Parr Street, Liverpool. Check out their Twitter or Facebook page and do not miss the next one!
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