Review – Echobelly (acoustic) at The Cookie, Wednesday 15th May 2019

Photo: Echobelly (acoustic) by Kevin Gaughan

with fullfathom5

Reviewed by Hope Small.
This gig was organised by The Cookie.

Having packed out The Cookie, Echobelly gave exactly what you would expect from an acoustic set; talent.

Starting with a nervous fullfathom5, who were able to set the tone for the evening even two members down. Their original music (and The Verve cover) were enough to get the crowd bopping along and excited for the magic that was about to happen. Their genuine personalities came across on stage and it was incredibly refreshing. Seeing the way Simon’s (vocals) comments between songs made the crowd laugh, was a surprising little insight into Sonya’s (Echobelly’s vocals) interactions with the crowd.

Watch fullfathom5 perform To The Sea on the night:

fullfathom5 Photo: Hope Small

After reading that some of Echobelly’s influences were Blondie and Morrissey, I was surprised to see just how much that came across in their sound.

Sonya and Glen’s acoustic tunes filled the room with an enthusiastic atmosphere and the crowd were into it from the get-go. Sonya’s stage presence was something else, even when she sat down you could tell all eyes were on her. Her ability to laugh and joke with the audience was something I wasn’t expecting but it was very welcomed by everyone.

Towards the end of their set, Echobelly performed some of their better-known singles and no one was shy about joining in.

Echobelly (acoustic) Photo: Kevin Gaughan

After going in with some reservations and not knowing what to expect, I was immediately put at ease and treated to some solid music from both fullfathom5 & Echobelly.

I’m excited to see what the future holds for both of them – and you should be to!

Watch this video of me interviewing Glenn Johansson (Echobelly guitarist) after their performance:

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