Our Locals Only! Showcase Kicks Off With Hedrott, Redrø & Morning, Cat To Great Success

---

---

Our very first local music showcase that featured Hedrott, Redrø & Morning, Cat boasted the Cornish music scene In many ways

Hosted at the Fish Factory – a popular art space and gig venue in Penryn – a celebration of local musicality boomed through the spray painted amps and drunkenly fell into the student-led streets of Penryn. Although the Fish Factory may be small in size, the community spirit and pre-gig excitement was enough collective energy to enlarge the venue, making room for the audience’s raucous vitality. From the calm sways of opening ballads to enticing rock induced shoulder-pushing, this “Locals only” gig brought together the raw notion of grassroot gig going and contained it to be nurtured by the most important aspect of the night: the bands.

Opening the performances was the new quartet Morning, Cat. With impressive bass lines and self-deprecating humour, this band was a refreshing opener for an initially apprehensive audience. Their use of calm yet movable instrumentation, later emerging with upbeat chord progressions made for a digestible opening act. Being a collectively young band, their pining lyrics and awkwardly charming demeanour rang true to the intricacies of adolescence; reminiscent of bands like Modern Baseball or Mazzy Star, Morning, Cat’s original tracks felt as though they could be implemented in a coming-of-age film. These hints of nostalgia throughout their set was an integral part of their musicality – with lyrics like “I’m so tired” resonating with the university age range of the audience, that youthful overwhelming feeling of burnout one feels at such a pivotal moment in life. It was Morning, Cat’s relatability and humility which made them stand out as such a raw band; their clear close relationship to one another within the band (shown throughout their mid-song humour and evident banter) makes it clear that they have fervent potential to excel as a staple South-West band.

Following on closely after an outside breather in which audience members were able to chat with and complement the bands (a unique definer of local gigs like these), empowering and enchanting band Redrø took to the stage. After having played at other Cornish venues like The Cornish Bank and The Kings, being able to see Redrø in a more intimate venue felt very candidly personal as an audience member – accentuating their luminescent scoring and lyrics which punctured even more deeply. In particular, their latest single ‘God Complex’ felt like a comforting anthem of holding another person accountable for their hurtful behaviour – with the lyrics “Do you want to play my game? I played yours long enough” evoking that same visceral and just reaction everyone can relate to in the situation lead singer Ruby conveys so beautifully. Her impressively ethereal vocals, ranging from stripped back harmonies to vehement belts, perfectly mirrored the complimentary instrumentation and imprinted Redrø’s lyrics into the audience; an angelic branding to the soul. 

Similarly, their emotive track ‘Purgatory’ brought through essences of rock amongst their bed of shoegaze, introducing invigorating bass lines and crescendos of electric guitar – glued together by the heartbreakingly tempestuous belt “I thought you were there for me.” These acts of crescendo and progression of hardened instrumentation made for a perfect primer for intensifying band Hedrott.

Having had made an exuberant name for themselves in the South-West music scene, competing in Battle of the Bands against similarly inclined bands Driftwood & Petra – grunge-rock band Hedrott defied all space-limiting constraints the Fish Factory had to offer in their expansion of booming riffs and thrusting vocals. The lead singer Maddie has this perfect talent of delivering such dynamic and vigorous vocalisations despite carrying such a casual and collected energy – as though her ferocious viscosity in her music is something which comes as easy and innate to her – something which is so impressive to watch. The cohesion of this band’s collective unpretentious nature and their boisterous musicality is exactly what has made them a staple amongst local gigs.

The differentiation of genre amongst these bands, presented by CLUNK Events, is truly what collects the individual love for local gig-going. Whether you want to transcend to shoegaze or mosh with strangers, there is a local music-led night out waiting for you.

---