This year saw the 31st of January to 6th of February play host to a wonderful week of celebrations across Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales, for Independent Venue Week. We got a special treat here, with Northern Irish ambassador Soak holding a mini-independent venue week tour, travelling to some of their favourite venues, new and old across the country.
I was fortunate enough to catch them on the Belfast leg of the tour and what a night it was. The Oh Yeah Centre hosted the sold-out show on Saturday the 5th of February. Ailbhe Reddy, opened the show with an acoustic set, setting the tone immediately. She played songs from her Choice Prize nominated debut album ‘Personal History’ such as Self Improvement and between Your Teeth. Leaving me, and the crowd very impressed.
Then to the main event.
The lights dimmed, the crowd burst into a roar of applause and SOAK took to the stage; accompanied by The Villager’s Tommy McLaughlin on electric guitar and backing vocals. The first words the star uttered were, “This is quite scary”, and the honesty was appreciated by the crowd. They explained how it was great to be back on the road again after such a long time not being able to perform. Soak’s set consisted of a lot of new material taken from the 3rd upcoming album If I Never Know You Like This Again. I always think it’s such a brave thing for an artist to showcase their new music, as an audience won’t be as familiar with the new material. But the crowd loved it. Songs like ‘You’re full of S***’ and most recent single ‘Last July’ were stand outs on the night. It really encapsulated what the new album was all about and made you feel a part of the artist’s story and experiences as they played out through the song.
It was great getting to hear SOAK in an intimate, stripped back setting. It brought me back to seeing them perform when they were around 16 years old and it really showed the progression they’ve made as a songwriter and performer over the years. They performed some of my old favourites such as ‘B a noBody’ and ‘Sea Creatures’. I even managed to catch SOAK after the gig, for a quick chat. They mentioned what it was like to perform ‘Sea Creatures’ again, “It hit something in me, a little tear was there. You see how much it means to other people. Now I play it, it’s more about the people in the room, and the people who are singing it back to me”. SOAK hit the nail on the head, you really could see how much it meant to people in the room at the gig. There was a real sense of joy among the crowd as everyone sang together. All in all, two spectacular performances from Ailbhe Reddy and SOAK.
We are so lucky to have such special artists on this isle we call home, and I couldn’t have asked for a better Independent Venue Week!
