Andrea Kenney/Sariah Carter/Be-cky/Jimi Strange

ANDREA KENNEY/SARIAH CARTER/BE-CKY/
JIMI STRANGE

Duffys 31st July 2025

What a fabulous night this was at Duffy's Bar... huge thank to Duffys for hosting it and to Andrea Kenny for putting it on... a wonderful evening of varied acoustic music which totally thrilled and delighted the crowd.

First up was a new name to me, Jimi Strange. Anyone who kicks off with songs by Rory Gallagher and Steve Earle is alright by me... but more than that, Jimi dlivered terrific versions of both. Jimi is a great, strong guitar player with a terrific voice to match, strong and clear and very expressive... he also gave us a further cover (Pearl Jam?) and a terrific original song... superb set to open the evening, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next up, a more familiar name Be Cky. As always Be cky was full of life and charm and delivered a set of her own more upbeat material... She has a great voice with a built in smile and it is impossible not to enjoy her work... Her songs are uniquely Be cky... always entertaining and at times sassy!... Great set as always..

Third up another new name to me.... Sariah Carter... remember the name, we will be seeing and hearing a lot of her as she develops her career... at times she seemed a tad nervous between songs, but once she started playing she was full of assurance and grabbed the whole audience with a great voice and a bunch of her own superb songs... a high quality talent and really still in her apprenticeship... excellent.

Last up was Andrea Kenny who played the four songs from her forthcoming acoustic album... and although new songs they delivered exactly what you would expect from Andrea.. brilliant songs and a flawless performance of passion, energy and huge quality... Andrea's voice is superb.. so powerful and expressive. If you haven't experienced the power and energy of an Andrea Kenney performance you are missing something rather special... absolutely tremendous.

After a short break all four stepped up for a further short set, Jimi gave us three original songs... very original, displaying not only the depth of his earlier song, but also a somewhat lighter

touches...

Be cky of course delighted again with another great set, including one quieter more emotional piece which she delivered with equal quality.

Sariah played more original material cementing the view that she is a star in the making before Andrea returned to do one request, "Blackbird", before inviting the others back on stage to join her in a last song... they performed this from the floor of the room totally acoustically with Andrea singing and playing guitar, Be cky adding some lovely harmonies and Jimi playing the delicate high class lead guitar work.

A truly wonderful evening and i'm sure the entire audience loved it as much as I did... one off the best nights... as I've said before Leicester is so rich in musical talent

Again huge thanks to Duffy's Bar for hosting these events, to Andrea for putting this show on an for her superb set and last and by no means least, the sound man (Russ?)... the sound was as always immaculate from start to finish

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues and artists

What a fabulous night this was at Duffy's Bar... huge thank to Duffys for hosting it and to Andrea Kenny for putting it on... a wonderful evening of varied acoustic music which totally thrilled and delighted the crowd.

First up was a new name to me, Jimi Strange. Anyone who kicks off with songs by Rory Gallagher and Steve Earle is alright by me... but more than that, Jimi dlivered terrific versions of both. Jimi is a great, strong guitar player with a terrific voice to match, strong and clear and very expressive... he also gave us a further cover (Pearl Jam?) and a terrific original song... superb set to open the evening, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next up, a more familiar name Be Cky. As always Be cky was full of life and charm and delivered a set of her own more upbeat material... She has a great voice with a built in smile and it is impossible not to enjoy her work... Her songs are uniquely Be cky... always entertaining and at times sassy!... Great set as always..

Third up another new name to me.... Sariah Carter... remember the name, we will be seeing and hearing a lot of her as she develops her career... at times she seemed a tad nervous between songs, but once she started playing she was full of assurance and grabbed the whole audience with a great voice and a bunch of her own superb songs... a high quality talent and really still in her apprenticeship... excellent.

Last up was Andrea Kenny who played the four songs from her forthcoming acoustic album... and although new songs they delivered exactly what you would expect from Andrea.. brilliant songs and a flawless performance of passion, energy and huge quality... Andrea's voice is superb.. so powerful and expressive. If you haven't experienced the power and energy of an Andrea Kenney performance you are missing something rather special... absolutely tremendous.

After a short break all four stepped up for a further short set, Jimi gave us three original songs... very original, displaying not only the depth of his earlier song, but also a somewhat lighter

touches...

Be cky of course delighted again with another great set, including one quieter more emotional piece which she delivered with equal quality.

Sariah played more original material cementing the view that she is a star in the making before Andrea returned to do one request, "Blackbird", before inviting the others back on stage to join her in a last song... they performed this from the floor of the room totally acoustically with Andrea singing and playing guitar, Be cky adding some lovely harmonies and Jimi playing the delicate high class lead guitar work.

A truly wonderful evening and i'm sure the entire audience loved it as much as I did... one off the best nights... as I've said before Leicester is so rich in musical talent

Again huge thanks to Duffy's Bar for hosting these events, to Andrea for putting this show on an for her superb set and last and by no means least, the sound man (Russ?)... the sound was as always immaculate from start to finish

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues and artists

Bellatones/TutTu Tango/Olly E/Jack Godsell

BELLATONES/TUTU TANGO/OLLY E/JACK GODSELL

Duffys 24th July 2025

I love these monthly evenings Luke puts on showcasing local talent (equally love the same events put on by Chris and Kevin)... it is truly amazing how many talented musicians there are around here!!

Thursday night show was a hugely varied and interesting line up... two new to me acts, one familiar name in a different guise and one very familiar name headlining...

So, first up was Jack Godsell... Jack plays heavy metal guitar over a backing track... but what a hell of a player he is!!... to use a phrase "he can play guitar just like a-ring a bell". Jack plays with huge enthusiasm, notes cascading from his guitar and his ability is simply awesome... his hair and beard, along with the superb metal guitar palying took me back to more innocent times... nothing wrong in that!... I must admit metal isn't my sort of genre, but i did enjoy the set, the enthusiasm and his total ability made it a fine set.

Next up was Olly E... I am more accustomed to seeing Olly E solo, but he fits into the band format with ease and style. A three piece rock band using a backing track, which was not intrusive and didnt deflect from the excellent live musicians, but added some nice fills and background. The playing of the whole band is crisp and tight and Olly has a great strong voice for rock music... and he and the band played with confidence and great authority... excellent set.

Next up was another totally new to me act, Tutu Tango... and I am not sure how to describe them... a duo with one member playing guitar and bass, the other playing keyboard, synth and laptop... and they played with a backing track including a female vocalist...

The music is electronics based and delivered very well... I believe this was their first gig for a year or so, and maybe that showed.. the music and electronics seemed very technically complex and i feel required the musicians full concentration... and that was maybe the problem for me... there was no room for connecting with the audience or any sign of animation... i was longing to see them actually have a vocalist on stage rather than on a backing track to give the music life.

I am sure the guys are talented at what they do... and did it very well... but this is just not for me... i'm sorry guys, i just didnt enjoy it at all.

Last up... the excellent Bellatones... also difficult to quantify, but a top notch band... a fairly traditional line up of drums/bass/guitar/keyboards but also featuring fiddle and flute/clarinet... giving a rich overall sound and raising them above the crowd in terms of individuality, and ability!... sadly as a 7-piece the keyboard player couldn't fit on the stage and set up on the floor by the side... yet this didnt in any way distract or detract.

The band are fine musicians and the fiddle player a fine lead vocalist while the flautist and guitarist add excellent second and backing vocals... I guess the music is poppy/rocky with the added spice of the fiddle and wind intruments... it merges into a great sound, especially when delivered with such great ability and vibrancy... absolutely loved the set and hope to see them again soon...

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues and artists