Connor Selby Plays The Blues at Amazing Grace!

Connor Selby Brings His Signature Blues Sound to London Bridge!

With a classic blues vocal reminiscent of the late great blues and soul icon Ray Charles. Selby is a blues legend in the making with his signature smooth guitar sound and soulful voice. Hot off the heels of his recent tour with the formidable singer songwriter Beth Hart, Selby performed in the breathtakingly beautiful Amazing Grace. This converted 17^th church in the heart of vibrant London Bridge, with an exquisite light show projected onto the back wall and incredible acoustics was the perfect backdrop to a night of the blues.  Selby was supported on stage by an exceptional band consisting of Joseph Anderton (a talented blues artist in his own right) on guitar and Sönny B Winslœw on bass guitar. Winslœw gave the audience his own take on the walking blues bass guitar, making it sound fresh and new. Jonny Henderson was on Hammond organ, feeling every note, and skinsman Martin ‘Magic’ Johnson was on drums. A drummer so good he could make lesser drummers want to hang up their sticks!

Logan J Parker warmed up the crowd with her soulful brand of blues. Parker is an artist who really shines on stage and is undoubtedly on a journey to big things.  She gave a new twist to the classic blues theme of broken hearts and love lost with her catchy tunes and vibrant sound. Showcasing her original material, she sang from the heart delivering a personal and sometimes amusing narrative to the crowd. Sharing her stories of disappointing dating dramas and love gone wrong, Parker is sassy and unapologetic, the perfect remedy to those sickly-sweet pop songs that so often dominate the airwaves. She showed a real ability to interact with the crowd and I’m sure has been a huge asset to Selby’s tour. Supported by a band of talented musicians, including David Medland on trumpet, perhaps the coolest trumpet player ever to grace this stage?!

Selby opened his set with ‘I Can’t Let You Go’ from his recent album, ‘Connor Selby’, A song about heartbreak with a big Hammond sound and screaming guitar solos. The absence of an actual brass section seamlessly being filled by the band. Selby’s guitar rang out across the venue and the audience were mesmerised. The two things that stood out above all else were Selby’s soulful American roots voice and his classic delta guitar sound. ‘Falling In Love Again’ was a lighter blues skip with a catchy chorus that reeled the audience in. Hearing tracks like this, It’s easy to forget that Selby is a mere 24 years old! Talent of this level is rarely seen and always inspiring to watch. He demonstrated a skill and talent which is far beyond his years.

Throughout the show, whilst Selby interacted somewhat with the audience, there was little narrative between his songs and instead he left his music to do most of the talking. Each song flowed effortlessly from one into the other. A carefully crafted blend of emotionally charged blues and introspective song writing with subtle hints of gospel, folk and county and western reminiscent of the likes of B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Cream and Peter Green. Its easy see why Selby has been nominated for UK Blues Artist Of the Year at The UK Blues Awards.

Tracks like ‘The Man I Ought To Be’, a ballad with a raw blues feel, a lovely brush drum sound and a grass roots southern blues vocal full of tenderness and ‘You Hurt Me’ with lyrics full of angst and a sensational bass groove stole the show as Selby’s storming guitar solo continued to deliver.

The final song of the set was ‘Show Me A Sign’, an uplifting number that oozed funk, gospel and soul with its lighter vocal and wailing guitar ‘toe tapping’ solo. But the band didn’t even make it off the stage before they played their encore ‘Emily’, a big upbeat blues song with a certain singalong potential which the audience just loved! During the song, each band member took center stage proving to all present just why they’ve earned their spot on the stage with Selby!

As the show drew to a close and Selby and his band left the stage, there was a real buzz in the venue. A feeling that we’d all witnessed something wonderful, a pivotal blues moment. So how long will it be before Selby is headlining the bigger venues instead of being the support act? I think if today’s performance and the response from his audience is anything to go by, then it won’t be long at all! So if you like the blues, then check out Selby and his band, I can promise you that you won’t be disappointed!

Set List:
I Can’t Let You Go
Falling in Love Again
I Shouldn’t Care
The Deep End
If You’re Gonna leave me
My Baby Don’t Dig Me
The Man I Ought To Be
Hear My Prayer
That’s Alright
You Hurt Me
How Blue Can You Get
Show Me A Sign

Encore
Emily

All photos and words by Louise Phillips

For more information on Connor Selby, please check out his website  www.connorselby.com

Pictures of Connor Selby

Pictures  of Logan J Parker

For more information of Logan J Parker please check out her website loganjparker.com