Live Review | Matt Corby @ Lusty Glaze Beach, Newquay

Words & Photography by Kieran Webber

The English summer can be a fickle beast as we have all learnt to love and accept. Last year we enjoyed a heat wave, sunshine was in plentiful supply. However, this year has been a different story, June especially has been a wet month. This hasn’t stopped the wide variety of summer events in Cornwall, from sea shanties in Falmouth to live music in Newquay.

This week saw Australian legend Matt Corby grace the intimate beach side stage of Lusty Glaze. It may have been a grey day but th soulful vocals of Corby brightened up our day. The unique venue was the perfect setting for the Australian artist, his music compliments the oceanic views and vice versa. It was a rare experience to witness an artist of this magnitude in such a close quarters space, the audience basically shared the stage with the artists.

Kicking things off was south-west singer songwriter Alex Lleo whos harmonising vocals melted the eager audience. His humble stage presence and clear appreciation was intoxicating, Alex is simply a genuine person and musician.

After a quick change over Matt Corby shuffled onto stage and greeted the packed out audience. A flurry of cheers and screams blasted back towards him and without hesitation he began. His soulful, delicate voice echoed throughout, tantalising and tickling the crowd. This was backed by an impressive array of multi-instrumentalists, organ, keyboard, guitar and drums all danced elegantly together creating pure beauty in musical form.

Throughout Corby’s set there was a generous mix of new and old, playing classics such as ‘Brother’ and ‘Resolution’ and newer tracks ‘Miracle Love’. It was a wonderful experience that was enchanting, his vocals were impeccable throughout, not a single note out of tune. The sound was crystal clear across the board and the audience a real treat. However, personally speaking the highlight was towards the end when he played the psychedelic blues jam ‘Souls A’fire’, the organ driven number was a real taste into the sound i’d love to hear Corby explore more.

Those that braved the weather (and stairs) were greeted with a fantastic night of beautiful music, stunning scenery and a great atmosphere. We cannot wait for the next event at Lusty, it truly is a special venue that yields great potential.