He's come a long way since I saw him playing a support set back in December 2014, and I was chuffed to catch Willie J Healey again last Friday. Tickets for the free show were all snapped up within a matter of hours, showing you his popularity and affirming the suggestion that it might be one of the last chances to see him playing in a venue of this size. It is the basement of a funky art gallery where you lose phone signal and *shock horror* actually have to talk to people - not an issue though as tons of familiar faces from the local scene were there and it was a great night!
Opening up the night was a stripped back Magique, which was a really nice way to be introduced to the tunes. I'm listening to their latest release, Real Love, while writing this and it takes on a whole other life with the addition of drums in the studio version. They are back at the venue for a full band show in July! I've just added the track to my 2017 playlist on Spotify: be sure to follow for updates on that.
Shortly after their set Willie and the band took to the stage and treat us to a set of old tracks and new, showcasing just how much their busy touring schedule (they'd just finished up on a tour supporting Palace) has helped them harness their live set, giving a super impressive and tight performance. It was real fun and they finished off the set with the wonderful Greys, before we all headed to the pub and a local posh pizza van at 1am.... oh the life of a student after deadlines!
Willie J Healey plays The Great Escape on Friday night before heading out for some headline shows in June, taking in Leicester, London, Guildford and Southampton (announcement post and ticket links here!)
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