On a cold Friday evening, Chinnerys Southend welcomed live music lovers into an oasis of heated excitement as BBC Music Introducing Essex kicked off the first show on a post-lockdown tour to showcase local unsigned musicians.
The melodic and atmospheric UK Country tones of Lisa Wright began the night; the tempo raised a gear by indie rock band Rolled Up Sleeves, before the crowd was taken on a retro Californian / Talking Heads vibe by The New Twentys and finally driven to a climax by headliners The Trusted - an indie band gaining huge attention on the local scene - whose energy-fuelled performance left the crowd calling for more.
Watching from the wings was host, organiser and BBC Music Introducing Essex presenter Jake Peach, whose months of planning had resulted in a sell-out night of live music clearly deeply needed and appreciated by both the musicians and the crowd.
Photo credits: Karen Hunter
Read our Q&A with Jake below about the Tour
Hi Jake, what was your inspiration behind the tour?
During the pandemic, it was so gut-wrenching to see the arts and music industry crumbling right in front of us, and for a radio show that lives off of that, we shared the pain too. With things being pressed on pause for so long, we wanted to do our bit at BBC Essex and use our position in the community to kickstart the local music scene and industry once again. And because one area of the County hasn’t just felt the effects, we felt it was vital to cover every corner and try and revitalise Essex as a whole - hence us going ‘On Tour’!
How did you select the acts / venues?
The acts we chose are the ones that have impressed us the most over the last year or so and the acts we felt were a key part of their community and cared passionately about their local scene. Of course the list of artists with those qualities is endless, so it was also about who we feel could put on a great show and demonstrated to us that they deserved a shot. Like I say, that could have been many; if we could organise an ‘Essex Glastonbury’ I would. But it’s a bit above my capabilities right now!
Are you planning on this being an annual event?
There seemed to be a great appetite for it on Friday night and that was amazing for us; we had no idea how it was going to go, especially with everything that’s going on. I think we’d like to see how the rest of the Tour goes, and then go from there. But if there’s an appetite for it in the future and people want more, then why not?! If it’s feasible and COVID/climate continues to improve, we’d love to. It’s our duty and what we’re here for! But certainly one step at a time and we’ll go from there…
How would you describe Friday night's experience in 100 words or less?
Friday night at Chinnerys was a landmark moment for us; we’d had this idea for months on end and to finally see it come together and everyone enjoying themselves like old times, it was just the best! All the acts were amazing and Chinnerys did a brilliant job at keeping the night running smoothly. We couldn’t have asked for much more…
What can people expect from the upcoming shows? We certainly hope that the upcoming shows can be just as good, if not better, than our first night! Above anything, we just want people to have a good time, be entertained and know in our mind that we out there for our local community in any way we can be. The upcoming shows have some incredible and diverse talent on show, both in styles and energy - we want them to feel just as special as the first.
The next dates & venues on the tour are as follows - tickets can be bought via the venues' websites:-
Friday 17 Dec - Chelmsford - Hotbox - featuring BAXTR and Katy for Kings
Friday 14 Jan 2022 - Harlow Playhouse - featuring Ocean Flaws, Georgia Twinn & Jack in Water
Friday 11 Feb 2022 - Colchester - CODA - artist confirmation & tickets available soon