Local music was live and kickin' down at Mama Liz's in Stamford, seeing a full fun-filled evening of local artists and bands, Darcey Caughey, Nick Corney and The Buzz Rats and Yodaclub supporting Stevie Jones and The Wildfires album launch event.
A fantastic location choice as the venue Mama Liz sets the tone with its individual, quirky, and very music-inspired style - The perfect home for live music.
Greeted by Darcey Caughey's beautiful and melodic vocals and acoustic guitar sounds, welcomed by great distinctive and energetic music from Nick Corney and The Buzz Rats, and entertained by Yodaclub who served the crowd lots of interactive fun accompanied by all the grooves and moves.
Stevie Jones and The Wildfires took to the stage. They provided the ultimate finale, performing their newly released album 'Clarity In Dusk', with Stevie Jones (vocals/songwriter/acoustic), Alfie (Guitarist), Dave (Drummer), and Bob (Bassist), all in their absolute element throughout their performance.
You may have heard the lead single of their album 'Carmen' be played regularly on Revolution Radio on my local music show, I instantly fell in love with it once I heard it, and it was a real pleasure meeting the band behind it and seeing them play live.
Their energy filled the room as they rocked out and presented their creative and meaningful 9-track studio album, recorded at Deadline Studios in Leicester with producer Adam Ellis.
'Violet Lane', 'Come In From The Rain', 'Carmen', 'Do Or Die', 'False Gods', 'Broken Doll', 'Clarity In Dusk, 'Eras', 'Gone But Not Forgotten'
Each song is praised and cheered by the listeners, and many fantastic moments are collated throughout the evening from crowd interaction, clapping, dancing, singing, and enchanting instrumental solos. Stevie has a great natural stage presence that creates a friendship with the audience as he tells them stories behind their music and creativity.
"Really great evening. Stevie Jones and The Wildfires are very engaging, Stevie is expressing his truth and it will inspire other people" - Gabriella and Tony
The 'Clarity In Dusk' album includes many thought-provoking songs that express feelings towards shifts and changes that occur when passing through different phases of our lives.
You can feel the real emotion and wisdom from Stevie whilst singing his songs as not only do they express real-life experiences but also worldly affairs that we can all collectively relate to, and with The Wildfires coming together through their own lived experiences and passion to play, this radiates such a wonderful feeling of relatability and unison.
"Stevie Jones and The Wildfires are fantastic! First time seeing them live, a really great chemistry on stage" - Jules
I had a great conversation with Stevie Jones and The Wildfires backstage getting to know them more, what their creative process is like and more.
We also spoke about some relatable and current issues that many independent musicians face within the music world as now arguably, the success of a musician seems to be more based around social platform virality. See the full interview below.
It is great to have these discussions as there are many independent musicians, artists, and bands that may feel inspired by these talks and experienced musicians like Stevie Jones and The Wildfires, these conversations also express how much local music really matters and how we can and should support our local music scenes as much as we can.
The album artwork and merchandise are inspiring and powerful and align perfectly with the album! - Designed and Produced by Music Bragg.
A very successful evening for all of the wonderful and talented musicians involved, the media crew from Music Bragg Neil, Natasha, and Dan, the staff and venue management at Mama Liz's, and of course Stevie Jones and The Wildfires.
"Stevie Jones and The Wildfires are absolutely brilliant. Highlighting important environmental and societal issues" - Music Bragg
I personally have learned a lot from Stevie Jones and The Wildfires and have been inspired by their realism, compassion, and ability to perform and express truths. I highly recommend listening to tracks 'False Gods', 'Clarity In Dusk', and 'Eras', which present some of these truths and really get you thinking about life today in a personal but also collective manner.
Speaking of 'Eras', I hope that we can all continue to help support and pave the way for our local and independent musicians, grassroots venues, and any local music-related businesses, to break through a new era of our own.
Show your support by giving the album a listen and following Stevie Jones and The Wildfires, you can keep up to date with their latest performance dates and announcements below.
Need a gig review? Email: thesingerwhopaints@hotmail.com
Written by Jodie Erica, Founder of TSWP, Singer/Songwriter, Music Blogger, Local Music Radio Presenter