After two sold out shows back to back at Camden Barfly in London, Kimberly Anne came down to Brighton to play a more intimate show in one of Brighton’s newest venues, Patterns (previously named Audio). After touring the UK just before summer, her latest tour is a step up with a full band and new songs from her up-and-coming debut album.

Walking on stage sporting a bright coloured shirt and her trademark Cuban quiff, the South London indie-pop singer opened her set with ‘Start Over’ from her 2014 EP Hard As Hello. Immediately, the crowd was gripped as a sea of nodding heads was enticed by her sound that she describes as “acoustic pop married to indie whilst having an obsessive love affair with African and Brazilian rhythms”. The percussive singer-songwriter noted that this influence came from visiting South Africa for musical training on African Rhythms.

Undoubtedly the highlight of the set for both the artist and the crowd was her cover rendition of Robin S’ ‘Show Me Love’, which brought her into the spotlight in 2013 after posted a cover on YouTube. She mentions to the crowd how the Dutch DJ, Sam Feldts then picked up the cover making it a club classic that reached number 4 in the charts.

Crowd participation was vital for her set as her showmanship was brought to life by her bright and bold personality. The juxtaposition of her light-hearted small talk in-between songs and her deep and passionate heartfelt lyrics, gave an insight to her relatable life of both love and loss. Anne gave a dynamic set with a contrast between solo intimate performances (from her soon to be released debut album) and a lively use of a full band for songs such as ‘Hard As Hello’.

Kimberly Anne is definitely one to keep an eye on, as I have no doubt her sound will carry over the pond and be a regular on festival bills.

Rhys Baker

Categories: Arts Music

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