Gig Review Martha Hill at NE Volume Music Bar

After the recent announcement of pub curfews of 22:00 this show started at a very early time

and finished early. But that didn’t stop Teesside’s live music followers from heading down early for the first act of the evening. Everything obviously feels different from table service, early starts and designated seating it’s all part of the new normal but that doesn’t ruin anything in fact the NE Volumes team have done a wonderful job at making sure that every one enjoys the shows whilst feeling safe. The first act of the evening was Stu Blackburn who you may know as former Purnells singer and current singer of the band Grim Lizard. He kicked things off with a set of Originals from The current band Grim Lizard and some Purnells classics along with some well choose cover songs. What you have got to remember now is that these shows are going to be some people first gigs in months so each opening slot is important in getting people back into the live music spirit in a new and unusual gig setting. I think Stu pulls this off very well with his more laid back versions of his bands music and crowd pleasing covers and natural charisma that comes out in his performance. He ticked all the right boxes after his set we got our second act Holly Rees from Newcastle. This was the second time for me seeing Holly perform live. I think she’s really found her own sound over the past few years. Her music is very catchy and easy to song along to. She writes music that people can relate to that’s taken from her own experiences. Hollys laid back and cool attitude comes out in her performance which makes her such a likeable performer to watch live. We then got the headline act Martha Hill. It’s been a whilst since I’ve seen Martha perform. For anyone who has not seen Martha before you need to get on it. Her performances are always something else and this night was no different. Playing a mix of songs from her first and up coming EP and some older songs that she has not performed in a while. The connection between Martha and the audience is huge from stunned silence to singing along and a huge ovation at the end which called of a encore. The live music experience may be different right now but with acts like these and venues like this we can be sure it’s not going to be bad at all.

Stu Blackburn

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Holly Rees

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Martha Hill

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