The story of how Lucy Rose travelled around Latin America (staying with fans who became firm friends) is fast becoming a legendary tale, and must already be teaching other artists how to connect with their fanbase on a global and very 2017 level. The journey continued this week as her tour began and, prior to her sold out show at the Duke of York’s Picturehouse, she treated her Brighton fans to a sneak preview with an intimate in-store performance at Resident.

er current album, Something’s Changing, has been given glowing reviews across the board, and it was the first chance to hear these beautiful, soulful songs in the city that they were recorded in. With her band fitting snugly in the corner of the shop, this is the kind of event for which independent record stores were made for – bringing music fans up close and personal with the artists themselves. As a taster for the Duke of York’s show and then a further show at The Old Market in November, this was sensational.

With a torrential downpour outside, ’Love Song’ was a fitting start with its lyrics of: “It was summer and the rain was at bay, you came like the storm that washed me away.” Much has been made of Rose’s shift away from the poppy sounds of her second album Work It Out, and this track is a perfect example of how, by writing music true to herself, she now operates comfortably in Joni Mitchell territory of folk-tinged soft rock. Live, her voice is just as pure as on record and, as she sings with her eyes closed, the crowd are instantly captivated – many of them following suit by closing their eyes and losing themselves in the music. The intimate setting brings Lucy’s self-deprecating humour out to play, with her admission that “everything I own is semi-crap” after nearly blowing the sound system while adjusting the levels.

Tonight’s set was obviously short at six songs, but every choice was perfectly suited to the occasion. The semi-acoustic nature of the show naturally strips everything back to its purest form, and songs such as ‘Strangest Of Ways’ and ‘Is This Called Home’ sounded magical and moving. Rose mentioned that she was “aware that playing them like this may make them sound sombre”, but to Brightonsfinest’s ears they just allowed each moment the space to really resonate. Before finishing the set with a stunning ‘I Can’t Change It All’, she referenced the Latin American trip by wondering aloud how life could go back to normal for both her and one of the fans/friends that she had stayed with. He told her that writing another album would be the perfect thing to do, and we should all feel very grateful for that advice and where it has led us to.

Jamie MacMillan

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