Louis Berry - Under Appreciated Musician of the Week

Louis Berry is a 26 year old guitarist and singer from Liverpool, England, and is one of the most disgracefully overlooked musicians out there right now. I had the chance to see Louis last June, as he opened along with Richard Ashcroft of The Verve, for Liam Gallagher's gig in Dublin. Now, as you're sitting there in the sun with your mates, few drinks, having the craic, you're not really paying attention to the first of two opening acts, you're just hoping that they can be alright so you can keep chatting and not fully be paying attention. But two minutes into Louis' set, I wasn't expecting to be drawn in, fully focused, and being blown away by what was happening on stage. He blew us all away, and we barely knew his name.

Louis Berry performing live in Malahide Castle, Dublin, 2018.

So as soon as I got home from the gig, I went through every song of his I could find on Apple Music, and revelled in the nostalgia of his set, and got goosebumps from every song. The first thing you'll notice when you listen to his music, is his f*cking voice. It's deep and raspy, a tone of voice that could never be associated with up-beat Rock, but my god does he make it work. His voice is absolutely incredible, and I'm just amazed how he's not broken into the mainstream on that alone, but his guitar playing is also just phenomenal. The guitar riffs on every song stand out, they're so catchy, so memorable, and sound so simple yet like no other thing you've ever heard. His music is unique, in a way that he's changed Guitar Music and made it his own, he's just brilliant.

If there's one negative thing I would say before getting into everything else, which is all positive, is that Berry's backing band really do deserve more credit. During their Live Performance, Louis' plays lead guitar, keeping each song flowing nicely, but his rhythm guitarist and drummer are very, very good. Aside from Berry's voice and lyrics they impressed me the most. Same goes for his keyboard player, who I must say does go unheard for the majority, but he deserves something. I feel like changing the brand to, 'Louis Berry & The *band name*' wouldn't be a bad thing, as they deserve as much credit as him, but anyways, that's their issue.

Louis Berry performing live in Germany in 2017.

Berry released is first single, 'Rebel' in 2017, kicking off a discography that's being way too under appreciated in the desire for guitar centred music to return. The song is kickass, rhythm and lead guitar are both fantastic, with great winding lyrics that speed up and slow down for a song just too good to be his first. But standout tracks for me are '25 Reasons', mainly because I just love everything about it. The riff, the theme, and the lyrics just work off of each other so well. 'I'm a Liverpool cowboy you're the Indian Chief', no idea what he's on about, but it's great.

'She Wants Me' has this really old school western vibe strangely enough, you'll understand if you listen, but the super fast beat is so good. EVERYTHING'S REALLY GOOD OKAY! I have no negativity to say here, sorry. 'Restless' is his best in my opinion, and his most meaningful, and before performing it live he says that this is the song that means the most to him. The lyrics combined with a piercing electric guitar riff, mean I'd recommend this as a first listen.
                                                                                                                                                                             

Louis' latest single, 'Stumbling', released at the start of 2018, so it's actually been over a year since we've heard any new Studio Material from the Liverpudlian, but a full album release has to be imminent, and is rumoured to be released sometime in 2019. I can't wait for his record, as I think a full release, unlike a single or EP, can really get a wide audience to pay attention to Berry. Don't get me wrong, he has millions of views on Youtube, and opening numerous times for Liam Gallagher doesn't scream upstart, but I feel he deserves much more recognition. Give the guy a listen. Thank you for reading.