Ross Stewart and Band - Sells Out Voodoo Daddy's Showroom

Ross Stewart Steps Up

Sold Out Show Worth The Wait 

Voodoo Daddy's Showroom. Tuesday, 28th January, 2025

Ross Stewart at Voodoo Daddy's 

It took him a while, but at last a headline set from Ross Stewart for which the audience had to pay to get in.  I first saw Stewart playing in the Walnut Tree Grapes when the Norfolk Blues Society returned to action after the pandemic.  The Walnut Tree in Old Post Office Court was a godsend to fans of quality live music.  My life in the city was transformed by the place, introducing me to the local music scene, in which Ross was just becoming established because of his truly outstanding ability to rock a guitar, make it weep, make it sing.  Astonishingly, the young Scot's talent with the guitar is matched by a voice that he has managed to nurture and develop in tandem with his playing.  Ross has played at The Champion, The Lamb, The Reindeer, The Brickmakers, (amongst other pubs) as well as being an opening act at Norwich Arts Centre.  The Norwich public have been privileged to have been entertained free of charge while Stewart has continued to refine his art.

Adopted for a while by some seriously successful locally-based musicians and supported by veteran Stewart Aitken on bass, Ross Stewart has gradually unstitched himself from mimicry and playing covers of some of the greatest crowd-pleasing tunes from the rock and blues archives, to write and play his own songs, but he could not help himself including a medley of Great Balls of Fire and Blue Suede Shoes, because he loves to just rock an audience.

So all this hard work (and a lot of fun) turned into the sell-out at Voodoo Daddy's, for a show that had been planned over four months.  Now with his own band, the set comprised Stewart's self-written songs, starting with Petrol Station.  He has built a decent repertoire that has brought the average age of his followers down by a considerable margin, while retaining the attention of his crusty bluesy fans.  Land's End, his first single enjoyed many in the audience singing along, as did the very moving, poetic break-up song Tangerine Sky.  Confident enough to debut a new song This Rain at this show, Stewart's songbook is filling up nicely.

The songs are about growing awareness of the world, the people around him and his lived experience.  This Rain is his perspective on witnessing grief.  His introduction to the song was modest and touching, acknowledging that grief is something everyone in the audience will have familiarity.  You know, I really appreciated him saying that, modest about his own experience, courteous and discreet about the friend who had lost someone, Stewart was able to get us all to listen even more closely to his lyrics - and it is a lovely song. 

Ross Stewart's songs (how good it is to type that pluralisation) are for a listening audience and I think have a broad appeal that, with the right breaks, could make him a well known name in the recording  business.  Stones Don't Bleed and Sweet Morning are two more very strong songs.  The challenge for this artist is to be able to incorporate his immense gift as a rock guitarist, with his developing song-writing skills, which are personal, subtle and catchy.  Walking a line between rock and pop can't be easy, but this man is finding a way.

The new Voodoo's set up can be a little disconcerting, with bar and stage combined.  There are always some punters who think that we have come to hear them talk to their long lost friends and raise their voices above the music as best possible as they witter on about SFA. However, there were more than enough music fans in the room to appreciate the show and repay Stewart and his band with cheers, hearty applause and shrill whoops!

As for the band, drummer Ash Hunn set the pace without dominating, Jon Moore on bass (and guitar minder for the main man) was clearly having a good time.  Georgie Fawley on keys did a great job, particularly with the distinctive accompaniment required for Land's End. 

It was a very enjoyable and entertaining show, that hung together really well. The songs complemented each other, without any sense of repetition, or overlap.  With a catalogue of songs that fit together so well, Ross Stewart is in danger of having to move on to see how his music appeals to a wider audience in bigger and less familiar towns.  For the present and his own confidence, he has discovered that people will pay to see him. 

Thank you, Norwich for turning out to listen. Ross Stewart has earned the attention and deserves the accolades. Best of luck to him for the future!

Spencer Ide

31st January 2025