The Coffee House Sessions, a series of acoustic gigs at university coffee bars all over the country, kicked off again today with a set from country-duo The Shires. Their gig in The Bridge, Southampton Student’s Union’s bar, was only the second in their 20-date tour, but the band were sounding as polished as if it were the final dates.
Their short set was harmonious and full of brilliant, belting choruses; however it was a shame that they hadn’t played an hour earlier as they just missed the lunch rush, and as a result, the venue wasn’t as packed as it could have been. That being said, the select audience seemed to be enjoying the duo’s dulcet tones whilst they grazed on their chip butties.
The Shires music is excellently written, with perfect harmonies and interesting melodies. A particular favourite of mine was their cover of Ella Eyre’s ‘Comeback’, in which they turned her up-tempo sassy anthem into more of a chilled ballad, showing the bands aptitude at not only writing their own music, but totally transforming other artists works.
You rarely hear country done properly in the UK, but The Shires aced it, and put on a superb start to the Coffee House sessions.
Next week you can catch Florrie play the Coffee House sessions on Monday the 6th at 2pm in The Bridge, SUSU.
