Rising star and London-based artist, Gemma Rogers, is certainly no stranger to Joyzine. Her energetic music has recently been out on tour across the country and we caught up with her at a recent gig in the fabulous setting of a Bristol pub, ‘The Plough’ – a hot bed of pulsing, creative energy in the suburb of Easton, at the heart of the city.
‘The Plough’ is a traditional pub, packed with a very diverse and lively clientelle, who clearly relish good music and Gemma brought her phenomenal force to the mix for an amazing night of entertainment. The stage was small, but the atmosphere in the venue was powerful, aided in bunches by Gemma’s addictive personality and skilled stage prescence, delivering fourteen tracks over a two hour set to a thrilled, energetic audience, who hung on to every word of her performance, backed by a highly-professional trio of musicians. The tour is helping to promote the release of Gemma’s latest four-track, EP, entitled ‘No Future‘, including her new single – the title track of the EP – and the final single to be released from it. More of that later.
Events kicked off with a rousing version of ‘Death Knocked Up’, from the EP. By the end of this opening track, anyone in the pub who wasn’t paying attention certainly was, and Gemma quickly had an animated, inquisitive group of people in front of the stage, dancing along. The band are a perfect foil for Gemma’s music and both their timing and their musicality were absolutely spot on. Gemma’s dynamic energy never lets up for a single moment and her magnetic personality shines through at every opportunity, drawing the audience into her creative world. I had the chance to talk with a number of the crowd, some of whom had never heard her music before. Every one of them informed me how impressed they were and it was a joy to witness that the happy dancing levels increased with each of the fourteen numbers. Gemma saved the new single for the latter part of the gig. I chatted to her about this specific track and we talked about how different it is to her usual sound.
‘No Future‘ begins with a gentle rhythm and has a strong acoustic feel. Guitar and bass accompany a flowing, synth pad, until the drums begin to take the track to a more rhytmic place. The glue that bonds and unites everything together is Gemma’s soothing, concise vocals, including a whispered passage at the end, which simply amplifies the connection between artist and audience. The video, produced, directed & edited by Ric Johnston is visually stunning and has a strong, professional ambience. In Gemma’s words, ‘The inspiration for this song came from a trip to the coast with a good friend. I realised that by just being there – we were connecting. Sometimes that’s enough. Just being there. The song plays to everyone’s state of mental health – with a beautiful and poignant outro from (poetry slammer) Deanna Rodger.”
I’ve been blessed to witness many live artists across the decades. There are few in my memory who ooze such personality and close connection to an audience as Gemma manages, with ease. She frequently came down into the crowd during a number to interract with everyone around the tiny stage; her shiny character perfectly reflecting and articulating her thoughtful music. The venue at ‘The Plough’ is amazing, with an electric, friendly atmosphere and is perfect for a noisy night out, as there are live music events almost every night, reflecting an eclectic variety of musical genres.
After the gig, I sat and spoke with Gemma about her future. Good news for fans, as she is ‘constantly writing and creating’, using her boundless energy to get her messages out there to the world. ‘I want to write about so many things’ she enthused, ‘there’s so much I have to say!’ A highly-memorable evening and I’d thoroughly recommend everyone to try and catch her when she is performing live. You won’t be disappointed.
A link to Gemma’s new single launch: https://odetorecords.uk/
Gemma Rogers socials: Website | Facebook | Instagram | X | YouTube
Article by Kevin J Milsom
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Gemma is such an inspiration!