Few can hold a room in a quiet calm quite like Sam Lyon. The award-winning Cheshire based singer brought her UK tour to a standstill finale last night at Liverpool’s Studio 2, an emotional show wrought with unforgettable performances from Lyon and friends.
The acoustic ambience of the room instantly wrapped the awe-struck audience into a gratifying silence led by a pure and wholesome voice accompanied solely by Lyon’s Faith guitar. Many of the writers songs were a personal dialogue into her life and experiences, not simply with a few clues here and there but with an intimate one-on-one type interaction maintained by the figure on stage with tracks covering emotional losses in ‘Pip’s Lullaby’ and ‘Every Second Counts’.
Lyon clearly chose her supporting artists at ease for the evening, each act gracefully led to the next, a story-telling whirlwind of enchanting musicians one after the other. Danny Bradley gave us a ‘folky’ introduction to the night’s entertainment with a Paul Simon soaked voice and quirky guitar leading the way for the haunting, mesmerising voice of pianist Megan Dixon-Hood, a striking modern day Joni Mitchell. When the headliner finally took to the stage her charming persona shone through with humorous crowd interactions and informative stories behind her music and her journey.
Each track in Lyon’s set appeared precisely forethought to make for a journey in which the audience could see what went on behind the writing process. Opening with her latest single ‘Free’ there was a comforting silence amongst the audience right until she played her final note. Using powerful imagery and her ability to use unusual topics as her inspiration for her songs from “whistling windows” to “sonic booms” Lyon was able to bring each of her tracks to life all the while making it look effortless. Towards the end of the show the connected audience were thrown by Lyon’s instrumental interlude with the closing of ‘Constellations’, almost as if the emotional and tranquil performances we witnessed throughout her set were brought together for an explosive finale, demonstrating her strengths and adaptations as a solo performer.
With an impressive backlog of live performances, shows and festivals behind her it’s no wonder Lyon was able to keep an impressive stage presence throughout her set. Featured too, was her own personal gratitude for the audience when the words to ‘Every Second Counts’ was recited back to the singer in a breath-taking sing along followed with thunderous applause.
Sam Lyon recently completed her crowd-funded EP ‘Comets + Constellations’ and it’s now available on iTunes and Spotify. You can find out more by visiting www.samlyon.co.uk.
Review by Naomi Campbell
