The Spring Showcase was the latest event in the Westwood Sessions calendar.
Originally an offshoot of the Beverley Folk Festival, the Westwood Sessions is now forging a name of its own as a premier event for young musicians.
A full house at their recent showcase at the Rose and Crown in Beverley showed the immense local support of young people in the area.
Travelling from around the region and making the trek from other parts of the country, the musicians covered a range of styles including folk, pop and even blues played on a three-string guitar by Swindonian Peter Harris. Amber Warren, Josh Wolfsohn and The Uncharted were seen gracing the Westwood Sessions stage again with a range of covers and self-penned songs.
Debutant Iona Wild showed no sign of nerves playing the guitar, despite having only picked it up for two weeks beforehand.
After the show Iona said:
“I found out about the Westwood Sessions at the Beverley Folk Festival, and jumped at the opportunity to play.”
Closing the night was Katie Spencer; already a well regarded folk artist in the local area who has recently headlined at The Processed Pea, Etton.
The youth involvement was not only seen through the musicians and organisers but also in the newly forged technical team, including Matthew Ascough and Peter Harris, who will work alongside Alex Cook of AFC Entertainment at their Beverley Folk Festival event.
After the event, Denise Delahay, the youth co-ordinator at the Beverley Folk Festival, was overjoyed at how the night went saying;
“Tonight was yet another brilliant concert run by the Westwood Sessions. The team running these events are so professional, and we’re lucky to have young people such as Nikki Airey, Westwood Sessions Events Co-ordinator and Alex Cook, Technical Co-ordinator who are capable of running these events.”
“What’s especially great to see is variety of talent we’re endorsing. It isn’t just musicians; it’s also technicians, journalists and administrators.”
The Westwood Sessions next big event will be their under-25 open-mic event, free to the public, at Beverley Folk Festival on the 19th, 20th and 21st June.
