Bywater Call and Sunjay: An Unforgettable Night of Roots Rock and Blues at The Grace. Gig review

October 18, 2023 rocknews

We hadn’t been to The Grace before, but what a fantastic venue it is! Located on London’s Holloway Road, just off Highbury Corner, the hall itself is cosy and atmospheric and a perfect setting for an evening of roots rock courtesy of Bywater Call.

Sunjay

First up though we were treated to some folky-blues from Sunjay Edward Brain, better known as Sunjay. The 30 year-old singer-songwriter has already had an impressive career, releasing the first of his six albums in 2011. The following year he was a finalist in the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award. More award nominations followed and he has since supported bands including Steely Span, Albert Lee, Fairport Convention and Passenger.

‘‘I feel like I’m amongst friends here” Sunjay said to the crowd, and he was right. He went down a storm, and set the atmosphere for what was to come.

Bywater Call

Bywater Call are a big band in every sense. The Toronto-based seven-piece were only formed in 2017 but have built up a strong following and much critical acclaim, particularly for their most recent offering – 2022’s ‘Remain’

Back in August, they featured in Joe Bonamassa’s Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean Cruise, supporting Blackberry Smoke, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Bonamassa.

Tonight though belonged to them.

They generated a great atmosphere inside The Grace with their sheer energy and some emotive communication with the crowd.

The brass of Stephen Dyte (trumpet) and Julian Nalli (tenor sax) adds a distinctive flavour to their sound, and sets them apart from their contemporaries, and their ‘duelling brass’ was a highpoint, particularly towards the end of the set in the magnificent ‘As If’.

Singer Meghan Parnell and guitarist Dave Barnes are a force to be reckoned with, and engaged the audience from start to finish. The set was topped and tailed by songs from ‘Remain’. ‘Bring it Back’ and ‘Left Behind’ bookended a 14-song set that included two covers: a spectacular version of Stephen Stills’ ‘Love The One You’re With’ and ‘The Weight’, originally performed by The Band. Here, Barnes’ guitar and the slap bass of Mike Meusel really stood out, as they made the song their own.

We’re not sure when Bywater Call will be back in the UK, but you can be sure we’ll be there – you should too.