Pluck is a brand new Welsh-centric music showcase that aims to highlight the wonderful array of emerging talent we have in Wales. The first iteration of this event took place in Clwb Ifor Bach and started with a group of Welsh performers talking about their rise to fame and the importance their homeland has on their careers. Hosting not only Pluck as an event but also the pre-performance interviews were the wonderful Sam and Danny from BBC Sounds who helped to break down that distance between performers and the audience which allowed the emotions to really transcend the stage when needed. What I thought was really clever about the layout of the pre-performance interview was the fact that the stage was decorated to look like a standard living room. This helped to create a much more relaxed and intimate feel to the questions which also helped to turn up the emotions later in the evening. It is very clear that both Sam and Danny have not only done their research on the three performances but are also very big fans of their music outside this event as they asked meaningful questions to each one of the guests. As well as being a Welsh showcase this event was also intended to create a network of musical creatives and so the relaxed feel with personable answers made it much easier to approach the artists when they were floating around later in the night.
The first performer to take to the stage during the inaugural pluck was the incredibly talented Rug (who you can follow on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/artist/01QFGC1QsaQBzXOzthLN0g?si=EHu8wxmGTnuwdHMy-7fW2Q) who I have to admit was not someone I was particularly familiar with before but is absolutely someone I am going to be keeping a close eye on going forward. Towards the beginning of his set Rug decided to showcase a performance of his original song “Enough” which talked about finding the love of your love. This song was wonderfully performed with the beautiful vocal runs being a particular treat for the audience. He also decided to showcase a rendition of his song “Dumb” which talked about making dumb decisions during his single phase and chasing the wrong sort of validating. This was a beautifully heartfelt song that explores something that the majority of people will experience at one point or another. I think it was particularly powerful that we saw a musical star essentially stand on the stage and talk about some of the mistakes they have made and when underscored by an incredibly emotional melody create a very heartfelt track! One of my favourite performances from Rug this evening however was his rendition of “Hey Ya” by OutKast which contained a unique twist to the energetic song. Before even playing the first chord of this iconic track, Rug made sure to break down the lyrics to highlight to emotional and powerful message that is drowned out by the upbeat/vibrant music. With just his guitar and mic in hand, this talented performer was able to totally subvert the feeling of the song (that I personally have heard over a thousand times) to create a much more moving performance of the track. Now that the actual lyrics have been highlighted and this version has been showcased at such an immense standard, I am afraid that I will never be able to listen to the original without having this exact moment in my head!
The second performer to take to the stage was the incredible Hannah Grae (who you can follow on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/artist/06vyPLBCJLDF8EGgQJEEhV?si=3dru6Xn1TkqzN8DEx0TqeQ) who is also a Welsh-born musical creative that continued the emotionally driven motif of the night. One of my favourite performances from Hannah at this was their performance of the original song “screw loose” which was a relatable yet wonderful song about the trials and tribulations of being a creative. I thought it was particularly interesting to hear that Hannah wrote this song during one of her creative slumps which not only shows how talented Hannah is to turn this brain fog into an incredible tune but also adds an extra layer of relatability to the song. It is painfully clear that Hannah wrote from the heart as the audience could easily see she felt every single of the the words she wrote/performed which made for a totally captivating and moving performance throughout. Breaking away from the plethora of emotional songs we had so far this evening, Hannah decided to showcase a rendition of her song “Better Now You’re Gone” which was a much more high-energy track. This number came to the perfect point as it provided a brief pause from the heartfelt performances thus far. As an almost anti-love song (actually containing the lyrics “I don’t want to write a love song”) this original song talked about the relief of moving on which matches the empowering vibe of the music itself perfectly! My favourite performance from Hannah this evening was when she decided to treat the audience to an exclusive performance of her new song “Star-crossed Lover.” As an English teacher, it is no surprise that I am about of a Romeo and Juliet fan (even talking about the accuracy of adaptations such as & Juliet which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2020/02/07/julet-reciew/) so seeing this ancient talent influence modern music is always very exciting! However, Hannah decided to truly break down the image we have of Romeo and showcase him as a bit of a lady’s man (just think about how quickly he moved from Rosalind to Juliet) which made perfect sense. Hannah talked about this toxic male image who uses his charm to quickly move on to the next woman which even thinking about how it affects every single one of them. I cannot wait for this song to be available on streaming sites as it is not only wonderful to listen to but also has been very cleverly written!
Headlining the first-ever pluck event was the one and only Ben Ellis (who we recently interviewed on our YouTube channel which is available at https://youtu.be/7FicblSPcJs?si=nieac6kEFKYLllZM) who from the moment he stepped onto the stage he had the audience totally captivated. Ben and I have actually known of each other for a very long time as he attended a theatre company around the corner from my home that many of my friends also attended but I had never been lucky enough to see him perform until now! He decided to showcase a rendition of his original song “Sophia” where he simultaneously played the guitar and sang live which will always be very impressive! This high-energy song talks about a negative influence who has “a bad idea” yet there is something that the narrator cannot free themselves from which again is a very relatable message. During our aforementioned interview, Ben discussed the message behind his latest single ‘No One Sleeps in Hollywood’ (which you can give a listen to at https://open.spotify.com/track/3TNXYSfjPYhZ3v9EGzgloo?si=8yyLu63TQU-qv-f-nzg4ng) which talks about the constant pressure of being a musical creative and the cultural contrast of big cities such as Los Angles in terms of work ethic. Having both Hannah and Ben open up about the struggles of being a creative helped the audience see the person behind the performer which made for a much more personable experience which I thought was a fantastic touch! Ben used his natural charisma to deliver this extremely catchy track which has a series of powerful lyrics. I have to admit that going forward my new favourite Ben Ellis song is the track “Deep” which contains an extremely soft opening that instantly captures the audience’s attention. In my opinion, this song possessed a clear inspiration by the artist formerly known as Prince with the higher sections of the song being flawlessly performed by Ben. The show came to an end with a duet of Hannah Grae and Ben Ellis delivering the only unaltered cover of the night where the two talented vocalists took on Chapel Ronan’s “Good Luck Babe” which was an absolute treat to the ears. The two voices worked beautifully together with Hannah making a clear effort to deliver a series of insane riffs in the latter moments of the song which were incredible!
Overall, the first-ever pluck event at Clwb Ifor Bach provides an excellent opportunity for emerging Welsh talent to showcase what they do while also cultivating a network of like-minded and local creatives which can only be a positive asset to have. I personally thought that how the Q and A section was put together helped to showcase a more personable and relatable side to each performer which was only supported by the plethora of accessible topics discussed throughout the night! I would rate this event 5 out of 5 stars and cannot wait for the next one!
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