Yesterday I went to a 'street gig' in Birmingham to watch a singer-songwriter Mike Dignam.
You may have recognised his name, as I have been advertising him and his picture to the right of my blog since I started it!
I first saw Mike perform as a support act for the band Lawson in March of this year, and I absolutely fell in love with his songs right away!
He writes and plays all his own music, which normally fits into the acoustic/pop genre.
It doesn't say on his website, and I never asked him in person/via Twitter, so I don't know what other bands/artists he would compare himself to, but my friend thinks some of his songs sound a bit like Stevie Wonder.
He's not only toured with Lawson, but also Gabrielle Aplin, and this September/October he is headlining his own UK + N.Ireland tour - buy tickets here!
To promote his current EP ('Paint') and his upcoming EP, he has been doing 'street gigs' all over the country- in Brighton, Manchester and Birmingham for example. They were in association with HMV, which meant shoppers at the store could pick up his EP for free with any purchase. This is great promotion for both parties: HMV gets more people into the shop (potential customers), and Mike gets more people to hear his music - win win!
I went along to the Birmingham gig, which was actually held in St. Martins Church - a good thing too, as it TIPPED it down with rain outside!
But that had no effect on our moods, as he put on a great short show, playing his own songs that the fans knew, a few covers, and a new song from his upcoming EP.
Although we all really enjoyed it (approx. 80-100 people turned up), it was a little awkward being in the church, as it was still open to the public, and we didn't feel we could be as loud as we wanted (even though Mike had permission to play there).
Also, we were seated, which restricted our movement to the songs.
However, the church made his songs sound great, as the acoustics of the building were excellent!
It was much better when Mike gathered us around him at the front; he even said "I should have done this before!".
And he was right, but that didn't matter really, because we all enjoyed the show, and he managed to get members of the public to stop and listen for a while.
I'd seen him play flawlessly before in front of a crowd of predominately Lawson fans, so I know what he is capable of. If anything didn't seem 'perfect', it was nobody's fault (if maybe a couple of distracting fans haha), and it made the concert seem more intimate - Mike didn't mind stopping and starting in front of us. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable, but maybe because he didn't have to prove himself to us. He didn't have to win us over: we were there because we loved what he did already.
After the gig he did a signing at HMV in the Bullring shopping centre.
He turned into a [non-creepy] Pied Piper, with all his fans following him to the signing.
We attracted some attention (obviously), which is what Mike wanted- more publicity! And we were happy enough to help.
The signing ran smoothly (whilst I was there, at least), and Mike's friend/tour manager/photographer/videographer Lloyd Willacy (who had been filming throughout the day) took some great shots of the fans waiting in line.
Mike was so nice when we reached him, signing our CDs, and my ukulele! Thanks Mike! :)
Me and my friends Abbie (@AJ_Burford) and Charlotte (@Charl_Emilyx) also got our pictures* taken with him.
Mike seems really down to earth, and me and my friends had a lovely chat to him at the signing. Considering he was going to be signing things for a while, and that he didn't personally know us, he was talkative - gestures like that that show you he's a nice guy.
It's always so much nicer to like an artist's music, and for them to be a good person too.
I feel like I'm at that age and stage in my life where, although I might get excited and woop/sing-along at a concert, I don't scream and 'fangirl' very much anymore.
I'm 17 now, and me and my friends noticed how silly some of the other girls were being at the signing- in fact, we were quite embarrassed to be stood near them, even though we weren't with them and didn't know them.
I'm not criticizing, as I may have been like that at one point, but now I'm old enough to really appreciate an artist and their music; I want to support their dreams and help them to achieve their aspirations of making/selling good music, rather than scream in their face.
People deal with their excitement in different ways though, and Mike handled all reactions very well at the signing; whether people asked questions, or couldn't take a picture due to uncontrollable laughter/nervous crying.
He seems to appreciate all the support he gets, whoever it's from, and that's the way it should be when you're in the music business.
I've seen him perform live twice, and I've met him twice (the first very briefly outside the Lawson gig in Birmingham), so I know I am biased when I say this, but I would really recommend his music. He's got his own style, and his songs are original - something you can't say about every artist, even the ones high up in the charts!
His music isn't just for teenage girls either; some of you guys might enjoy it too!
Here is a video of Mike's song 'Great Escape', one of my favourites of his. Take a listen, you might really like it. You never know, he could be you're future no.1 favourite artist!
Here are the links where you can find Mike:
Website
YouTube
Snapchat: mikedignam
I give the Mike Dignam Street Gig in Birmingham 8.5/10 stars, which is pretty good I think!
I'm going to his headline tour in September, so I'll review that for you guys once I've been!
Thanks for reading!
Please share with your friends and to Mike if you want to :)
Bye for now!!
x x x x
(*all photos credited to Charlotte Clayton)
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