This is the opportunity we have been waiting for.
There has never been much of a chance for young people to listen to live music in Guernsey. We have Chaos Festival and Vale Earth Fair in the summer, but those are intimidating environments for young teens, especially when they don’t know any of the bands who are playing. Earlier this year we had the JT Rocks stage on Liberation Day, but that’s all. That served as an eye-opener for many young people, I think, when it comes to what we’ve been missing out on.
Guernsey has a thriving local music scene, but it’s pretty underground for those who aren’t in the know, especially those who are under 18. With the fairly new and well-received local radio feature BBC Introducing Guernsey (run and presented by Tom Girard, who was also the official photographer for the Sound Guernsey show), the local music scene has placed at the forefront of our attention. This new focus on local music has brought about a lot of improvements to the presentation and accessibility of the shows, such as the BBC Introducing stage that was set up on Arts Sunday earlier in the year.
When I was informed of the Sound Guernsey setup, I jumped at the chance. It was at a particularly convenient time for me, so I asked my friends and gathered a group of five others to accompany me as my mother had been the responsible adult to buy the tickets. Throughout the month in the run-up to the gig, I saw posters appearing around school, and people were selling tickets at the School of Popular Music.
When we arrived at around seven o’clock, there were already a lot of people hanging about both in the front room and the main room. The DJ playing was doing a good job of keeping the atmosphere up, it was laid-back and fun. Four of us headed out to the balcony where there were some free seats while my two other friends went to explore the refreshments on offer.
We headed back inside once we heard Honest Crooks setting up. Having had their first performance earlier this year and apparently a very good one from all that I heard, they were the band that I didn’t know much about. Coming from the family I do, I hear a lot of what goes on in the Guernsey music world, and it’s clear that Honest Crooks are a fantastic addition to the line up of usual suspects. Their set was diverse and well-performed, a mix of covers and original songs which I’ve seen referred to as ska-punk. The frontman, guitarist and singer James Radford, was dynamic and friendly during the set. The amiable nature of the band certainly endeared them to all ages in the audience, as did the energy and nature of the music (a considerable feat given the age-range attending).They were charismatic and lively, which upped the energy of the audience and while I don’t have any previous experience of Honest Crooks, I’ll definitely keep an eye and ear out for them in future.
Song of the set: Honest Crooks’ cover of ‘Royals’, originally performed by Lorde. A fantastic choice considering the ages of the audience and was the best cover I’ve seen of this particular song. It worked incredibly well when combined with Honest Crooks’ style and was clearly a hit with the audience.
Second up was a band I’ve seen several times, the ever-enjoyable Buffalo Huddleston. Buffalo Huddleston have been one of my favourite local bands for quite some while, with their eccentric arrangement and unique genre. As an aspiring violinist myself, I am constantly in awe of Sarah’s rich-sounding violin and how well it contributes to the sound. The music is energetic but not heavy, a perfect combination for the audience of 11-18’s. Not only this, but like Honest Crooks, Buffalo Huddleston’s MC Jull-z was as effervescent as ever, carrying the atmosphere with his amusing interludes; this is a band who are clearly adept at entertaining.
Song of the set: Buffalo Huddleston’s original song ‘Sunrise’, which is a long-standing favourite of mine and a staple of the set.
In conclusion, Sound Guernsey (@soundguernsey) is a fantastic opportunity for young people to get involved in the music scene where they couldn’t before. I’ll definitely be attending as many of the upcoming Sound shows as I can.
becks' journal 