Prima Queen
A great night for the women, and a great night of live music at the Waterfront Studio.
Every year March 8th is designated International Women's Day, and to mark the occasion The Adrian Flux Waterfront, together with Girls Are Loud Norwich, this year laid on a special event at the Waterfront Studio, featuring an all-woman line-up headlined by indie-pop duo Prima Queen.
First act on stage was Amelia and The LoveFools but, in keeping with the all-woman ethos of the evening, the boys from the band took a step back, joining the audience and leaving front-person Amelia Stephanides and guest vocalist to perform to a laptop backing track. Usually I would have been disappointed by the substitution, and I certainly missed the energies of Will, Jake and Dan on stage, but we still got to hear versions of Pink Skies and Lazy Sunday in the nine-song set, together with songs about skate parks, bottled-up emotions, and dick-head boys.
Gabriela Eva describes herself as a dyslexic singer-songwriter from Colchester, and first impressed me when she performed at an Oxjam event in the crypt at Bedfords several moons ago (I do know the exact year, but it is not for a gentleman to tell). Armed with a guitar and a set filled with gentle soulful songs, occasionally imbibed with splashes of pop influence, and with singalong help from the audience, Gabriela wowed me as much at the Waterfront Studio as she did at that original Oxjam event. With a set that included all four songs from her 2024 'Recovery' EP, as well as 2021 singles 'Feng Shui' and 'Pulling Faces In The Wind', I find myself asking just one question - why does she not play Norwich more often? (Gig-bookers – please take note).
Transatlantic best friends Louise MacPhail (from Bristol) and Kristin McFadden (from Chicago) initially met at a songwriting course in London. Since then they have collected a substantial fan following thanks to their penchant for memorable songs about strength and empowerment, and is all building towards the release of their debut album, 'The Prize', on April 25th. They have played Norwich several times before, including an appearance at Wild Paths, and support slots for Dream Wife (at Epic Studios) and Everything Everything (at the Nick Rayns LCR). Once again, the drummer and bass player have been given the night off, and it is left to Louise and Kristin to rock our socks off. With a set of guitar-led anthems that include no less than seven tracks from the upcoming album, they leave us with absolutely no reason not to buy it. One of the coolest is a song dedicated to the legend that is Meryl Streep, but Oats (Ain't Gonna Be)', 'Ugly' and 'The Prize' (the title track), together with the gentler 'More Credit' and 'Spaceship' all press the right buttons. Best moment of the gig is when they appear genuinely excited by the fact that their sound engineer for the night is called Dylan (which just happens to also be a featured song from their 2023 debut EP).
A great night for the women, and a great night of live music at the Waterfront Studio. Big thanks to Girls Are Loud Norwich, and to the UEA Students Union, for making it happen.
