There are moments when the world, or at least certain people with decency in their hearts and the courage in their minds, is able to make a huge difference. There are many problems to be discussed, to be addressed and be solved, no matter how far we come as a civilisation, no matter the dizzy heights of industrial might, of reaching out beyond our mortal capability into the stars and the progress of technical know-how, people fall through the gaps. They become unseen, almost invisible, past the point of sight until they blur into their surroundings and whether it is through the actions of someone else or their own misfortune, brought on perhaps by a Government and others that just don’t care, the cracks open up regardless and the streets, the parks and the obscured shadows become the home of the dispossessed and the homeless.
Tag Archives: Jo Bywater
Jo Bywater, Gig Review. Underground Acoustic, Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Jo Bywater has been away from her own walk of life for too long, the dedication to helping others achieve their own goals, whether through collaboration or intense work ethic has not been lost in the appreciation of the adopted Merseyside singer/songwriter but it has meant that the local area has missed with much inevitable sadness Ms. Bywater’s own insightful lyrics and contribution to the acoustic scene.
Jo Bywater, Gig Review. Constellations, Threshold 2015. Liverpool.
Jo Bywater, Threshold 2015, Liverpool. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Jo Bywater stands aloft on the stage at Constellations and the world feels as though it is about to shift, quake and feel the pressure of talented guitar fury. To be fair to Ms. Bywater, whichever stage she graces, that same feeling emanates from the tips of her fingers to the assembled crowd, it is not new but it is surely immensely powerful and as part of the fifth year of Threshold, that guitar fury, not thrashed, not beaten, just quiet reflective anger but held in a song which sounds as sweet as the first drops of rain after a long protracted drought, is as needed as the very act of breathing, it is a Liverpool soul.
Bowker, Sail To The Deep. Album Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
The uncharted territory of being unsure of how an album will be received is always in the thoughts of a band as they, hopefully with great care, hand over the exchange of long, tiring hours, a few near nervous exhaustive breakdowns and spirited highs in which the world was a prospect of gleaming towers and expectant green fields. It is the moment in which an artist is beset with pride and optimism whilst battling fatigue and bouts of serial negativity.
Jo Bywater, Gig Review. Above The Beaten Track Festival: The Bluecoat, Liverpool.
Jo Bywater at The Bluecoat, Liverpool. August 2014. Photograph by Mr. Graham Holland.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Revolution and even evolution can be triggered by adversity, the moment in which personal hardship or disaster upon a species or a country can be the catalyst in which change happens. Revolution is not something to be feared, unless you are the oppressor, if you are the one in which is placing your boot upon a human face, revolution is only wrong when the incorrect dogma takes a fall and evolution is as inevitable as empires crashing to dust eventually.
The City of Music: K’s Choice 2013, Album Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
They say there is strength in unity; it can, however that strength can be a double edged sword for in a lot of places the pride in which the artistic scene clubs together is all well and good but it doesn’t flourish because the nature of the sprawling city is not geared up to recognise the distinctiveness that resides at its heart.
Jo Bywater, Chasing Tales. E.P. Review.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Earlier in the year, Jo Bywater started thinking about recording more music once again. It has been just over two years since she released her astonishing debut album Cycle Grace Pulse Break and every day since then has seemed a little greyer. There has been the wonderful surprise gig in which to catch her at and relish in the way her songs nurse your psyche but with any decent performer, what the heart yearns for is new songs in which to enjoy and to know they are still actively in love with what they do.
Jo Bywater, Gig Review. The Picket, Threshold Festival. Liverpool.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
As Jo Bywater takes to the stage at The Picket, it is possible to see members of the audience reminiscing over when they first came across this adopted Merseysider from Yorkshire. Time may have moved on and Jo may have been sadly missing from the venues in the city for a while but this sparkling and honest musician who is admired for her tenacity, frankness and genuine desire was treated as a much loved but much missed friend.
Jo Bywater, Cycle Grace Pulse Break. Album Review.
Originally published by L.S. Media. July 5th 2011.
Yorkshire born but most certainly Liverpool influenced Jo Bywater’s debut album, Cycle Grace Pulse Break may have been out for a short while now but it is an album of incredible maturity that deserves to be visited and enjoyed no matter how late or by what means you come to this very talented woman.
Liverpool has been blessed in recent years with the quality of recording artists that have either come here to study and stay and making their home in the city or by those that have been born and raised here, brought up on possibly the best and most diverse range of music to be associated with one area.
Interview With Barry Briercliffe, Cancer Research Charity, Music Night at Parr Street.
Originally published by L.S. Media. February 13th 2012. 
Parr Street Studios will host a very special evening in aid of Cancer Research on Monday 27thFebruary. Presided over by Liverpool musician Barry Briercliffe, the night will be a celebration of good music with a couple of extra special guests thrown into the mix that will just one of those nights in Liverpool that in all honesty, you have to be at!
It is fitting that Barry should host this night at Parr Street, with a new album coming out soon, Barry has long been one of the musicians that Liverpool loves, in that he always gives back to the city just as much as he gets out of it.