Ashton Lane/ Craig Jeffery Review
I’ve waited so long to catch up with Ashton Lane..which I finally did at the Abbotsford Arms in Galashiels on Friday 27th September, the gig was organized and promoted by Bill Jeffery of JMP3, a tireless enthusiast of music and a truly inspiring man who puts 110% into supporting live music here in the Borders..
The night started of with some soulful music from Craig Jeffery, only days away from becoming a father for the first time and straight off the set of STV’s The Riverside show and amidst recording a new CD, Craig is as busy as ever and as always put his heart and soul into the night with a mixture of cover songs and some of his own self penned music.
I sometimes think, if Craig would be a little lighter in his lyrics, he could break through the barriers in the music industry and find himself heading for the top, but he remains true to himself with consistent high quality and deeply emotional songs, which I admire greatly too, so maybe I’m wrong in thinking this.. he pours his heart out in lyrical genius and captures the imagination with these songs, I love the way he talks with the audience before, after and sometimes even during the song, there is no high and mightiness about Craig, he’s a lovely lad with his feet firmly on the ground even though his voice and music is way up high in the land of angels, Craig is often compared to Paolo Nutini and there’s no denying the similarities when you hear him sing, the quality of his voice is on equal par to that of Mr Nutini and it’s a joy to listen to, I’ve taken a wee video of Craig singing “I Don’t Need You No More” one of his own songs so you can see this for yourself, well done Craig for a great performance and good luck with the new baby when he/she arrives..if you'd like to find out more about Craig, why not join him on facebook, here's a link...CLICK
I was thoroughly delighted to find that Esther & Tim O’Connel from Ashton Lane are every bit as good in real life as they are in their recorded material.. I’ve been following these guys musically for some time now and especially love their “Kitchen Sessions” done at their home and broadcast on you tube, where they have over four million views, they are a very accomplished act with several CDs available on the night as well as being very accessible, they regularly take part in open mic nights in Glasgow and they are no strangers to house concerts, they seem able to perform well on every level and engage with their audience, here's a link to their Kitchen sessions on you tube...CLICK
Esther and Tim are a husband and wife team, the chemistry between them shines through on stage and gives them an edge to their performance, they describe their songs in a way that really helps you to understand where they’ve came from, they are meaningful to them and to anyone who has shared their music as I have done, it’s powerful and speaks straight to the heart in such a simple way that only someone with a brilliant insight into themselves would be able to write, their music is described as being Country/Pop but I personally think the best thing about it is it’s uniqueness, they have a sound and a meaning all of their own, it was an absolute pleasure meeting and seeing them perform at last, many thanks to Bill Jeffery for allowing them to come to life in the Borders, I’ve taken some video of their performance, here is their best known song, One Kiss Later...if you'd like to find out more about Ashton Lane, then why not join them on their facebook page, here's a link...CLICK
