Youth Music: Live at the Hard Rock Cafe!

Come and join us for a night live music at The Hard Rock Cafe, London in association with Youth Music's Give a Gig Week!

Doors open from 6.45pm with live music starting shortly after, on the bill:

7.10pm Dusty Wagons

The band was formed in the summer of 2015 and since then Dusty Wagons have been of actively touring throughout London / Hertfordshire including support for UK Best Unsigned act Lewis Bootle on his London tour.
Inspired by acts such as Fleetwood Mac, Ryan Adams and Passenger, their songs possess a delicate and charming folk based sound with story driven lyrics.
Dusty Wagons released their first EP "Signs" on the 26th May 2017; teaming up with Martin Lumsden (Cream Room Sound Productions). The objective for the EP production was to enhance the sound while staying true to the band's live performances.
Dusty Wagons debut single "That Love" has received tremendous initial support and radio play from stations including Phoenix FM (selected for A list) And Radio Verulam.
After a fantastic year touring with over 150 events, venues, weddings and on Pheonix FM, Dusty Wagons are aiming to gig more extensively around the UK. Taking our music to new audiences in 2018!
Starting the year with a bang, Dusty Wagons were featured on National Radio Station Union Jack.
We hope you can join us on our journey!

7.45pm Hollie Rogers (Presented in association with TALENTBANQ)

Hollie Rogers is a singer, songwriter and guitarist with an incredibly powerful voice. Her live performances consistently receive outstanding reviews, with regular reference to the level of maturity in her lyrics and songs. 

With the backing of BBC Introducing and two stunning studio albums under her belt, Hollie has supported acts like Suzanne Vega, Midge Ure, Paolo Nutini and Ben Howard. Often playing with a full backing band or as a duo with double bass, and performing with notable candour and honesty, her live shows are not to be missed.

As of 2018, Hollie is working closely with TALENTBANQ and her music is playlisted in all Caffè Nero stores worldwide. Last year, Hollie's fan base came together to crowdfund a new release through Kickstarter after she quit her day job to pursue music full time. ‘The Body To Ground EP', produced by 4-time Grammy-nominated James McMillan, features Thomas Holder on double bass, with Mark Edwards (Katie Melua) on piano, and is available on iTunes and Spotify now.

8.15pm Liam Jackson

Liam Jackson has been a singer and songwriter since his early years, in fact, he sang before he could speak.

Growing up in a musical household, his parents ensured a good musical education by playing him many genres of music from country to Motown, rock to pop.
In his teenage years, he held regular spots in pubs as an acoustic artist in his home town of Sidcup and surrounding areas. Known for his ability to work up the crowd and get everyone singing along by performing well loved covers and originals. He then moved to France where he was found to be popular on the acoustic music scene, performing at many prestigious events and festivals.
He wrote his first album aged 17 and in more recent years, fulfilled a dream of opening a live music venue in Kent. For three years, he hosted hundreds of bands and solo artists on weekends and was known for his live acts. Wanting to dedicate more time to family and his own music, he moved away from the music venue owner and is now a full time musician, performing with a band and as a solo artist all year round.

8.50pm AMiR

If 2017 was the year the London Singer-Songwriter launched his soulful, funk-rich approach to creating pop music, then 2018 is the year he’ll be firmly on the radar as an emerging star in the U.K.
Born in North-London to a Punjabi father and a mother from the midlands, AMiR has always had a burning passion for music. Since the tender age of two, AMiR has been an all-out music obsessive. Spending his formative years learning guitar, piano and drums, AMiR has worked to become the complete musician. AMIR crafts all his own melodies and lyrics, delivering them with his trademark funky vocal style. As an artist, he’s constantly writing and honing his craft. Combining accessible pop appeal with issues such as the search for good in bad, or how to move on when stuck, in love and life. His songwriting talents have led to opportunities to work with Grammy winning producers in the United States and Europe, including Peter and Daniel (Matoma, Galantis, DFA) and Patrick Patrikios (Little Mix).

Last year’s single ‘Drench Me With Your Lust’ was a solid introduction to the AMiR sound, incorporating layers of funky guitar riffs, a swinging 4x4 kick pattern and thick, warm vocal harmonies. It wasn’t long before Spotify’s curation team got behind the track, boosting the track to over 100K streams in just over a week. Then to finish 2017, AMiR released the electro-funk single ‘All Or Nothing’ with a significant remix package. The release cemented AMiR as an artist on the rise, with regular plays via Kiss FM and a host of other national radio stations, ‘All Or Nothing’ entered the Urban Club Chart at #7 as well as breaching the top 10 pop and urban club charts. The track was also featured as BBC Introducing’s ‘Track of the Week’ in late October and more recently, AMiR was shortlisted as one of BBC Asian Network’s Sounds of 2018.

Now working towards his next single release in February, AMiR has treated fans to an unrecognisable, but unmistakably brilliant cover of Niall Horan’s 2017 hit Slow Hands. AMiR puts in an incredible performance on all parts of the track, making the composition his own with typically funkadelic guitar licks and a distinctive bass-line, providing a silky groove foundation for AMiR’s powerful topline.

9.25pm Dead Days

Dead Days are a UK based Alternative/Rock band consisting of Travis Marc (lead vocals/drums), DC (bass/backing vocals), James Mattocks (guitar/backing vocals) and Ian Ungaretti (guitar/backing vocals). Their electrifying approach to song-writing, combined with their unique live performance makes them an exciting new prospect for any music lover on the lookout for their new 'favourite band'. After all, in music, just like in life, it's important to discover new things and keep pushing forward and not keep living in the past because those days are dead.
Based in the UK’s Home Counties, the band formed in early 2016 citing their key musical influences as Royal Blood, Green Day, Foo Fighters, and Biffy Clyro. D ifferentiating them from their contemporaries is their live set, which sees drummer Travis delivering spirited lead vocals. Their electrifying debut album ‘Start Over Again’ was released in November 2016 followed by the ‘All Your Lies’ EP a year later in 2017.

10pm Fire Fences 

Crowned as Firestone UK Battle of the Bands 2017 Champions, Fire Fences are an energetic 4-piece band from South Wales and are proving to be one of Wales’ most promising and exciting young bands. Since entering the music world, Fire Fences have been making big waves on the indie-rock scene.
 
Whilst blurring the lines between alt-rock and acoustic sounds, Fire Fences pour their energy into creating vibrant and catchy melodic rock tunes. The four-piece emphasise their versatility by contrasting their heavier songs such as Weather and Eastern Avenue against the smoother sounds of House of Cards and Vessel.
 
During their short time as a band, Fire Fences have received much prestigious acknowledgement. In 2015, the band were invited out to Los Angeles to record with producer Sejo Navajas and Jose Alcantar (Interscope Records) at 4th Street recording studio in Santa Monica, CA. While in California the band also performed a one-off sold out show at the Los Angeles’ legendary Viper Room.
 
In 2016, Fire Fences were selected as one of ten specially chosen acts by The Forte Project, a scheme that both recognises and assists in the development of the best in new music emerging from Wales.
 
Early in 2017, Fire Fences were selected by Rising Sounds 2017 as one of the top 10 unsigned bands in the UK. This allowed them to record their newest single 'Weather' in the Roundhouse studios in London with producer Alexander Archer. Soon after this, Fire Fences were selected by Captial FM in their SSE Spotlight competition as one of the 3 top unsigned acts of 2017 in Wales. As a result of this the band were invited to play the UEFA Champions Festival in Cardiff Bay on the day of the Champions League final. In addition to this, Fire Fences' anthemic single 'Weather' was chosen to feature on the soundtrack to the new NASCAR Heat II video game released in late 2017.

To kick off 2018, Fire Fences released their brand new single ‘Again & Again’ which promises to be the spark to ignite an exciting year.