Salford has so many great musicians and each year more and more acts appear on a friendly and eclectic scene. Attending gigs in and around the region often means encountering familiar faces with the bands eager to offer each other support. So many of these brilliant performers are more than worthy of our Best Act accolade.
It is fitting that the former recipients come from completely different genres. Our first winners, The Moods, gave us a unique fusion of Hip-Hop, Ska and Dance, supplemented with a brass-band. Last year Dominic Carlton Jones beautifully delivered a stunningly original and poetic album on the deeply personal subject of love and loss. Thankfully, our readers' taste was on-point as ever and one performer making a comeback managed to gather the most votes.
Former Stolen Haven singer Andy Brides was a late entrant; releasing Worth the Night towards the end of 2019. It proved to be very popular with the astute Salford Star readership as the collection boasted a diverse collection of songs dripping in warmth and hope.
Worth the Night showcased the creative talent of a great songwriter with smart, honest and emotive tunes. The immediacy of Andy's delivery was readily identifiable on the euphoric In the Rain and lead track Worth the Night. The tracks were alive with celebration, with Andy keen to sing about the city he loves.
Sheila Delaney and Mocha Parade were amongst the iconic Salfordian name-checks featured on In the Rain. Salford City soon picked up on the uplifting track and recently used it with their highlights footage. While the project was unmistakably the work of Stolen Haven's frontman, a lightness of touch was also evident in the recordings.
Come In and Shine offered a more subtle vignette of hope and contentment. The reflective nature of the songs could be attributed to the fact that Andy has recently become a father. We caught up with a made-up Andy to discuss an eventful year...
How does it feel to win Salford Star's Best Act Award?
"Absolutely chuffed to bits! I recognised other names on the nominees list and these are people who are doing great things, so I voted for them but then I think they returned the vote, so that's telling of people in our community. I love being part of the community that Salford Star represents so well."
What have been your 2019 highlights?
"It feels like I'm up on fortune's wheel at the moment but I can only say that because my family have had our fair share of bad luck in recent years. Finding out I was having a baby -the real highlight - gave me a push and a deadline to complete my EP, which I missed, but now both are finally here and seemingly doing well. Things seem to be falling into place.
"I follow Salford City Football Club which inspired the track In the Rain. The club released a highlight video following a big win on Boxing Day and to my surprise they used my track on it. Gary Neville re-tweeted to his four million followers so it's getting exposure I couldn't have dreamt of."
Has fatherhood shaped your songwriting?
"Well the songs I had planned for the next record can wait because the next EP will be named after my daughter, Juno, and consists entirely of songs inspired by her. Now I know that might not sound very rock n roll but most of the songs are catchy and upbeat. I'm going in the studio with sound references from The Strokes. So we'll see where it that goes."
With further releases to follow and live performances in the pipeline, it's an exciting time for the Broughton singer... "I'm back in the studio and looking to do some gigs with guitarist Craig McGowan and drummer Chris Appleton. If any other musicians are reading this and would like to get involved they are welcome, get in touch!"
A huge congrats to our Best Act winner Andy Brides...We'd encourage our readers that are yet to discover Andy to give Worth the Night a listen. Also keep an eye out for more releases and live appearances. Alternatively, we'll, 'meet you at the offy at Mocha Parade'.
Words by Ian Leslie
Salford Star Award Winners
Salford Star - James 'Shinny' Davenport - click here
Best Performer – Tony Kinsella – click here
Best Play - Getting The Third Degree - click here
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