LIVE REVIEW: CAYLEE HAMMACK / RILEY - THE LOWER THIRD

A fun packed if somewhat chilly acoustic evening was to be had at The Lower Third, for the return to the UK of Caylee Hammack ably supported by Riley. Never have #TEAMw21 seen a stage set quite so bare as it was tonight, effectively just one microphone and a banjo sitting to the side.

The evening would start with Riley, hailing from Glasgow, dressed in black which only accentuated her blonde hair and perpetual bright smile all the more. Opening with "Dumb Luck" from 2023, her guitar playing technique with an open right hand gave her music a folky aspect, that perfectly suited her dreamy vocals. She certainly had the assembled audience soon under her spell.

Her escaping home town song "Texaco", was delivered with the most expressive eyes ever and came came with a magnificently wordy chorus. A particularly moving song was "Back To Her" about rediscovering her childlike fearlessness, her "inner child". One section perfectly painted those halcyon days including being in bed by 20:30.

Riley's choice of cover could be a bit divisive, however by introducing it saying join in when you know it, the audience embraced the challenge of realising it was "Wagon Wheel" and then wholeheartedly joining in.

Riley's latest EP is "Married In Vegas", and the title track was next, and it included a hilarious introductory diversion around the term "Shotgun wedding!", it came with a melody that gently reeled you in, with Riley's vocals quite angelic throughout. Her closing song "Mary Jane" created an advice giving character which was a refreshing change and closed out a short but highly entertaining set.

Caylee Hammack would come to the stage, unannounced other than the cheers of the audience once they caught sight of her familiar red locks. She has returned to being an independent artist and seems to be thriving in that environment and the freedoms it gives, although noting that it does mean doing a lot more yourself. Throughout the evening she would share so much of herself, with such honesty and openness that you could not help but warm to her and once she started singing and playing then you were putty in her hands. Tonight was part of the "Bed Of Roses Acoustic tour and with a set predominantly built on fan suggestions, each who would be individually named, there was really little that could go wrong.

With a red bandana, it did look like she might be about to tell our fortunes - if she had said for the next ninety minutes you'll be royally entertained then she would have been spot on. From the opening seconds of "All Or Nothing", this was a totally different guitar style, urgent strumming and her vocals were equally fearsome, hitting the big extended notes from the start. Some might mistake acoustic for somehow being cosy and quiet, however Caylee brought the same intensity of a full band show. Take "That Dog", there was real feeling on the line "that dog loved me" that left you in no doubt!.

The first name check of the evening came with "Looking For A Lighter" which saw Caylee searching for a lighter and finding her old fake ID, and realising that she was now older than the age she was pretending to be as a teenager. So intense was the audience concentration that you could hear Caylee gently tapping her boots on the stage, and you could not help but admire the ways in which she would vary the volume of her delivery.

Caylee would don a harmonica for the Stephen Wilson Jr co write "No I Ain't" for which she delicately picked out the guitar parts and you could feel the emotion in the room for the final "No I ain't coming over"

For "Redhead" she jokingly apologised for Reba not being there to fulfil her part, and joked about including the other hair colours to make it appeal more! The announcement of "Preciatcha" was met with screams, much to Caylee's surprise who thought that no-one liked it! It would close with Caylee saying "London - I appreciate ya".

At this point we were joined by Kurt Ozan, Caylee's partner, and in town for some small show that Luke Combs is putting on at Wembley so this was probably a good warm up! They had a wonderful chemistry and it saw Caylee use the banjo while Kurt took over guitar duties. They would open with "Breaking Dishes" with Caylee savouring the lines

"You burn me once, shame on you

Burn me twice and I'll burn you" - the second line delivered with such a snarl, leaving absolutely no doubt!

For "The Hill" the banjo caused the audience to clap along unsolicited, and Caylee and Kurt were visibly smiling at each other. The rapport with the crowd was so natural, and the performances got more intense, "King Sized Bed" with its chorus

"Got my red lipstick on your white sheets

Yeah, we're making secrets we can't keep"

Caylee would take off the banjo and then remove the microphone from the stand, tightly grasping it in both hands for the most considered vocal of the evening on "How Long". It included a number of big notes and on conclusion someone in the audience could not contain themselves audibly saying "Oh wow"

Moving to an unreleased song, could have been a dangerous move, however "Caterpillar Song" was greeted with the love of an established favourite. It also came with Caylee's telling observations on the music industry. This subtly delivered little gem still found time to incorporate some massively big notes and really showed that Caylee can adapt her style as required with ease. Kurt would then leave the stage but there was still much more joy to come.

A new song "Must Be Nice ( to have a wife)" came with an array of laugh out loud lyrics while "Tumbleweed Men" turned received advice into a classic country song.

The intro to "Forged In The Fire" was one of the most dramatic introductions we've ever heard an artist share. The song totally lived up to it, partly sung, partly spoken on the verses and splendidly delivered with power on the choruses - a truly special moment all round.

A later audience request "Gold" elicited another marvellous introduction and once more showed Caylee to be in total control of managing the volume of her delivery, the opening fragile and delicate, gradually ramping up in volume and intensity as the song developed.

There was even time to get the audience to join in on a section

"Champagne on the plane

No you won't find me complaining - its raining"

The on/off encore formalities were dispensed with, to allow more time for Caylee to spend with her fans at the end, so it was straight into a couple of classics to finish. Firstly "Family Tree" which got the audience joining in at full volume on the chorus. The finale of course was "Small Town Hypocrite" which would naturally come with another heartbreaking introduction and the origin to the line "Ain't that some shit!". It would see the audience join in on every line.

The evening finished with a "God bless you London" and a hasty stage exit with the beginnings of a tear forming in Caylee's eye, finishing one of the best acoustic shows #TEAMw21 have seen in a long long time.