We had no idea what to expect from Newton Faulkner’s sold out performance. On approaching the doors, there was a vast audience; ranging from the age of fourteen to fifty. Even though Newton Faulkner may have been out of the public eye for a while, it was clear that he still has a strong following.

The lights dimmed and the whole crowd fell silent as the support, Emily in the Woods, stepped quietly onto the stage and began to sing a capella to the audience. Her gentle presence took the crowd by surprise, causing everyone to momentarily stop what they were doing.

As her first song ended the crowd cheered loudly, many intent on hearing more of what she had to offer. There is something extremely personal about watching one girl with her guitar and this performance in particular seemed to have a very close feel to it. Emily’s soft voice seemed to touch the hearts of those watching as she played through her set list with ease. As she finished her last song and took her guitar from around her neck, it was clear that she had created an effect and there was still so much more to come.

You could really sense the excitement in the room as the crowd rushed to the bar to grab their last drinks. Fifteen minutes later, the guitar slapping, dreadlocked man, Newton Faulkner, took to the stage opening with legendary ‘Badman’. The night had officially kicked off.

As well as playing some well-loved classics such as ‘People Should Smile More’ and ‘UFO’, there were tracks from the upcoming album and newly-released EP, including ‘Pick Up Your Broken Heart’, ‘Brick by Brick’ and ‘Clouds’. When speaking to Newton earlier Clash found that he had been slightly worried about playing new songs on stage: “I wasn’t really sure how people would react by me coming on stage and playing a load of new songs, but people loved it and I was amazed with the positive response.”

After seeing him preform, it was unsurprising why; this man didn’t just play new tracks, but taught them to his fans. Clash watched in shock as he managed to split the crowd into three, all getting them to sing in time with each other. There was lots of audience interaction and as the gig went on, it was clear that this artist really cares about his fans.

Newton’s good-humoured nature gave the gig real entertainment value and helped give a relaxed atmosphere to the packed room. His informal attitude towards music and heartfelt songs made the crowd roar with laughter and well with tears within the space of minutes.

It was coming to the end of the gig and after announcing that there were only two songs left on the set list, people were still demanding more. Newton finished with the fan favourite ‘Dream Catch Me’ and a surprising choice of the last song from his soon-to-be-released album ‘Write it on Your Skin’.

There was a real sense of not only playing to the crowd, but communicating with them. Both acts seemed to do something many music fans dream of; breaking down the boundaries between the stage and crowd. Whether it is a typical trait of acoustic nights or just one of both acts, people left the venue feeling like they’d gained so much more than simply hearing songs from an album. Not often do you see someone so successful carry such a humble attitude.

Newton Faulkner is not just an artist, but an entertainer, and someone definitely worth seeing live.

Words by Sophie Sparham