Singer songwriter Jez Lowe filled the room with music fans at Plug & Play’s final night of the season on Sunday 2nd May, writes Mitch Mitchelson. It was a great turn out and Jez played a strong and entertaining set with his own brand of folk songs about life in a North Eastern colliery town. He also performed several of his anti-war songs, though Jez joked that he was too old to remember which war they were written about, given that there always seems to be conflict somewhere on the planet these days. Jez Lowe is currently on tour playing gigs all over the country but for those who missed his Plug & Play performance and would like to catch up with him locally he will be performing with his group, The Bad Pennies, at Carlisle folk and blues club at the Sunset Suite, Carlisle United FC, on Friday 18th June.

As usual the stage was opened up to local performers prior to the main act and it was great to see some really strong acts turn up to entertain the Plug & Play audience. First up was a young band called Exit Stage Left who performed two rock covers and got a great response, your reviewer was very impressed with the choice of material, being a child of the 70’s and a big fan of 80’s rock. Next to perform were Penrith rock band Cobalt with three of their own songs, Cobalt are a great local rock band and really rocked the house with their tight musicianship and edgy vocals. Your reviewer hopes to see Cobalt getting booked for more local gigs to hone their craft. They really are worth seeing if you are a fan of original material with a strong vocal lead from Steve and a good musical rapport between band members Steven, Rick and Ricki. Appleby group Dusk Till Dawn were back on stage with more great original rock material and impressed the audience once again with a tight set. Singer songwriter Greg Wilson took to the stage next with some excellent original material and really strong vocals; Greg is a surprising talent and writes beautiful songs. Thomas Chambers was back to perform for the Plug & Play audience and was very well received; Thomas is 13 and has a great talent, and your reviewer noticed one or two of the young ladies in the audience were quite taken with him too. To bring the first half of the evening to a close Plug & Play regular Ethan Thomas took to the stage, however this time he was not alone and was accompanied by Calum Davies on keyboard and Georgina Coupland on vocals, they performed under the name of Late Draft and were excellent; Georgina’s vocal style complimented Ethan’s own style perfectly, she has a beautiful voice which your reviewer found truly captivating.

Keep an eager eye on this space and on the website (www.plug-play.co.uk) for the return of Plug & Play in September with more great live music and national talent together with more inspiring performances from our up and coming local musicians and singer songwriters at the Players bar on Auction Mart Lane. The Plug and Play team may also be involved in a live music event in Penrith town centre in August; more details to follow. Your reviewer is getting some great feedback from patrons of Plug & Play who really appreciate the opportunity to see live music at a local venue and word is spreading, with more new faces coming through the doors every month this season. Our thanks go out to everyone who has performed and to everyone who has turned up and supported our live music nights and made them so much fun. Plug & Play is run by a group of dedicated volunteers and music fans, including Dave & Julie Simpson, Tom Corda-Stanley, Chris Archer, Jackie Knox, Tim Hodges, Tom Rostron, Andy Keogh, Phil Catton and of course myself. We look forward to seeing you all in September for the new season; Details to follow. On a final note, in my previous article your reviewer got the dates wrong for the Greystoke music sessions which are held at the Boot & Shoe pub on the second and fourth Monday night of each month; Not the first and third, as previously stated. These are proving to be very popular sessions and if you’d like to join in or just listen to some live music and banter I’m sure Ben, Jan, Richard and Ed would be thrilled to see you.

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