#hmvnbt Night 7 @TheBorderline

I am finally writing about my official Week landmark for hmv Next Big Thing. I’ve been so busy, I’m struggling to define reality and hazy fantasy at the moment. One thing I can remember is the AMAZING all girl line up we had at The Borderline on Wednesday (which now feels like a lifetime ago!)

Arriving from a hectic day at work- I spotted a very timid and huge maned lady who was the lovely (more than lovely- so adorable I wanted to put her in my pocket!) Rae Morris. Very young (19?) Rae was super nervous before her set, but after some special hummus and Maltesers - which she gushed over during her set (it was her first dressing room and first rider- very exciting) she took to the stage, perched at her keyboard and BLEW EVERYONE AWAY. Her beautiful and very unique voice had everyone in a mini trance- of which we were only snapped out of when Rae would speak very shyly ‘Thank you all for listening honestly, this means so much’ she uttered many a time in a very cute Blackpool accent. This lady genuinely had no idea how good she was (is) and after a short set, quickly shuffled off stage (after thanking us all for listening again!) and left everyone speechless, a good thirty seconds went by before anyone spoke. And that was it. Little did she know it, but Rae Morris had left her mark. 

Now, The Staves- these girls were hilarious. Very cheeky under their clean cut and mature exterior. Muttering sisterly jibes at each other during their set ‘She can’t read- ignore her’, ‘I can read actually!’ - these guys had the crowd falling in love with their mini quips at each other, followed by beautifully delicate folky harmonies and insightful romantic lyrics. 

These ladies have the sound. The look. The beautiful silky hair (yes I got hair envy again) and a devilishly dark side- pointing out rude graffiti in the back corridors at The Borderline- we all cackled like witches and I wondered where their innocence had gone, but it was their meticulous noticing of misspelled insults and bad grammar which showed me just how precise these girls were. Leaving to tour Dublin we talked drinking, accents and the necessity for a red pen to put these ‘angry idiots’ as labelled by The Staves in their place. Did I hear ‘Girl Power’. Hell yes.

And possibly one of my favourite people so far, the beautiful Lianne La Havas. SO adorable, very delicate and nymph like with a more than cute hot pink lampshade skirt and a bit of vintage sequin, Lianne needed nothing but a guitar and her beautiful voice to keep a packed out venue engaged. Giggling nervously in between songs, Lianne’s wonderfully sincere engagement with the crowd made everyone in the room feel genuinely special (and a little fuzzy) and it was her wonderful sense of humour- speaking of older men, rubbish men, wonderful men and everything in between that showed all us girls that she was on the level. 

Making it look so effortless, her talent definitely knows no bounds. After leaving the stage to a more than enthusiastic round of applause, feet stamping, wooping (genuine wooping!) Lianne tottered back on stage (in wedges bigger than my own) and treated the crowd to ‘Age’ - one of my favourites. Believe you me, this lady was just as sweet and lovely off stage- watch this space people!

So.. that’s what happened if you missed it. A very emotional evening for me, the oestrogen overload got me and something happened. But the positive- Girl Power all round, and we didn’t even need Posh or Sporty. 

Lu x