Benjamin Francis Leftwich

The new star of Britain’s resurgent acoustic music scene certainly isn’t adverse to risk-taking – Starting the gig with your most famous song (‘Pictures’) is a ballsy move for a newcomer, while attempting to sing a song without any amplification in a venue like Concorde 2 carries a strong possibility of artistic suicide. But he somehow managed to pull both off, demonstrating that there’s more to his talents than just a deliciously raspy voice and pretty guitar fiddling. The songs he performed solo became slightly repetitive after a while, but when joined by his band Leftwich excelled, and demonstrated a depth and originality that sets him apart from his sanitised singer-songwriter contemporaries.

Concorde 2, 1 October 2012

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