‘Nice jumper, where can I get one?’ laughs one of the
brightest talents in British Music. Nina Nesbitt, a proud Scot and at just 18
has embarked on her first headline tour, with the help of Josh Kumra and little
known talent Billy Lockett. The conversation occurred next to a merchandise
stand, just after I’d purchased a jumper and EP.
She rolled into the 02 Academy, Newcastle after a
successful night in Glasgow, to perform to just over 100 Geordies. Billy
Lockett was meant to be an appetiser to the two more established acts but
quickly took centre stage during his half hour set. Opening the show with a
mixture of acoustic ballads and catchy acoustic-folk songs, like Just Being You
and Sideways, he soon won the crowd over, mixing his undoubted talent with a cheeky-chappy
aura which was hard to keep down. He showed his talents by switching to piano
from his acoustic guitar, and showing a gentler side by performing a touching
song about his father, called Hold On Hope. He has his own tour, but on this
evidence, was an inspired addition to this line-up.
Josh Kumra, most remembered for his collaboration with
rapper Wretch 32 on ‘Don’t Go’, was up next. He opened with new material from
his back catalogue, stirring up the crowd with quick strumming combined with intricate
melodies in both his voice and his acoustic guitar. The biggest reaction came
from his song Don’t Go, which was part of the collaboration with Wretch 32, but
this was an acoustic performance, and a good one at that. The new material from
the upcoming album tells me that he is destined to get bigger in his own right,
not as ‘that guy in Wretch 32’s song’. His catchy guitar songs were the perfect
warm up for the main event, half Swedish, half Scottish songstress Nina
Nesbitt. 
Although she was a timely 30 odd minutes after Josh
Kumra, causing some of the audience to get restless, she was worth the wait.
She opened with eternal crowd pleaser Noserings and Shoestrings, which meant
that the crowd was immediately made to feel comfortable. Nesbitt was oozing
confidence, likely to be down to the extensive work done with flame haired
singer songwriter Ed Sheeran, who took the music scene by storm last year. The
confidence, mixed with extreme talent and emotion took us into a heartfelt
rendition of Jessica, a reference to a childhood friend, taken seriously ill.
The gentle guitar's intricate harmonies and raw emotion all came together to give
a great performance of the track. To wind down the evening she performed a cover
of All I Want by Kodaline, after falling in love after hearing it on Radio 1. It
was played slowly, in her own style, but kept the essence of the original song.
She then switched instruments, playing her piano-keyboard for Hold You, a song
from her previous EP. The crowd was silent as she sang, and then erupted as the
last note was played. 
She announced that her final song was going to be The Apple
Tree, another from the EP. She couldn’t be blamed for losing time a couple of
times, as the crowd singing back every word, twice as loud, was bound to be off
putting. As she was thanking everyone for coming a cry came from the crowd,
‘500 Miles!’, to which she obliged happily. The result was a fun filled, pop
number by the star of the show, a musician who is sure to do well, and join
friend and mentor Ed Sheeran in the UK Top 40.
All three musicians showed their down to earth attitudes
by posing for photos, chatting with the crowd and signing anything put in front
of them. With some clever positioning we were able to chat to Lockett and
Kumra, and also get all the photos we wanted and autographs to boot. This was
when the jumper comment was afforded. Lockett was saying how he needed to sell
EPs to eat, and that he was sorry Newcastle wasn’t on his tour list, while
Kumra stood and chatted with anyone who’d listen.
The night ended after we were moved on, more for our own
good, to avoid being trampled by a hoard of Nebians (Nesbitt’s fans) who were
desperate to talk to their hero and idol. I left the Academy with a thought
that all three performers would become big players in the music industry in one
way or another.
