On Tuesday evening in the chaos of Fresher’s Week, Manchester Academy 3 was filled with a silent crowd ready for Benjamin Francis Leftwich. Following on from an enchanting set from Siv Jakobsen on her last night on tour, the room filled with whispers in anticipation for Leftwich. As he took to the stage with just an acoustic guitar, the crowd cheered in anticipation for his set.

The second Leftwich started singing, the room was silent. It remained this way for the rest of the gig as Leftwich performed a mesmerizing set of songs from his previous album and new release, After The Rain. Performing tracks such as ‘Tilikum’ and ‘Shine’, Leftwich kept the crowd in full attention the entire gig with his light whispering tones and soft acoustics that made for a beautiful set.

Occasionally, Leftwich would venture in front of the microphone getting as close to the audience as possible. As he stared out into the audience, a sea of admiration greeted him as he performed his melodic sounds. For me, this was the point that really stated how intimate this gig was. Leftwich wanted nothing more than to be within the crowd connecting his music to others.

Leftwich finished most songs with “Thank You, you beautiful people” and dedicated the truly beautiful ‘Butterfly Culture’ to his support act Siv, expressing his gratitude and love for having her on tour. Throughout the gig, Leftwich thanked the crowd for being so quiet and respectful of his music and it was obvious there were many souls touched by beautiful music that evening.

Words & Images:
Georgia Flynn