WILL VARLEY + JACK VALERO – GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 2.4.22
On a busy Brighton Saturday night, Brixton born singer songwriter Will Varley took to the sold out Green Door Store stage.
Varley is best known for his remarkable narrative songwriting, focusing heavily on political themes and ideas. The release of his first studio album ‘Advert Soundtracks’ in 2011 led him to a vast career supporting artists such as The Proclaimers, Frank Turner and Billy Bragg across the UK. Since the release of his latest album ‘The Hole Around My Head’, Varley’s songwriting has matured to explore themes of mental health and the effects of social media in our society, with a clear influence of the Coronavirus lockdown featuring heavily in his writing.
At the early door time of 7pm, the expectant crowd waited in near silence for opening act Jack Valero to kick off the evening. Jack is a Brighton based singer songwriter, as a relative newcomer to the scene readers are much more likely to know Jack’s father, English political singer and activist Billy Bragg.
As Jack took to the stage it was clear to see he shared more in his looks with his father than he did his musical style, as he began to play a peaceful acoustic guitar riff leaving the audience in complete silence, above all Jack’s songwriting stood out as intelligently breath-taking using clearly thought out metaphors and imagery to create a powerful atmosphere leaving the whole crowd in awe.
Highlights of the set included tracks ‘Heaven Help Me’ and ‘Hollow Warmth’. These can be found on Valero’s website and YouTube channel. They were recorded as part of his live acoustic lockdown collection. After living in Brighton for the last 8 years, considering himself now a local, by the end of the set Jack had converted the whole room into new fans, ending his half an hour set with his self proclaimed most positive song ‘This Is A Nightmare’. Jack will be supporting Will Varley again on his UK tour beginning in Derby on the 4th May.
After a short 15 minute break it was time for the London born songwriter Will Varley to take to the stage. In his expected humorous style, after walking on stage he played one chord before greeting the crowd goodnight and walking off again, to the crowd’s relief this was thankfully not the end of his set as he broke straight into opening track ‘Exit Stage Left’.
Alone on the stage with just his acoustic guitar and a pint of Guinness, Will instantly captured the audience in complete silence. After a long break from live performance due to the lockdown, Will explained how he had nightmares of playing to an empty room tonight, as we all celebrated the fact of a sold out show. Continuing his set with 2015 track ‘Love From Halcyon’, the crowd remained in complete silence until instructed to sing, forming a so-called “Brighton Choir”.
A clear highlight of the set was the emotional ballad ‘Man Who Fell To Earth’, a song about the harsh reality of immigration, having a hugely powerful effect on the audience, seeming more relevant than ever in these difficult times, Will’s heavenly voice showing such powerful emotions left not a dry eye in the room.
As well as the set full of previous material, Will showcased two new songs from his upcoming album ‘Beginnings And Endings’ which he is currently in the process of recording. As expected in recent years, the album carries heavy themes of experiences from the lockdown, as Will said that having the time to slow down and think was a huge inspiration for his music. These songs proved a challenge to Will, notorious for forgetting the words to his own tracks, this time even with the lyrics taped to the top of his guitar.
The set finished with a crowd singalong track ‘Seize The Night’, creating a huge sense of community and unity within the crowd. After the hour long set Varley returned to the stage for a two song encore, starting with a short segment of Disney’s Frozen song ‘Let It Go’, which was dedicated to his toddler watching from home, before drawing the night to a close with crowd favourite ‘King For A King’.
You can catch Will Varley all across the UK in his May tour, featuring support from Jack Valero and fellow Xtra Mile record label artist Guise.
