Over at #TEAMw21 Towers we have always had a lot of time for Jess Clemmons of Jess & The Bandits. She has been around the UK country scene for some time - she was on the C2C Pop up stages as early as 2014 - she has built strong followings with at least 2 versions of her backing band the Bandits and now after an extended break brought on by childbirth and the pandemic, she is back with a cracking new single "Hey Girl".
Always a powerful performer leading from the front whether whipping up the crowd into a frenzy with the likes of "My Name Is Trouble" and "Ready Set" or the more considered crooning of "Wichita Lineman" she never leaves the stage having given less than 100%.
Her latest single "Hey Girl" released in time for International Womens Day finds her more in the latter mood as she sings of societys expectations of women.
The song is actually written by songwriting duo Femke Weidema and Phillip Lamonds but it is easy to see that it was a song just waiting to be snapped up by the right performer and in Jess they found the perfect vessel as she associated herself with having heard many of the lines in the song.
The "Hey Girl" of the title are the opening words of the song, sung over just an acoustic guitar, they are the words used by the well meaning Mother impatient for a Grandchild, the insinuating Aunt, or the nosey next door neighbour unintentionally reinforcing the stereotypes that rarely if ever get attached to a man.
"You ain't getting any younger, all the clocks are ticking
Everybody is wondering"
No we're not disappointed - why don't you bring somebody home?
Or do you not like boys?"
So absorbing is the track that little additional instrumentation is required, the second verse sees only the slightest piece of percussion added to the overall sound as the unhelpful comments continue
"You're getting close to thirty, so if you want to have a baby"
You shoul better hurry"
Gradually the soundscape starts to build and it allows Jess to deliver the most pertinent lines of the song, the ones that most people who have been the butt of the above comments will take heart from
"No you don't have to change a thing, no matter what everybody says
Keep sending those dreams off in the wind, let the world bring you what it brings"
"Hey Girl" finds Jess on spectacular form and seems likely to propel to the heights of where she left off and should act as a clarion call to reassemble her UK fanbase. With appearances coming up over the C2C weekend and an EP to follow later in the year it could well be a case of "Here We Go Again!"
Jess & The Bandits will appear at C2C at the following times
Saturday 11th March | BIG ENTRANCE STAGE | 15:00-15:30
Sunday 12th March | ICON STAGE | 13:00-13:30
"Hey Girl" is released on March 8th - International Womens Day