Jake Bugg has no qualms being himself at De Montfort Hall in Leicester

In a world where fashion and fame are often valued more than humility and talent, it’s refreshing when a young artist has no qualms being himself. At the tender age of twenty-three, Jake Bugg is not only humble and talented but also makes no efforts to subscribe to society’s expectations of him as we know many young artists do. He is certainly no victim of our generation. Sporting a simple black t-shirt and black jeans at both the Melbourne and Leicester shows I’ve been lucky enough to attend, Bugg doesn’t need flashy clothing or over-produced sets to get his message across.

What makes Bugg different from many other young contemporary artists today, is that it can clearly be heard in his music that his influences are not of this generation. Bugg wouldn’t be caught dead citing Jay-Z or Ed Sheeran as influences, but would rather take his inspiration from old country and blues artists such as Robert Johnson. I doubt many young people I know can even name a Robert Johnson song, let alone cite him as a reference… Anyway, I’m impressed. This fact though may sadly be the reason that he is not a huge mainstream success, however I get the feeling that that’s not what he’s doing it for. When your music is influenced by genres like country and blues that don’t seem to be appreciated as much today, not in the mainstream anyway, it will always be difficult for your music to break away from the ‘alternative/indie’ scene it may be associated with. And if it’s success that you’re after, well good luck to you.

When your music is influenced by genres like country and blues that don’t seem to be appreciated as much today, it will always be difficult for your music to break away from the ‘alternative/indie’ scene

When I saw Jake Bugg at De Montfort Hall in Leicester on November 6th, this reality seemed painfully clear and left me feeling deeply saddened. At various points throughout his acoustic set, Bugg would make comments before playing a new song or a new cover, saying that it “probably won’t be very good”. It’s one thing not to want to boast about your music, even after the significant success it’s had in the past, but when you start putting yourself down, that’s when you know that being an up and coming musician in today’s world is not all sunshine and roses. Even more so if you’ve been putting albums out since you were 19, and each album’s success is constantly compared to the last.

But have faith… Jake Bugg audiences seem to be a lot more forgiving that I. Apart from the fact that the English are certainly a lot more enthusiastic about their music than Australians are, even at a solo acoustic show, nothing beats the love you must feel when the entire audience is chanting for you to play one of your songs (and a song from your first album no less). The moment Bugg strummed the first few chords of ‘Two Fingers’, the crowd went wild. And understandably so. In my humble opinion, his first single ‘Two Fingers’ is by far the best song he’s written so far and his most popular. With fans like these, I guess it makes it all worth doing.

I can’t forget to mention his support act. A carbon copy of Bugg with the addition of a harmonica and some nice harmonies. That was Scott Bugg & The Vital Few, Jake Bugg’s cousin’s band of course. I can’t imagine the opportunities the trio must get when their lead singer is related to Jake… lucky them.  Anyhow, Bugg has nothing to worry about in the long run because he’s evidently very professional when it comes to music and he always sounds great. And that will get him far in life. So, I say go for it Jake and don’t let the world of mainstream music, who know nothing of the real good stuff, get you down. Your simple black t-shirt and jeans will always look good.