After a St George’s day with a lot of sunny spells and actually feeling quite warm in Newport, there was, as usual, a warm and friendly atmosphere at Open Mic at Newport’s Royal Naval Association Club, in Bellmans Yard Newport Shropshire.

With over 70 people in attendance, and a high quality of music and variety, the evening was as bright as the day has been.

Adam Brown performed the vital role of MC, as regular Ollie Flavell performed an instrumental number as the sound check. This was accompanied by performers writing their names on the play list, resulting in a full board by 7.50pm!

Carol Cartwright opened the evening’s music with Tracy Chapman’s “Matters of the Heart”. Carol’s mellow tones on this number were then lifted as she sang a lovely rendition of “You’re Still the One”
by Shania Twain in addition to the moving “Last thing on my mind” and “He thinks He’ll Keep Her”.

Running ahead of time, gave Rich Evans opportunity to play a couple of songs, the first using yet another musical “invention” which currently has no name (ideas on Newport Open Mic Facebook page please!) . Rich used this instrument to create a fantastic blues sound to accompany himself to
“Bad to the Bone”. This was followed by the Specials’ “A Message to You Rudy” using a guitar, ukulele and a loop pedal.

The “Noisy Boys” were up next, delivering smooth and polished performances including Steve Miller’s “Abracadabra”, “Aint no Sunshine” and “Black Magic Woman”.  The band are looking for a new name (they can be seen on You Tube as “Katy and the Noisy Boys”) and would be grateful for ideas. Again, suggestions can be made via the Newport Open Mic Facebook page.

Foster the People’s “Pumped up Kicks” was performed by Nathan Davies with an amazingly deep voice and rich tones, and his usual laid back, highly talented guitar skills. This was followed by Third Eye Blind’s “Jumper”.  Nathan started attending Open Mic when he was much younger, and has continued to develop which demonstrates that this venue is ideal for young people to showcase and practice their talents.

The ever popular Vinyl Tap launched into “Wipeout” with an impressive drum introduction from Remynie-Kiah. The band then slowed it down to perform Radiohead’s “Creep” showcasing Alex’s excellent vocal abilities.  Alex then made his debut on keyboards, complimented by Brad’s mastery of lead guitar, Jude’s steady bass and Cathy switching keyboards for tambourine on “Don’t Fear the Reaper” – an excellent set!

Newport Open Mic would like to express sincere thanks to Carol Allan. Carol’s late husband John Allan was guitarist with Vinyl Tap and a staunch supporter of Open Mic. Carol has kindly donated John’s vintage guitar to Open Mic in order to continue his support.

Brad and Dan got up on stage, and the harmonies between both their voices and guitars were a delight to listen to, as they performed “Outside” by Staind and were then joined by Remynie-Kiah on drums to play a rousing rendition of Offspring’s “The Kids aren’t Alright”.   Dan then remained on stage alone to perform an acoustic version of “Hallelujah”

Sharn and Alan performed an acoustic version of  Pixie Lott’s “Mama Do” and then Sharn’s clear strong vocals were highlighted as she sang “Killing me Softly” finishing off with the fantastic “Titanium”. Sharn always delivers a high quality performance, and seemed even more
clear and confident this week.

Open Mic Regular, the very talented Melissa Walford took to the stage to sing songs including “Home town glory”, “All those Days” and “You are the only Exception”. Melissa has fantastic vocal abilities and is growing in confidence each time she performs.

Keeping on with the acoustic theme was Remynie-Kiah performing a very melodic and gentle version of Jessie J’s “Price Tag”, which worked really well and gave a different sound to the song.  This was followed by a fantastic version of James Arthur’s “Impossible” which demonstrated Remynie’s exceptional vocal abilities.

Rich T.  brought some anarchy to the stage next, with his traditional hard edgy sound and stance, finishing off his set with Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the UK”.

Playing the final set of the night was Open Mic regular Darcy Crawford, who began with the excellent “Wayfaring Stranger”.  Every time Darcy performs this number using a loop pedal it gets better and better. Darcy’s set also included “Use Somebody”, Brad Paisley’s “I’m Still a Guy” and finished up with the ever-popular Proclaimers’ “500 Miles” complete with audience participation.

If you missed the one of the best Open Mic nights in the country this week, come along next Tuesday at 8pm to listen to the growing number of very talented musicians that live in and around Newport Shropshire.