Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Ronan Boyle stands on the stage at Elevator and time almost stands still, the music he has created gives a huge nod to the acoustic folk/rock scene of the 1970s and the very gentle guitar playing hides a big personality and a very good lyric writer. Not that Ronan needs to hide behind his guitar, if anything it adds an air of mystique to the performance of a man who is so very good at what he does.

The scenic beauty of Warrenpoint, the town in County Down, Northern Ireland, has obviously played a part in the development of Ronan’s music and his guitar playing frames this perfectly. At times soaring and at others smooth and enticing and a ideal partner for his voice which carries a song so well that it reminds the audience of those others that have come from Ireland and made Liverpool their musical home.

Opening his set with the fantastic Looking for Rococco, Ronan played the music so well that by the end of his short set it was with great reluctance for the audience to let him leave the stage. In amongst his set list were some great gems including the songs weightless, the superb More or Less the Meaning of Life and Big Belly Sleep.   

As introductions go into the new music that keeps Liverpool alive and revitalised, to watch this gentle man from County Down perform his music is a big plus of what had turned out to be a superb day of music in Liverpool. It is with performers such as Ronan that keeps Liverpool forever entwined with being the main city of culture in the U.K.  Ronan Boyle exemplifies this premise perfectly. 

Ian D. Hall