Talent Night at 229 - Roisin O'Hagan & Morganway

Discovery Talent showcases are a monthly event and looking back over past events have showcased the likes of Liv Austen, so even though the Wandering Hearts were playing up the road, the timings were just right for us to catch the 2 Americana based acts Roisin O'Hagan and Morganway on the bill.

Roisin was introduced as a Folk / Country singer which I'm not sure as a label worked very well, a better definition would've be Singer Songwriter, as her songs don't really need to be constrained to a genre. Easily recognized in her silver boots, she took to the stage solo, as the first act of the evening. Because these events bring together fans of a number of different genres there's is no guarantee that you are going to grab everyones attention. Rosiin however grabbed the bull by the horns opening with "Dangerous Song", which even in this bare bones format had the feel of a song that will be impressive with a full band backing. There was an outing for the new "cheesy" single "Miss You Like June". With a short slot, it is best to showcase all your abilities and the fourth song "Run" did that, a much slower affair and by her own admission a sad song. She was able to keep the audience fully engaged especially on the line "I Need a Helping Hand". Her final song "Living In The Dark" , was the one that served her so well in the Fender Undiscovered Artist competition, getting her to the final. It was easy to see why, it was a very considered piece of songwriting, that demanded that you pay attention.

Giving Morganway a 30 minute set is an invitation for them to blow you away and so they proceeded to do just that. We've covered them a few times this year and they manage to maintain an exceptional high quality as live performers. Tonight with a sound engineer so in sympathy with them that you could clearly hear each instrument and backing vocalist in the mix they were once again superb. Individually fantastic but as an ensemble incredibly powerful. SJ Mortimer once again displaying the ability to move from being soft and tender to Banshee scary with effortless ease, while Nicole's violin playing and accompanying stomping never fails to amaze, but as ever you could easily highlight each individual member. Surely 2019 can only hold big things in store for them and we'll be there to chronicle it.!!

#RoisinOHagan #Morganway