Hurst Unplugged – Talent Unleashed

Singer songwriters and instrumentalists have taken centre stage in the annual Hurst Unplugged event, delivering electric performances.

Inside a full Music School, parents and pupils were treated to a collection of cover songs and a look into the music of tomorrow with some original compositions.

Ross Clover opened with a fresh brass sound, singing Jamie Cullum’s Twenty Something. He set a high bar; equalled by those that followed.

With eyes and ears set, the audience were ready for the first original composition of the evening which came from Maddie Leeper. She produced a gentle and thoughtful piece that, verse by verse, held a measure of recordable quality. Thereafter, Rosie Zeidler and James Hammond performed their own scores; both with skill and aplomb.

The first part of the evening also included renditions of rock hits by Johnny Cash, played by Franklin Wilson and later, The White Stripes played by the Shell Band. The audience were lifted to cheer and applause once again before the break.

Rock regained roll for the second part when “No Name”, a five piece band with charismatic front man Joss Harris, brought David Bowie’s Starman to Hurst.  Settling to quieter levels, three original performances followed with Lewis Barnes, Callum Gibson and Miles Borrett displaying their high vocal and acoustic talent.

James Mitchell gave one of the performances of the night with the plugged in, loop station pedal. With excellent timing, he laid a bed of rhythm and tune to produce an enthralling version of The City, by Ed Sheeran. He was later joined by Ellie Hargreaves who added beautiful voice and piano to James’ guitar skills.

With the show nearing its conclusion Miles Borrett was on stage again, firstly with Amelia Hammond and then Lauren Hope. Their duets glowed. In particular, a mix of four songs in one, showed the level of creativity on display.

Before the night was over, Nathan Dean demonstrated the quality of his original material, before Angie Wong and Hollie Trist aimed for the ‘Indie Kids’ among the audience with their version of Love Love Love by Avalanche City. Overall, each act left the stage to rapturous applause, with many thanks going to Hurst’s teacher of Music Technology, Derick Austin who said, “We witnessed some extraordinary performances especially from the younger pupils.  It was a wonderful evening”.  

 

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Starlight Expressl

Richard Hadfield