After the release of their brand-new album, Better With You, indie-folk band KAWALA have been touring around record stores across the UK, and Nottingham’s Rough Trade was lucky enough to host an intimate acoustic session. Millie Hopcott headed down to the venue to catch their performance.
Having never been to a gig at a Rough Trade before, I didn’t quite know what to expect. I knew it would be small, but I didn’t realise it would be as tiny as it was! Everyone was tightly packed into the small room, excited to see the band perform. When they walked onto the small stage, there was a second of awkwardness as the crowd didn’t really cheer or make much noise as the five-piece walked on, but after a few moments, the crowd warmed up and became more vocal, cheering and shouting "Hi!" when lead singer, Jim, said hello.
"Despite their fatigue, they put on a fantastic show"
After thanking the crowd for their support and buying the new album, Dan (the band's other singer and guitarist) told the audience how they had been doing lots of shows across the country in the past few days. Some days they were doing three shows a day; understandably, they said they were very tired. Jim reassured the crowd, however, that they didn’t care about being tired as all they wanted was to bring live music to the fans. Despite their fatigue, they put on a fantastic show. You wouldn’t be able to tell they had been rushed off their feet, sleep-deprived, and probably a bit disorientated!
Between newly released songs such as Marathon and Hypnotized, the band made jokes with the crowd and between each other, showcasing their jovial and likeable nature, which the crowd clearly enjoyed. It was almost like being part of a choir with the audience singing every word at the top of their lungs; it was really lovely to hear people singing along to their favourite songs. The songs that got the most excitement from the crowd included Jesse C’mon and Do It Like You Do.
In fact, by the end of the set, they had time to do one more song, and they got the audience to shout out which songs they wanted to hear. The two most shouted were Do It Like You Do and Animals. They got the audience to shout for whichever one they wanted, and then they would play the most popular. It turned out they couldn’t distinguish which was favoured, so they ended up playing both!
"The acoustic set really let their vocal talent shine through"
Jim and Dan’s vocals were genuinely stunning; their voices fit together so well, creating the most smooth and appealing harmonies. The acoustic set really let their vocal talent shine through, and I think I almost prefer them acoustic rather than with the electric guitars and drum sets! It was a special night for KAWALA fans at Rough Trade, topped off by a signing after, where the band took time to speak to fans and sign albums. They really were a lovely group of people.
Millie Hopcott
Edited by: Gemma Cockrell
Featured image and in-article image courtesy of KAWALA via Facebook.
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