Despite the last minute change in venue after The Roxy 171 sadly went into liquidation the first Creation Sessions proved a real winner!

Hosted by Creation Artist Pete MacLeod the Creation Sessions aim to give real music talent a platform to deliver their music to a live audience and provide a welcome alternative to the X-Factor for fans of live music. On this debut night the crowd are treated to four different Scottish Singer/Songwriters with Ryan Morcombe, Aonghas Maxwell, Jamie Coleman and Mark MacLean all taking to the stage

First up is Ryan Morcombe who is clearly influenced by Bob Dylan and does not hide this fact  with his Dylan T-shirt on display. Ryan does a great job of opening the night and despite a minor guitar problem when his battery dies, appears to enjoy his moment on the stage. Ryan’s closes out his set with a nice sounding track called ‘Amsterdam’ and leaves the stage to shouts of appreciation and applause.

Next up is the interesting Aonghas Mitchell who has his own thing going on visually and does not even sound that Scottish when he talks, never mind sings. With the beers flowing my mates and I enjoy Aonghas’ set and stage presence as he shares his talent with the swelling crowd. Aonghas appears at times to be lost in the moment and delivers his set like his life depends on it and shares with the crowd some of his song titles such as ‘Pretend’ and ‘Walkaway’ whilst also informing us one of the songs is about a break-up where “I said no, she said yes”! To the delight of the crowd, there is also a cover of the Red Hot Chili Peppers song ‘Dani California’ with Aonghas putting his own spin on the song and delivering a very good version.

Jamie Coleman is next and appears to have brought some of his own fans who voice their encouragement as he eases into his opener. Musically, some of Jamie’s tracks remind me of David Gray and my mates and I enjoy his chilled tunes after the intensity generated by Aonghas. Last but not least is Mark MacLean who visibly enjoys his set and the deserved applause and appreciation from the crowd. Despite not knowing the songs, I really enjoyed Mark’s set and it was a great performance to end the fantastic first night of the Creation Sesssions. Fittingly, Pete MacLeod thanked the packed audience for their attendance and support of live music by which time my mates and I were deeply engaged in a beer fuelled ratings game of 1 to 4 with everyone having their two pence worth as to who had earned the crown on this night.

Bazza Mills

@bazzamills