Barely taking a breather after a packed out Canterbury Pride, The Lady Luck played host to a LOUD WOMEN evening of mixed genres, from pop-punk covers to ethereal folk. The weather might have turned, but things heated up in the compact venue.
Headline act Estelle Mey brought her visionary, signature sound to the evening, her mixed genres of neo-folk and spiritually cosmic with accents of punk weaving together to create something otherworldly, as if she’s lifting the veil on reality to show us the truth underneath. Where the support acts had manic energy and singalongs from the crowd, Mey’s audience watched her in awed silence, simply feeling the vibes as she explored vocal effects and lilting runs over a hurdy-gurdy, pounding ceremonial drum, and an acoustic guitar, explaining not only the general lore to each instrument but how each connects with her energy and her lyrics. It was a world away from the rest of the night, either leaving the crowd speechless or completely calmed.
But to get to the calm we weathered a welcome storm in the support acts – Sonder kicked off the evening, in spite of technical issues, and gave us pop-punk banger after banger. Each member looked at ease with each other and entirely at home on the stage, clearly there to have the best time with the crowd, their bone-shaped hair clips signifying their unity as they powered through classic tracks such as Wheatus‘ ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ and Blur‘s ‘Song 2’, whilst also gifting us two original tracks to prove they’re not just a covers band but a united group determined to develop their pop-punk sound from influential bands.
Red Alleyways took to the stage next, immediately delivering tearing grunge-rock riffs and beats under sentimental, at times matter-of-fact, lyrics that speak on difficult situations so many of us know deal with, vocalist Sophia Gainsford fully engaged with the crowd boasting a bright smile as she fluidly danced through her emotions.
With everyone limbered up, Not Now Norman conquered the stage with an infectious, vivacious energy from the first notes, singer Taylor-Grace giving her all to the screams, clean vocals and movement across the stage, not needing her elaborate plumage to grab the attention of the audience as her stage presence captured everyone’s delight.