A WORLD famous singer-songwriter rocked Warrington last week as Jake Bugg performed a huge set at the iconic Parr Hall.
The artist of ‘Lightning Bolt’ fame kicked off a nationwide tour in Warrington, where he will play in 15 small venues around the country.
The ‘Your Town’ tour focuses on supporting these smaller gigs around the country, with venues nationwide facing constant threat of closure and the grassroots music scenes dwindling.
The 29-year-old has played far larger arenas in the past than Parr Hall, and this expertise in his team was on display the entire night.
Lighting at the concert was brilliant, and the whole night ran as smooth as any gig possibly could.
The ‘Lightning Bolt’ star played two sets – an initial intimate performance where he played a solo acoustic set of songs. This lasted roughly 30 minutes and was a perfect way to ease into a night of great music.
Following this, there was a light interval that saw packs of people race for the bar – and he came back out with his band to perform another full set.
When Jake publicised that a ‘full band’ would come out for the second half of the gig, you might have expected more than two people accompanying him.
Part of this though is Jake’s absolute talent on the guitar, with him singing and playing the guitar for every song – as opposed to artists who have one wheeled out for exactly one song in a full set.
The night was a mix of his older stuff, which most will know him for, and the Clifton artist’s newer less revered material.
It was sad to see every announcement of ‘this is going to be one of my newer ones’ being met with crowds flooding to take their chance to head to the toilet, but the newer material were some of the best portions of the night.
Featuring a rockier edge, it was music perfectly made for such an iconic rock venue as Parr Hall.
Unsurprisingly, when songs such as ‘Two Fingers’ and the aforementioned ‘Lightning Bolt’ came on the crowd was absolutely jumping.
Undeniably – the night was a huge success, with a bona-fide pop star succeeding in his mission to bring big nights to small venues.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here