Jake Bugg plays in a sold out Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow tonight with a different set up and approach from his previous tours. The young singer-songwriter imposed himself on the global music scene in 2012 after his debut album went platinum in the UK. The, now, 23-year-old has not been idle since his initial success releasing three albums, including one in September of this year, that have shown growth and evolvement that has been both necessary and elegant. He toured and played in Glasgow in 2016 after his 3rd album was released. A full band joined him on stage along with 3,000 fans in the sold out 02 Academy in Glasgow last November; tonight he plays backed up only by a guitar.

Bugg has a peculiar calm and discreet personality on stage whilst still being able to captivate a crowd no matter what the size. When he played the main stage at Glastonbury at 19-years-old chatter in between songs was scarce but the material, whether it be the lyrics, the traditional folksy sound or the glimpses of rock and roll, kept the audience engaged. Tonight is no different as he seamlessly plays through a set that picks songs from all 4 albums as well as some tracks that have flown under the radar in recent years such as ‘Strange Creatures’ and the lovely, heartfelt ‘Saffron’.

Although his first two albums were almost universally praised by critics, his newest record and the previous one have came under attack. Many accused his ‘On My One’ album of trying too hard to branch out into different genres and one critic describing Bugg as ‘world-weary’. Despite some articles portraying Bugg’s diverse music, I really struggle to see how evolving like he as done as a bad thing.

He shows his versatility tonight playing fan favourites ‘Two Fingers’ and ‘Lightning Bolt’ as well as delicate folk single ‘How Soon The Dawn’. The crowd listen intently as he builds songs softly with his remarkable guitar skills. Bugg gracefully crafts meaningful lyrics before tilting his head back from the microphone to let his vocals loose.

Jake Bugg seems to be the epitome of real and organic music. As well as his credibility due to not only his vocal talent but his ability to write meaningful songs, he has also succeeded in becoming ‘popular’ with several appearances in the UK and global charts– although I’m not sure he cares about that. The Scottish crowd applaud as he leaves the stage after a special and rare performance from a star who can sell out stadiums. He thanks his crowd and leaves without doing an encore, reinforcing the emphasis he puts on the music and not the showmanship that we see so much of in the modern music industry.

Support Act: Georgie

Photography by: Stan Proudlock

Review By: Ewan Hearns

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