Quality music in intimate Leamington venue

THE upstairs bar at the Grand Union is a tight, intimate and very atmospheric venue for live music - especially on the acoustic side.

Friday’s headliner was Kristy Gallacher but, apart from her performance, we had a wealth of musical talent on display.

Beginning the evening, a gentleman who does such a good job keeping the local music scene alive - Matt Hernandez, with a small selection of well-played classical acoustic guitar pieces. It was then onto John Wright, whose small set included a chilled-out version of the George Gershwin number Summertime.

Suzy Indygo was next, with a jazzy, funky, sassy set. Looking very stylish, she wowed the crowd and ended in a rousing fashion, with the uptempo original Shuffle. It was my first look at this lady and she really impressed.

I have seen Kristy perform a few times over the last few years and she has fast become one of my favourite artists.

We had a few tasters from her next album at this show, including Hearts For Orpheus and Blood. It was clear to see that the standard of her previous album is alive and well. I was so pleased she included my favourite number from Spinning Plates, Fending Off the Frost in her set - a number that just rolls along with it’s beautiful heartfelt lyrics.

To close her set, she sang a fabulous rendition of Bob Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right. It was really good to see Kristy play in Leamington and very much hope she returns soon.

As an added bonus, we had another performance to finish the night when Tec Ward closed the evening. The highlight of his set was his excellent take on the instrumental Classical Gass.

A quality nights music in a room obviously filled with music lovers. I will try not to leave it long before I return.

Andrew Lock