Starsailor @ Chinnerys
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Tonic Music Ambassador James Walsh and his band Starsailor played at Chinnerys in Southend, joined by indie rock band The Resolve.
It is a big one for post-Britpop band Starsailor, with it being the 25th anniversary of their debut album Love is Here, a beloved record of the early 00’s packed with piano-driven melodies, emotional songwriting and acoustic-based songs, including notable tracks such as Alcoholic and Good souls.
Later this year, the band will set off on the Starsailor with strings, Love is Here 25th Anniversary Tour across the UK and parts of Europe to celebrate.
Tonic Music were fortunate to join Starsailor at their sold-out Southend show on 19th June at seafront venue Chinnerys, here’s how it went…
The Resolve
“Who is looking forward to seeing Starsailor?” shouted the lead singer of indie rock band The Resolve, with the crowd cheering exuberantly.
The Resolve took the stage first and, without hesitation, hurtled into their set with nothing but pure punk energy. The quintet’s sound consisted of fuzzy guitar rhythms, thunderous drum lines that practically rattled the venue’s walls and gravelly vocals that collided together to create 90s-infused anthemic performance that echoed across the seaside city.
Despite playing a short set compared to the main act of the night, The Resolve had an immense response from the audience throughout the entirety of their performance, which only seemed to grow louder throughout their limited time on stage.
The lead guitarist and backing vocalist called out, “is anyone here called Alan?” and proceeded to tumble their way into one of their original songs, Alan's Song, which seemed to go down a treat with the crowd.
With the audience visibly hyped-up, it was time for Starsailor to hit the stage.
Starsailor
The crowd soon hushed when the lights suddenly dimmed and the sound of strings took over the noise of anticipating fans. The main act of the night made their way onto the stage and kickstarted their set with Alcoholic, along with Starsailor fans singing back to the four-piece band.
Despite the contrast of the opening band’s punk-infused performance and Starsailor’s more mellow approach, the audience carried their amped-up energy into the headliner’s performance, enthusiastically singing along with singer James Walsh, as well as swaying their arms in the air with a pint in hand.
Catchy piano hooks meshed beautifully with the singer’s acoustic guitar parts and vocals,
Bringing the band’s iconic sound to the heart of Southend.
Towards the end of their set, phones were whipped out to record Starsailor’s most prominent track Four to the Floor, a track on the band’s second album Silence is Easy.
With the set coming to a close, Starsailor jumped back on stage to end the night with three more songs, which undoubtedly went down well as the audience were whistling and chanting for more. Not one person in the venue wanted their performance to come to an end.
“I am very privileged to have been asked to become a Tonic Music Ambassador.”
JAMES WALSH
We are delighted to have James Walsh part of the family as a Tonic Music Ambassador, keen to help in any way he can with the work we do.
“I think it’s really great to have to have an organisation like Tonic Music to be there for musicians with the different challenges we face,” James said, “and I am really excited to be on board.”
Before Starsailor took the stage in Southend, the band signed multiple copies of setlists to be sold at their merch stand in order to raise money for us. At the end of the gig, eager fans queued to purchase the band’s merch, and were keen to get their hands on the signed setlists, which sold out quickly.
Thank you to Starsailor for kindly raising £130 for us. Every donation helps us to support music professionals and music fans access free therapy sessions, peer groups, skills workshops and training courses - any donation goes a long way to support the mental health services we provide.
Don't forget to check out all our Courses, Groups and Workshops currently open for registration for working musicians and those working within the music.
