Live music is my second love – although we aren't as close as we used to be, left-field hip hop produced by the likes of genius J Dilla (RIP) will always have my heart, but in recent years acoustic guitar, keys and kick drum own my ear.
It’s been a while since I went to a show and was wowed by an act though, and the cynic in me - noting the contrived pretty girl with tomboy-influenced Shoreditch uniform and pseudo Winehouse annunciation prototype that is currently doing the rounds - had grown a little tired of ‘the scene’.
But at this year's Croydon Summer Festival I saw an artist who, despite ‘the scene’ was simply ‘an artist’. And a flipping great one at that.
Meet Rox – though you may have done already.
Wow. Standing up front at the open air stage after shimmying past drunken revellers, mums with prams and teen girls posing as the Saturdays, an unexpected treat in the form of Rox took hold of the stage and grabbed the audience’s full attention.
Blasting my (undue?) cynical expectations out of the water, this songstress melted my heart with her crystal clear vocals and excellent showmanship.
Singing renditions of Bob Marley’s Rock Steady, and a reggae-inspired version of Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, alongside her own original material including recent single ‘My Baby Left Me’, her smooth vocals sailed effortlessly above the crowd, rested beneath the afternoon sky and were underscored by sexy swaying moves punctuating each beat of the band’s percussion.
Vibrant stage presence with sincere crowd interaction, her performance was a pleasure to experience. This girl simply has it. Beauty, talent and confidence – but most of all, talent. The natural kind record execs can’t prescribe.
I don't quite know how to feel about her vocals when recorded (do a little you tube-ing and you might agree that, by comparison to the live stuff, the texture and clarity of her voice are a little lost on wax) so maybe I'd do better to hold out for an unplugged album? (A little something to think about, oh ye of Rox Management...?) Until then, her debut album Memoirs is out now.
One thing is for sure though - when live, Rox rocks.
Check the excerpt of her performance at the festival below - the quality isn't great and there were other standout moments in the set, but I’m happy somebody was less awestruck than I and actually thought to record some of this (you tube, we love you)
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