Lucy Rose: Kasbah was “the worst gig of my career”

Lucy Rose Parton radiates calm. Sat on the black leather sofa in the dressing rooms at the Arts Centre, she mentions her first gig in Coventry, at a venue familiar to most Warwick students: the much-loved, and occasionally much-dreaded, Kasbah.

“I went on stage in Coventry City football gear. I was almost getting booed,” admits the twenty-six year old singer. “It’s not like a gig where you can just drink at the back, it changes the atmosphere a bit.”

Indeed, at each of Lucy’s shows, there can be seen clusters of loyal fans, singing along to every word. That, she observes, is the difference between playing festivals and playing her own shows on tour.

“Festivals are great, because you normally play to much bigger crowds than you would anywhere else, whereas when you’re playing at your own gig you’re playing to people that already know you!”

She is so relaxed that it is difficult to imagine her feeling nerves, but with regards to festivals, she describes some of the pre-stage anxieties.

“All of the panic of throwing your gear on stage in half an hour, is anyone going to come, are they all going to be chatting? I think the unexpected is what’s more scary about festivals.”

“With the second album, writing on tour, you realise ‘people are coming to my gigs and this is actually real’.”

What shows no fear, however, is Lucy’s latest album Work It Out, which emanates a more beat-driven, joyful tone than her debut, released in 2012. When discussing the energy of the new album, Lucy credits much inspiration to touring and interaction with her fans, particularly during her recent visit to America. Her surprise at the enthusiasm she was met with is clearly a major inspiration.

“It was not so self-doubting,” Lucy notes, discussing the writing of her second album. “With the first album I was just playing open mics, going home, writing songs. With the second album, writing on tour, you realise ‘people are coming to my gigs and this is actually real’.”

As a fan, it is apparent when listening to Like I Used To alongside Lucy’s latest release, that her musical changes have also been inspired by her personal experiences.

“I was the happiest I had ever been,” she admits, smiling. Songs such as ‘Our Eyes’, ‘Köln’, and ‘Till the End’ show a clear departure from the more acoustic numbers from the first album, such as ‘Shiver’.

However surprising it was to see someone seem so relaxed and so unaware of her popularity, the crowd that gathered to meet her after the gig suggests no need for such insecurities.

Despite the move towards more upbeat tracks, Lucy admits, “you can often get trapped writing slow tempo tracks.” At the show later that evening, the emotion shown during her performance of ‘My Life’, in which she discusses the line between personal and public for a songwriter, proves her dedication to “give everything” to her fans and her music.

Lucy is met by cheering, clapping, and excited singing, and by the time she returns for the encore, guitar in hand, she is clearly moved by the enthusiastic reception.

Hours before, Lucy confessed that she was unsure how many people would turn up. With each of the eleven songs representing, to Lucy’s mind, different parts of her personality, shaped by her experiences, she clearly felt some pressure. However surprising it was to see someone seem so relaxed and so unaware of her popularity, the crowd that gathered to meet her after the gig suggests no need for such insecurities.

When we reassured her at the end of our interview, she laughs, joking “I’m cool among the uni students”, little does she know, she is.