Review by Ivor Whitten for MPM
The Ulster Sports Club in Belfast was a hub of excitement with a good-sized crowd packing into the intimate environs of the upstairs music hall, many having been there for over an hour before anything kicked off. The hubbub of chats about tonight’s performers was constant.
Tonight was going to see Bristol based Hunny Buzz support a gem of a blues performer Hannah Wicklund.
The time had arrived, and Hunny Buzz took to the stage with frontwoman Lyd Read eating up the stage ably supported by her three bandmates, guitar, Rowan Barfoot (guitar), Ewan Base (Bass) and Billy Pedrick (Drums). Delivering a refreshing indie pop hinted with a bit of rock undertone Lyd and her band delivered an uplifting performance with a raw emotion that resonated with everyone watching.
Kicking off with “Not Your Place” and “Love Me Like You Used To” the band expertly played with the audience who had mostly pushed right up to the stage as they responded in kind singing along and let their inhibitions drift away. Nobody cared how anyone was dancing, everyone was experiencing the moment, which was just delightful. Along with “Palpitations”, “Nice Guy”, “Maisy” and “Now I Can Get Over You” the performance was pure effervescent indie pop with a bit of fuzziness thrown in, all with Lyd’s waspish vocals. Throughout the set the band worked well together, enjoying the stage and encouraging audience participation, even going so far as to had out percussion instruments to audience members. Overall, it was an uplifting performance from an up-and-coming band that has already been highlighted on BBC Radio One.
After a bit of break for break down and set up the stage once more, then came the main event. Hannah Wicklund was about to take the stage. Her band mates had already settled into their stations when she wafted onto the stage barefooted and looking like a Celtic elfin woman from head to foot.
The smile on her radiant face was practically stretched from ear to ear. Walking up to the microphone they immediately dropped into “Hell in the Hallway” and proved straight away Hannah may look delicate and waifish but with a guitar in her hand she can weave the most incredible southern style rock blues pop accompanied with a raspy voice mature way beyond her years. Yes, the whole band worked together in perfect symmetry, but Hannah seems to just nonchalantly make her guitar intone as sweetly and emotionally as she sings.
The incredible set continued with “Hide and Seek” and “Witness”, where the inimitable talk box got a run out and what a pure joy it was too, with a beautiful piano intro into a beat driven fuzzy deeply expressive song. With “Mama Said”, Hannah just kept delivering spiritually uplifting song after song, her irrepressible voice belting out a powerful vocally charged performance accentuated with a soul touching guitar solo.
The rest of the band took their leave and Hannah proved how an incredible singer, guitarist and all round performer she is with “Shadow Boxes and Porcelain Face”, a comment on social media, and “Songbird“. We would then have been given a live performance of “The Prize” but technically difficulties with sound at the piano put paid to that. Now that may have flustered some, but Hannah just seemed to be unflappable and with a shrug of her shoulders the rest of the band came back, and they continued on as if nothing happened.
With each song like “Can’t get Enough”, Intervention”, and “Dark Passenger” the soul touching emotional delivery and sway of Hannah’s expertise on her guitar kept reigniting emotional melancholy responses that felt purely cathartic. With rhythms, dips, rises and delicate touches Hannah and her band just deliver a genuine experience that just hits you in both mind and heart.
She finished off her set with “Sun to Sun”, “Bomb Through The Breeze” and “Strawberry Moon” with aplomb, joy and all throughout the show, the crowd threw themselves into every song, singing along, dancing and just immersing themselves in the music. What a performance and what a live experience, especially to see someone so skilled in such an intimate setting is something everyone there will be talking about for some time to come.
Overall, the evening was a steal at the ticket price. To have your emotions and senses just pulled along on a journey that after a day at work is exactly what you needed without knowing it. Hannah Wicklund is an absolute treasure in todays’ overly saturated market of musicians all vying for your time and money. Its not to do anyone else down, its just that Hannah is one of those rare musicians that is full of confidence, skill to back it up and a beautiful humbleness.
Hannah Wicklund is finishing up her EU tour, with Belast being one of the last, but there is still time. Check her website at https://hannahwicklund.com/tour/ for up-to-date shows.
Hannah released her new album “The Prize” through her own Label earlier this year and collaborated with Greta Van Fleet’s Sam Kiszka and Danny Wagner. And what an album it is too.
