Monday 13th May was a great day. I was lucky enough to play before Eric Clapton in the Forum Live of the LG Arena in Birmingham. I’ve played there a couple of times before and both previous occasions were good fun but this one was a bit special.

The doors opened at 5, and by 6 it was busy so I started playing. The lull that I was expecting didn’t take place and the majority of people stayed and carried on listening. The initial group was bolstered by later arrivals and soon I was performing not just to people gathered around the tables and chairs directly in front of me but people standing all around the stage. I ended playing for an hour and twenty minutes because the crowd were so nice.

I had quite a few people take cards and join my mailing list, and after I’d finished playing I was approached by a number of friends who happened to be attending the gig (my friends have impeccable taste, naturally.)

Best of all was seeing Eric play, of course. This was the second time I’ve been to a Clapton concert and I loved every minute of it. I’ve written about some of my idols in the past but I’m scared of trying to explain the importance of this man and his music on me. So I’m not going to try. Suffice to say he is a musical giant who has recorded with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, in fact he’s played with just about everyone. He’s my favourite guitar player and a criminally underrated singer and songwriter. I know some diehards might not agree but I loved the fact that he played a lot of the set strumming acoustic guitar and concentrating on his singing, which was excellent. Made it all the more exciting when he did strap on his strat and play some solos, particular highlights being I Shot The Sherriff and Badge, a song which I was thrilled to hear live.

Eric Clapton LG Arena

On the 13th May Eric Clapton will play at Birmingham's LG Arena as part of a tour celebrating his 50th year as a professional musician.

I'm thrilled to say that I will be performing in the Forum Live before the concert. Eric is one of my biggest influences and idols, so it is very exciting to get this opportunity.

Tickets for the concert are available on the LG Arena website  http://www.lgarena.co.uk/whatson/eric-clapton

 

LG Arena, Mark Knopfler and John Mayer

I've got so much to tell you!

First of all there was the LG Arena gigs, where I performed before concerts by Mark Knopfler and John Mayer.

The gigs had come about after a Facebook competition held by The LG Arena to find the best singer songwriters to perform in The ForumLive area of the arena where the concert goers hang out and get their drinks and snacks before going through to the main arena. Over forty musicians applied by uploading videos to a Facebook Event Page which were then judged by a panel made up of important types at the arena. Seven Singer Songwriters were chosen to perform across three nights.

My first night was on Sunday May 23rd, performing to the seven thousand people waiting to see the amazing Mark Knopfler. I played three 20 minutes sets on that first night, and then had the privilege of seeing the legend at work.

The following night I performed two sets before the John Mayer concert which three thousand people attended. Seeing this concert from the VIP area was a particular treat because I've been wanting to see him perform for a long time, and he was fantastic.

Both evenings were great fun and the audiences were incredibly receptive to the unexpected and unknown musicians performing before the concerts, so thanks very much to everyone who was there. A massive thank you to the organisers and judges at The LG for picking me and looking after me so well.

Thanks to Mark Woodward for taking these photos.

LG Arena

Very exciting news, I'm performing at the LG Arena...twice!

This Sunday, the 23rd of May I'll be playing in the Forum Live area of the arena, before a Mark Knopfler concert.

The next night, Monday the 24th of May I'll performing there again before John Mayer hits the arena stage.

More details to follow...