I went for the first time to the music venue The Newsagency and was suitably impressed. It’s a good intimate music venue with a large foyer area.

It’s always good to see a talented young singer and songwriter and Penelope Pettigrew fits this bill. Together with her four pierce she played for just under sixty minutes with a set comprising ten of her original songs.

Her set started with I won’t do it again. The opening track eased the audience into the night with a chilled back beat, dreamy electric guitar and padded synthesiser.

Pettigrew said the next song The Kick Back was written for a friend who was going through a difficult break up. The song started off laid back and then kicked into a chorus with a very funky beat. Her lyrics were incisive: ‘this wasn’t what I thought it once was, I’ve been blind sided by your lies.’

White Wolf starts with a cappella three part harmony that has a strong tribal feeling to it. She gave the song its title as it came from the perspective of the last living animals with all the other animals having died.

Tell me why is a song in the tradition of he loves, he loves me not song.

All part of the game is an upbeat song that was written to inspire people to tackle their hardships and keep fighting for a better life.

Dead to me is a song that is about child abuse and has been written from the perspective of a survivor who takes on the damage caused but still is positive and wants to move on with his/her life.

Candy Bar is a very personal song that Penelope tells us is about a guy she dated who she liked but the feeling wasn’t reciprocal. She runs into him at the candy bar (hence the title) of a cinema and she has a flight response and moves away, hoping that he didn’t see her.

Call your name is a song  that goes deeply into the world of grief – ‘the song is about immense loss, the earth shattering loss of a loved on. In  Penelope’s case it was the loss of her Uncle.

Shakedown is a song for the underdog who takes on the corporate giant and wins.

This love is about a relationship that is dying but the people don’t want to let go, a sentiment that many people will be able to relate to.

This was a good concert, very heartfelt and Penelope had a big, strong voice to deliver  her powerful lyrics.

http://www.penelopepettigrew.com