The World’s End pub in Finsbury Park has become quite a destination for live music, with many of those nights put on by Success Express music, an organisation devoted to nurturing emerging artists. Driving Success Express is the indefatigable Lorraine Solomons, who also commandeers The Roof Garden and Century Soho amongst other venues. Lorraine will also be hosting Time Out Rising Stars at 229 The Venue on July 5th – it’s an event she has been passionate about since first attending a Rising Stars night in 2014, and is another outlet for her to give a handful of the talented young artists she cares about the chance to find a wider audience.
The pub is a two-minute stroll from Finsbury Park, sitting in an area which seems to be becoming more gentrified by the minute. I’ve attended a few World’s End Unplugged Sessions here, and seen a range of young, emerging talent take to the stage – not an easy feat sometimes as, although there will always be an attentive audience seated at tables in the music room, the rest of the pub is taken up with a noisy Friday night crowd. But that, of course is all par for the course for those on the way up.
Artists I’ve particularly loved have included Tim de Graaw, a singer-songwriter and guitarist with a warm, soulful voice and beautiful compositions, and he’s performing at the Bedford 14th June. Hattie Marsh (above) appeared at a May World’s End Session – I admired her courage to start with an acapella number, which highlighted the depth and quality of her voice.
I had the pleasure of witnessing a set from Michael Kilbey at the same show – a compelling singer-songwriter and performer. The header image on his website captures his spirit, a man wrestling with issues inside his head, sharing those thoughts through his songs. He may be inward-looking on stage but he’s still got the magnetic stage presence required of an artist performing alone. There’s a depth to his material that has galvanised me to discover more of his material and what makes him tick.
Generally there are four acts per evening session, and the area is seated, with plenty of craft beers on offer and a diverse menu. World’s End Unplugged Sessions take place at The World’s End pub, Finsbury Park on selected Friday and Saturday nights, please check before attending.
JULY 16: Congratulations to Michael Kilbey on a great win … turn to News page for more