Sam Wills
Twenty-three year old Sam Wills took to the New Road Stage on Thursday afternoon to provide a set of summery electronic soul. As the sun shone down on the Brighton lanes, Wills created the perfect festival vibe with his velvety vocals and solid keyboard/drum combo. Having collaborated with Karma-Kid on the production for his debut track 'Electrified', the Hastings born musician has clearly worked hard to be able to do live performances that mirrors the talent and production quality heard in his recorded material. He effortlessly got the crowd swooning at his voice and dancing at every beat drop, whilst remaining humble and grateful in between songs.Since the release of his debut EP 'So Bright' on the 13th of May, the soloist has gained over 300k plays on Spotify and sold out his first ever London show. It's clear that his hard work is paying off as his list of live shows becomes longer and having featured on tracks such as Tom Misch's dreamy 'In The Midst of It All', audiences are being drawn in by the combination of those deep synth bass lines and beats underneath RnB and soul inspired vocal melodies.
Blaenavon
Whilst angsty indie rock isn't always my cup of tea, these three boys from Hampshire certainly made a lasting impression as respectful number of people gathered to see them play at Coalition on Thursday night. The venue erupted and with tracks like 'Prague' and 'I Will Be The World', I couldn't help but feel as though it would have been perfect in the teen drama Skins as they merged carefree catchy riffs alongside loud and emotive chorus'.With a frontman that can not only amuse the crowd with his quirky banter in between songs, display some impressive head banging AND be a model for Burburry, Blaenavon are on track for success having also just announced a headlining UK tour and the release of their debut album.
Khurangbin
This three piece funk band from Texas really surprised me as they played Coalition late Thursday night. Opening the set with 'Dern Kala', those inital bass and guitar riffs were all it took for me to get into the groove of their funk and soul fusion. The steady beat carried me along and almost became hypnotic as they flowed each track into one another, filling the venue with a dreamy atmosphere and transfixing each audience member. I found myself humming the melodies days afterwards and inevitably, they have become my go to artist on Spotify. My personal faves are 'People Everywhere (Still Alive)' and 'Mr. White'.Written by Hannah Jolley
