Arguably one of the best industry showcases for up and coming musical talents in London, Showcase Live celebrated their 5th Birthday this Monday, and certainly taught us a thing or two about how to throw a party in the process. As we have come to expect from Showcase, they completely packed out Chelsea’s Under the Bridge with music enthusiasts, aspiring artists, talent scouts, record executives and a few celebrities including Pixie Lott who looked keen to check out the stars of tomorrow.
As usual there was a fairly eclectic array of musical genres in the mix and Times Red kicked-off proceedings with their first gig ever, seamlessly fusing vocals, tight beat-boxing, keys and guitar to really get the night started on the right track. It was unreal to think that this was their first appearance on stage, but I can guarantee it certainly won’t be the last time we see them, and their fresh and dynamic sound is clearly here to stay.
Elsie followed shortly after and totally blew the room away with her no-holds-barred attitude, rocking the venue to it’s very foundations getting everyone fully immersed in her music.
Next up was soul man Duke, who had to win top marks for being the showman of the night. His infectious soul and the almost James Brown like air to him ensured that no one could fail to grin from ear to ear and was like a blast from the past, yet so refreshing to hear.
Buzzing with label interest, Felicity Kaya is simply outstanding to watch …oh, and listen to, with an incredible vocal ability oozing with jazz influences. She also just has such a great stage presence about her, leaving the girls idolising and the guys gawping. It is also unbelievable how young she is (having just turned 20) and rest assured that she will definitely remain one to watch out for.
Jermaine Riley was next to take to the stage and the headliner of the night, previewing material from his new album, he also clearly looked to already have a big following out to support him. This boy truly has SOUL.. with some pretty impressive dance moves to boot. His unique Motown-like tonality practically transported us all back in time, the only problem is I wish I had that same ability to help transport me back in time to hear him again.
For those of you who have not yet had the chance to get down to a Showcase Live event, tickets for the April 16th gig will be on sale soon and we will no doubt secure some for our members, so if you haven’t done so already, may I suggest that you head straight over to our privileges page and sign-up for our newsletter to make sure you do not miss out http://cdclifestyle.com/privileges
