The last few years have caused an unnatural shift for musicians and artists alike where live shows were replaced by live-streams on social media platforms, and whilst that was enjoyable at the start, the longer it went on the more we craved the need for the raw sound of live music. Quarry live at Laylow was exactly that.
However, before Quarry made his grand entrance, South-African born singer-songwriter Julia Church gifted the crowd with a stunning stripped back performance. Featuring her warm keys and soothing vocal tone, standout tracks of her performance were the hauntingly beautiful ballad ‘Cups and Balloons’ and ‘Shiloh’, a track about “complex relationship with self-worth and making peace with who I am.” Julia also treated us to an unreleased a track about birthdays a greetings, a perfect time to showcase for it was her birthday on the night. Loud cheers and round of applauses erupted as soon as she thanked the crowd and exited off the stage.
After another visit to the bar, the venue began to fill up with anticipations high after an amazing support act, we were all waiting for one thing…..Quarry.
Having only released his mixtape ‘Is That What You Call Love?’ in June of this year, including a handful of successful single releases prior, Quarry was making his first headline show at North Kensington’s newest venue.
Quarry stepped onto stage wearing the mask featured in the artwork of his debut EP ‘Q1’. With his entrance alone, we were certainly witnessing a showman who was set to entertain. Fully equipped with his band, featuring drums, bass and keys, Quarry, with guitar in check, opened the night with ‘Times Up’, a sultry feel-good breakup single that got people grooving and singing along before the first chorus even kicked in.
Standout tracks ‘Shot On You’ and ‘Your Brain Or Your Body’ worked a treat, showcasing Quarry’s natural ability to craft infectious and sleek upbeat pop songs that stick with you from start to finish. Fans were also gifted with an unreleased track that saw Quarry sing about the end of summer over a chord progression reminiscent of James Bay circa ‘Chaos and The Calm’, before the rest of the band joined in for one last explosive chorus.
A live show wouldn’t be complete without an encore, and Quarry’s departure to the backroom was followed by loud chants of “one more song…one more song…one more song” and Quarry didn’t disappoint, kicking into the lively 80s-leaning crowd favourite ‘Wake Me Up’. If that night proved one thing, it’s that there’s nothing better than live music.