LIVE REVIEW: NASHVILLE MEETS LONDON - LAURA OAKES & FLORENCE SOMMERVILLE - PIZZA EXPRESS - HOLBORN

While driving toward London for tonight's extravaganza #TEAMw21 couldn't help but be reminded of the Sylvester Stallone classic Rocky 3. For tonight would be a clash of cultures, we had the champion, flame haired Laura Oakes, whose recent appearances have been few and far between. A renowned heavy hitter with a mean turn of phrase, yet her recorded output has not been added to in quite a while, and she has yet to release anything longer than an EP, though her original acoustic EP is surely one of the finest UK Americana releases ever! In the other corner the young pretender Florence Sommerville, soaking up experiences like the Bluebird, at a rapid rate. With a gig list that rarely seems to have a day off, she comes hot foot from a successful album launch last Thursday at the Sound Lounge, of a top notch album. In the end, the event would have to be declared a no contest, as with Florence playing solo and Laura having a band it would not have been a fair fight - it would however, prove to be a most splendid of evenings

This is our second Nashville Meets London event this year, having attended the Basingstoke Songwriters Round with Kezia, Hannah White and Robert Vincent, they are what you would call premium events. They may cost slightly more to attend, however, your spend gets you that extra bit of quality. Quality sound, surroundings, artists and performances seem guaranteed and that is a reputation worth having. Tonight's host as per usual at these Pizza Express events is Matt Sprecklen, who keeps introductions short and lets the musicians speak for themselves.

First up Florence Sommerville, in her latest piece from "Florence's Floral Collection"! While playing with her band was a great experience, for the time being playing solo is still her bread and butter, and it is something she does with a supreme confidence. With a fine line in between song chat, and an armoury of quality tunes to choose from, she has already nearly grown out of the thirty minute support slot. Her evening would start with "Broken Pieces", which is the one song from the album that seems more revitalised with Florence performing it solo. With her green guitar giving off a most crisp sound and her accomplished playing and performing, this was to be an easy night for mopping up new fans. Florence's theme song "Fearless", a sequence of different calamitous events resulting in damage or injury is another ice breaker and introduction to her talents.

For some artists the transition for playing solo to working the song up into a full scale presentation does not come easy, for Florence it seems to be the opposite, "California" has always sounded big, even when played solo like tonight. Verbally introduced as she plays the tune underneath, the verses have a natural rhythm which shows off Florence's voice to full effect while the chorus majestically rises, the gaps for the other instruments seem somehow ready built to slot in.

Her "Guns and Roses" cover of "Sweet Child Of Mine", most definitely works better as a solo rendition, the surprise contrast between expectation and delivery being the key. Not really sure about the wisdom of releasing a new single in the wake of your album launch, however "Out Where The Love Grows" has a little heat under it at the moment, with it being picked up to assist against a rural development. Now even in this soupcon of a set there was a little bit of showbiz magic, or maybe Florence was momentarily overcome after singing the lines

"A hundred years from now

My bones will be in the ground

But this place of love and laughter

Will be around"

As if for a brief second the thought that maybe this place might not be around, or at least perhaps not in the idyllic way it had just been described, flickered across her mind, or maybe it was to draw our attention to that fact, before going on to finish in style. It was incredibly fleeting but was definitely there. Things would close with the sublime "Cut and Run", the chorus giving Florence the chance to let rip with both barrels on the mega delivery of a chorus.

Played and delivered with a sense of utter confidence, don't be surprised if Florence Sommerville is returning to headline a future Nashville Meets London show at this venue within 18 months, with a band.

Tonight, that honour would fall to Laura Oakes, and her band of percussion ( provided by her husband), piano and a myriad of bass sounds, stand up, electric, or bow as required. Laura may have been in some sort of artistic metamorphosis for the last few years however she has now emerged fully formed as a hybrid Jazz / Country artist, and it fits her like a glove. She looked to be totally at ease with herself as if she had finally found her true identity as a performer, and she was loving every second. Let's be fair she was fairly exceptional before, but this was taking it to a whole new other level.

Opening with "Social Situation", the fusion of perfect percussion and prominent piano chords introduced us to her new sound. Looking and sounding fabulous this was a perfect combination of singer and band. Heading straight into 2019's "Welcome To The Family" single, this version was excellent, the piano giving it that jazzy feel, that would be a feature of the night. Written about her husband "Two", was where things started to go stellar, Laura's silky smooth voice was a joy on this heartfelt lyric.

Under a gentle piano intro, Laura would introduce us to "Prize", close your eyes and you could easily imagine you were at Ronnie Scott's or The Ritz, there was suddenly something inherently classy about the whole affair. This was proper adult songwriting and performing of the type you simply do not get to see every day. Following it with "How Big Is Your World", the piano flourishes gave the chorus a definite Bacherach feel.

A brand new track, "Don't Write Me Off", came with a piano hook from the start, a pre chorus section of Laura firing out lyrics super speedily over a drum beat, before an expansive chorus came that afforded Laura the opportunity to let her vocals fly wherever she wanted and fly they did to great effect.

Laura introduced "Good Guy" as being "slightly sad". With Laura's acoustic way up in the mix, this song seems to be the opposite of the traditional bad breakup song

"It's so so sad it didn't last"

#TEAMw21 remember writing about "Career Girl" back in 2023, after hearing it at Bush Hall at an "Under The Apple Tree" evening. . The introduction came with sage advice that not everything needs to be a co write. Opening to just Laura's guitar and vocal, the band subtly join in around her. Quite possibly Laura's best song ever, from the clever play on words, with the title given two different meanings through to the snippets of conversations going on around her. It was a gem the first time we heard it, and hearing it with a band only reinforced that view. An absolute diamond of a performance.

Anyone fearing that Laura may have drifted too far from her country roots, would have been more than pleased with her cover of Bill Mack's 'Blue', originally slated for Patsy Cline, and eventually finding its way to a a young LeAnn Rimes, Laura's version channelled her inner Patsy to great effect, and the piano contributions could not have been more on point.

Another piece of proper writing came with "Learn To Be Lonely Again", it touches on mortality, picking out the smallest detail, and anyone who has been in such a predicament will know exactly how observant this song is. The band leave the stage for this song, leaving Laura to deliver an absolute masterclass of a performance - rarely do you get to see such perfection.

The main set would close with Laura saying that she would be doing a Bonnie Raitt tune, a kindred flame haired singer of excellent pedigree. The choice of song was the absolute perfect one to pick "Nick Of TIme". Was it just because Laura is a big Bonnie Raitt fan, or was this her way of tying a number of themes from the evening into one big song? It was the epitome of everything that Laura had poured into the evening, and a superb example of the sort of song that she now finds herself writing. Given a jazzy workover, this was another slice of perfection.

The encore would see Laura travel furthest back in time for "Better In Blue Jeans", always a #TEAMw21 favourite, if nothing else than for the use of the phrase "Highfalutin!". Now revisited and slightly slower and more controlled, it may not be as rawkus as it once was, however the slower pace let's the lyrics shine through. Having the piano pick out the singalong part of the chorus was another final masterstroke. It really has been too long since Laura Oakes has released something to the world or put on a show like this - with the songs displayed tonight and the way they were played - #TEAMw21 would not be surprised it it resulted in something truly special.