Blog: Philippa Hanna Live In Cardiff
What can be better than finding out that after a boring day at work, LTTM British Artist of the year 2011 Philippa Hanna is playing live in your home town that evening? LTTM's Jono went along to the launch night of Live Lounge Cardiff to see Philippa perform her acoustic set.
Once a month All Nations Church are taking over Costa Coffee in Cardiff Bay so that people can come down, have a coffee, and listen to some great music. Tonight was the launch night of the event and they couldn't have picked a better artist to kick things off.
Over the past few years Philippa has grown into one of the best British artists out at the moment. With many releases under her belt, she is armed with some great songs from albums like Out Of The Blue and Taste. But first, the coffee drinking crowd were given a real treat with the support act, who was in fact Philippa Hanna's Dad, Pat Hanna.
Pat warmed up the crowd beautifully with a selection of well known songs and some jokes to relax people. You could see his years of experience as a cabaret artist coming across in this live setting. He also told the crowd he will be doing a few gigs around the country with his wife for Compassion UK in the next few months, so look out for that.
Mixing together her testimony and stories of how and why her songs were written, Philippa soon moved into a new track called Holiwood, which from first listen has serious potential. Next on offer were two of my favorite tracks every written by Philippa, Raggedy Doll and I Am Amazing, the latter being a really powerful song that touches the heart. If you haven't seen the video to this song yet, check it out (see right).
After a quick break and another coffee, which I have to admit I was getting full of by now, the singer was back on stage getting the crowd to rap or sing along to the brilliant Happy In My Skin, another Philippa classic. Mixing together a cover of an Alicia Keys' track and the continued story of how Philippa became a Christian, it wasn't long until she was about to finish her set. Time really flies when you're enjoying yourself so much.
Closing with brand new song Circuits, this again stood out as a great new song for a future album. If all these new songs are going to appear on Philippa's next release, then I for one can't wait for her new album!
Having only previously seen Philippa Hanna live at Big Church Day Out for one song on the main-stage a few years back, hearing her songs live in a coffee house was a truly amazing privilege. Philippa has such a strong voice that captures your attention straightaway. She sings from deep within her soul, which produces a beautiful and exquisite tone to her voice. With songs that match that voice, seeing Philipa Hanna live is a must for anybody. Check out her website for live gigs in your area.
Jono
Photos courtesy of Tim White, used with permission
