Emma Stevens @ The Boileroom (28.03.14)
Local favourite, Emma Stevens charmed the large crowd at the Boileroom on Friday night with her catchy pop-folk tunes and signature smile. The Guildford born singer was playing in her home town as part of her ‘Enchanted’ tour which has seen her headline the billing for the first time in her young career.
Her first studio album, also entitled ‘Enchanted’ has had some mainstream success with her most recognisable single, ‘Riptide’ featuring on the iTunes Single of the Week back in October 2013 which then achieved in excess of 150,000 downloads. In addition to that, Emma has featured on both BBC Radio 2’s Weekend Wogan and The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, also on BBC Radio 2. The support that she has received from these highly acclaimed Radio DJ’s has been pivotal to her rise in success, gaining critical air play and support.
On the night, Stevens took to the stage with a beaming smile that didn’t rescind all evening and her polite and friendly demeanour meant the crowd instantly warmed to her. Throughout the show, she interacted with the audience casually, pointing out her sister and talking in between songs. She spoke about having a cup of tea upstairs before the show because she isn’t very rock ‘n’ roll and was continually larking around on stage with best pal and guitarist Sam Whiting.
This, partnered with her upbeat, uplifting tunes meant that there was a real positive vibe in the room as she rattled through performances of ‘Sunflower’, ‘A Place Called You’, ‘Once’ and of course ‘Riptide’ with consummate ease. The ACM graduate gave a master class in live performance as members of the crowd were found grinning, singing, humming and foot-tapping as everyone clearly enjoyed their night.
Emma is a very talented, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist that has all of the potential to go to the very top of the business. She is technically gifted with an endearing personality and a killer smile, but is also clearly still very grounded. After her performance, the headliner was seen talking to people in the crowd, thanking them for coming and giving out hugs like they were EP’s. We certainly hope that she is seen on the Guildford stage again soon!
James Martin
http://www.thisisourtownguildford.co.uk/emma-stevens-at-the-boileroom/