Words and pics from Alan Dearling
Fabulous night at the legendary Hebden BridgeTrades Club showcasing local, young musical talent from the Calderdale area of Yorkshire (and beyond). Great too to see plenty of younger people in the audience – supporting live, original music. I was very pleased to be invited to take photos and witness the burgeoning depth of confidence, originality, charisma and skill on display.
These are all performers who have the energy, ability and drive to succeed nationally and possibly even internationally. Currently, to a greater and lesser degree, they are honing their live performances, writing and performing their own songs and music. New stars are being born! This is the sort of music night that back-in-the-day, would have been the Night of Celebration for the Young Guns in ‘How the West was Won’! (Yes, I know that’s not very PC!).
The night was promoted by Red Licorice Records: https://redlicoricerecords.com/
The event reminded me a lot of my own adolescent years in the mid-to-late 1960s when ‘youth’, music, and a revolution of the mind and body seemed to be taking place. Good to see and feel this creativity being nurtured and recreated in such a supportive and friendly space, crowd and venue. Frequently the audience were so wrapped up in the music and performers that you literally could hear the proverbial pin drop!
Lily Rae Grant at 18 years old is already a prodigious talent. With her band she ripped through a set of blues and Americana-styled songs. As the promo literature said: “Lily Rae Grant is already making waves in the Manchester and Calder Valley area thanks to her unique blend of soulful folk and country, powerful vocals and wonderful melodies.”
“Warmth, instinct and unfiltered emotion…”
These are what Lily and her band offered. The crowd loved it too! Recently, she has had a residency at New Century Kitchens in Manchester, and has been performing her originals at Salford University’s Peel Hall sessions.
Now, with her first release, a double vinyl single featuring the raw, one-take folk recording ‘Poison Ivy’ and the dreamlike, psychedelic shimmer of ‘Forget About’ — Lily Rae Grant introduces the full spectrum of her sound. She appears completely at home on stage, a well-seasoned performer.
Red Licorice Records tells us that, “ ‘Poison Ivy’ was recorded when Grant was just 16, in a spontaneous midnight session after finally playing her songs to her dad. With only one microphone, no click, and a single take, the track became a time capsule of her earliest songwriting voice — fragile, real, and impossible to recreate. Now featuring Dan Bridgewood-Hill’s evocative violin, it stands as a folk recording filled with warmth, instinct and unfiltered emotion. ‘I tried re-recording it,’ she says, ‘but nothing touched the magic of that first take.’”
On Bandcamp: https://lilyraegrant.bandcamp.com/album/double-a-side-single
Rebecca Spooner has been one of the talented young performers who everyone I know who has seen her perform, then eulogises. She seems to dream up new songs at will. Strong songs, highly personal and quirky, mirroring the daily dramas in her life and relationships. Rebecca shares the heartache of ‘loving and leaving her man’. She’s a mesmeric bitter-sweet performer. Rebecca is worldly-wise way beyond her years. She has the authority and stage confidence of an old-stager. She has recently released her self-produced debut album on Spotify, entitled, ‘Miss Belief’, which includes the 7-track mini-album and a music video for the song ‘Little Lives’. She writes, records, and produces her own music and is producing some jaw-droppingly wonderful songs – songs like her latest, ‘Tulips on my tongue’, tales filled with whisky-tinged decadence. The smell and taste of nicotine, even if she doesn’t really smoke!
There’s plenty of Joni there, plus oodles of personality and a uniqueness in abundance.
‘Little Lives’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4Q1PlV8_H8
And from two days ago (as I write this) another new song, ‘Heartbreak will always suck’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOjz3ER-xHU
And, ‘I want to be her’ which was a heart-stopper ‘live’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prIXv8-YntM
Rebecca Little is one of the new, emerging artists in Calderdale. She’s from Todmorden. Live, she shared a delicate and personal set of songs. Quite intricate playing enlivened by a touch of power. Herbie May told me, “I don’t think she has anything out yet, in the meantime try ‘Boomusic_uk’ on instagram.”
Herbie May acted as ‘mine host’ for the live music event. He’s mostly the suave, uber-cool and sophisticated front-of-house compere, but he’s just embarked on a solo career. He’s already cemented a reputation for his really quite unusual, quite delicate, but enveloping guitar style. He developed his skills as a guitarist with The Lounge Society.
Herbie released his debut single, ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ on Red Licorice Records in November 2025. And, he has just returned from a UK tour opening for XGenerationX. His double A side solo debut is ‘Bleeding/Shoelaces’. He says of his musical creations, “Think intelligent music – think Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett, but also reminiscent of older artists: ‘It’s Lou Reed meets Orange Juice!’ whispered someone, and they’re maybe not wrong. You can also hear influences as varied as The The and PJ Harvey in the mix.” The record was produced by fellow Lounge Society member Archie Dewis and Gordon Raphael (known for his work producing the Strokes, among others).
The catchy, ‘Bleeding’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RMIc2mxCH8
Rebecca Spooner and Herbie May