Tenby Blues Festival 2016
Many reviews will be made in coming weeks - many by writers far more professional than me. I'll limit myself to just a few and these will appear over coming days:
Glas were simply electrifying. Given the task of getting things under way on the main stage on Saturday night, they more than met the challenge. With a set comprising their own material and a host of covers they soon had the audience involved. What is so special about Glas? James Oliver's guitar work seems natural and flowing yet somehow flamboyant and effortless at the same time. I happen to know that in addition to gigging several times every week, he spends lots of time at home practicing to improve his guitar skills. What many of us guitar aspirants would give for just 10% of this young man's ability. But he is not the stand-alone talent in this threesome. Huw on drums keeps the tightest of holds on the two mavericks he's performing with; his apparent indifference reminding me at times of the inscrutable Charlie Watts. Dave John has a really powerful voice and his delivery and phrasing are all his own - no imitation of the original performers for the cover songs in the Glas repertoire - Dave puts his personal stamp upon each song. Twinned with his vocals is his bass playing which can at times seem quite manic in its helter-skelter from one end of the fretboard to the other. Some bass players are almost static for whole performances just moving their hands to accommodate the changing notes, maybe bending an occasional knee in deference to the rhythm. Deep vein thrombosis might seem to be an occupational hazard for many bass players. Not so with Dave John. Glas' performance was a brilliant wake-up call to an evening of first-class entertainment. The audience were obviously fully engaged too and fully appreciative as testified by the amount of CDs and T-Shirts the band sold after their show.
Bella Collins Band - now with a settled staff team, Bella has just completed her debut album 'Late And Blue'. This young lady has it all - voice, songwriting skills, technical ability and an absolute love of performing her music - I believe that she has the potential for a tremendous future on the world stage and I'm not alone in this. Her band comprises former members of Snatch It Back, long-time legends within the Welsh (and beyond) Blues scene, and her lead guitarist is Pete Mathison, a widely respected musician who has toured the world with many of the greats in a long and illustrious career. The wonderful thing is that these veteran performers are all truly in awe of Bella's talents and potential, demonstrating this by investing their belief and experience into playing in her band.
Despite having performed at many festival events in the past couple of years, I know that Bella was nervous taking to the stage here. Why? Well, simply because this is a local festival to her and it really mattered to her that she put on a great performance. I noted Paul Billy Higgins, her bass-player, offering encouragement a couple of times early in the set but the crowd reaction ensured that she gained confidence quickly and she and the band put on a brilliant show with a mix of covers and her own songs. Many in the audience had seen Bella performing previously and she clearly made many new friends too with this outing. It was good to see Cardiff's legendary guitar man , Dave Dearnaley, who had contributed to a couple of songs on the album, making a 'guest appearance' to play these tunes at Tenby.
Make no mistake; with careful development and the right management Bella Collins could become a name which is recognised everywhere - I'm hoping that 'Late And Blue' will be the embarkation point for her journey to enormous success.
Despite having performed at many festival events in the past couple of years, I know that Bella was nervous taking to the stage here. Why? Well, simply because this is a local festival to her and it really mattered to her that she put on a great performance. I noted Paul Billy Higgins, her bass-player, offering encouragement a couple of times early in the set but the crowd reaction ensured that she gained confidence quickly and she and the band put on a brilliant show with a mix of covers and her own songs. Many in the audience had seen Bella performing previously and she clearly made many new friends too with this outing. It was good to see Cardiff's legendary guitar man , Dave Dearnaley, who had contributed to a couple of songs on the album, making a 'guest appearance' to play these tunes at Tenby.
Make no mistake; with careful development and the right management Bella Collins could become a name which is recognised everywhere - I'm hoping that 'Late And Blue' will be the embarkation point for her journey to enormous success.
