This was pretty much as good as it gets in terms of excellent musicians playing good songs (which is not as common a scenario as you might hope for). Laura Evans opened proceedings and, having seen her quite a few times playing support accompanied only by an acoustic guitarist (including playing the January Blues Festival the previous year), it was a pleasure to see her with a proper backing band. She has a warm, melodic voice, a very pleasant personality and some very good songs, which on record are fabulous examples of upbeat Americana. The acoustic versions of these are pale imitations of how good the songs sound with a full band kicking them along. Daisy Pepper on bass and Joe Hazell on guitar providing most of the additional colour on the night.

Her most recent album ‘Out Of The Dark’ is a real corker and her short set featured several songs from this like the catchy Country Pop of ‘Heartbreaker’, the torch like lament of ‘Nobody Loves Me Like You’ and the radio friendly ‘Always And Forever’. Other songs came from her 2022 album ‘State Of Mind’ and she ended her short but very enjoyable set with the bouncy ‘I’m Alright’ from that album.

Vanessa Collier was playing her first solo gig in the UK on the night and she has undoubtedly gained many new followers after her fantastic performance. She is one talented lady, definitely singing like an angel as well as playing saxophone like a virtuoso, not to mention throwing a bit of electric and national steel guitar into the mix. I had the pleasure of interviewing her when she played the Joe Bonamassa Blues Cruise in the Med’ in 2023 and she was the epitome of unaffected, friendly charm. She delivered several captivating performances during the cruise and it was no surprise that she delivered a blockbuster show at the 229. Her songs are excellent and for her set she selected tracks from across her recorded output to date, including the defiant rocking Blues of ‘Do It My Own Way’, the title track of her latest album, as well as the smooth groove of ‘Just One More’ from that album.

Her band were all super musicians and they locked in together to create a sophisticated as well as a powerful sound. Mighty Mike Schermer on guitar is a bit of a legend in his own right and his rhythm and lead playing were exceptional. Justice Guevera on bass stayed cool behind his shades and was largely immobile apart from his busy fingers which kept the grooves going in conjunction with Vanessa’s long time drummer, the immaculate Byron Cage. As mentioned, the star of the show played a large number of impressive solos on her sax and when she played with the band in full flight behind her it was a joy to behold.

Her set encompassed songs in a number of different styles, including a soulful rendition of Ann Peebles hit ‘I Can’t Stand The Rain’, the gritty acoustic Blues of ‘Bloodhound’ from her ‘Heart On The Line’ album, the jazzy Soul of ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ from the same album and the brilliant James Brown inspired, out and out funky 'Tongue Tied’ from her ‘Heart Soul & Saxophone’ album. She is a great singer and a confident stage performer, inter-acting with the audience in a natural and engaging way. Her song ‘Sweatin’ Like A Pig, Singin’ Like An Angel’ has become one of her stage favourites and like a lot of her numbers has the feel of a song that will be around for a long time. Hopefully, this very talented and classy performer will also be around for a long time and make a habit of coming over to perform in the UK. She’s a must-see act for sure.

Review, photos and video: Simon Green