Pete King, Gig Review. Sound Food And Drink, Liverpool. We Shall Overcome 2016.

To have one King in your life is to have good fortune, to acquire a second, that is the sound of destiny calling, of the riches of father-son genes and love for music being passed down and it is one that unfolds and reveals that talent is blessed and prosperous.

The sensational Derek King had already paved the way for Liverpool Acoustic’s contribution to the Saturday of We Shall Overcome, and as the day hurtled towards its natural end, as the music began to drift to the more electric sound elsewhere in the city, the final flourish, the flag raised high on a fantastic and well conducted afternoon of music inside Sound Food and Drink was unfurled by the next generation of King, the creative and magical Pete King.

Kings come, revolutions go, all comes to pass in the end but heritage counts for a lot and the personality, the individuality one exudes whilst on the stage comes from somewhere deep and personal. Yet for all that, Pete King is his own man, his own musician, yes the love of music has obviously been passed down from one of Liverpool’s much loved acoustic musicians but Pete King has very much dug his own trail and the music he highlighted during We Shall Overcome is very much the sign of a young man making his own heart sing.

It might have been the final part of the day, there may have been thoughts to what the evening would bring to the city as the Saturday night express burst into town and the songs to be enjoyed making the Liverpool air rich with wonder but for a short while, for a glimmering time, Pete King strode the world like a colossus in waiting. Songs such as Never Hate The Memories, Dinard, The Wait and Someone Like You all made fabulous listening and with the greatest of respect to the audience, were played with the very best of attributes that a performer can bring to the stage, a smile, a deep and beguiling smile.

You may inherit talent but it takes grounding and graft to make it your own, Pete King is a name to watch out for because he has obviously learned but also digested all there is to hear; a final flourish on a truly terrific day hosted by Liverpool Acoustic.

Ian D. Hall