On February 29th we made our debut as a band performing at The Lighthouse in Poole for Live & Unheard.
Following the performance David Chinery of Rock Regeneration kindly provided a review of the gig.
"29th February is a day that only comes around once every four years, and it is believed that special things happen on this day if all the correct magical ingredients are in place. Well Hangover Hill’s Matt Black and Mel Berkhauer have been casting some spells and cooking up some magic from their cauldron of musical dreams to bring us February’s Live & Unheard. We have a line-up that could be quite possibly one of the best we have ever had here by looking around at the bums on seats. Tonight, the Sheiling Studio is packed full of eager punters just waiting to be entertained.
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Next up is a brand-new original music trio called the Ben Poore Project, who tonight make their debut right on this very stage. I say debut, frontman Ben along with bassist Dan HM and drummer Matt Åkesson also perform in a covers band together called “The Bandwagon”. Kicking off with “Oh Brother” the trio show themselves to be in fine form, relaxed and not showing any first gig nerves. Next Ben proudly introduces “Nothing Left to Lose”, a fine song that was clearly written from the heart by his eldest daughter.
Ben plays a semi-acoustic guitar and coupled with his ultra tight rhythm section, they create a contemporary sound with elements of Rock, Americana/Country and Folk. The band’s unique advantage is that all three of them have great singing voices and many of the songs feature some impressive layered vocals. Some of the songs include personal lyrics written from Ben’s own personal point of view, along with a few collaborations including “Better Days”; which was written with Dan’s fine tuning after hearing it at an open mic night, before the band was even formed.
There is also a track “That’s Not for Me” written by Matt’s Father who originally sent the track to Johnny Cash, but sadly Johnny died before he had a chance to check it out. We are treated to a few covers, one in the form of Genesis’s Dad anthem “I Can’t Dance” and a clever mash-up of “Old Town Road/No Diggity”. The audience really seem to warm to the band and there is plenty of generous applause as they take their bows at the end of their fine set."
You can read the full review on the rock-regeneration.co.uk