Artists: Benjamin Francis Leftwich

Venue: The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Review by: Liam Gardner

IT was unusually chilled-out for a Friday night at The Brudenell Social club as Benjamin Francis Leftwich took to the stage.

With his album “Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm” currently enjoying Top 40 chart success, the venue was packed with fans eager to hear Benjamin’s brand of acoustic indie folk guitar.

And these fans ensured there was complete silence as the 22-year-old singer-songwriter from York opened up with his first number.

The song, with a laid-back and melancholic vibe, set the tone for the evening.

All the tracks sounded well-crafted on the whole with husky voice and plucked guitar complementing each other to create a great live sound that filled the room.

Each song was played to a completely silent crowd – the singer had politely asked the audience to remain quiet – as is apparently the norm for his gigs.

There was an obvious respect for the artist although the sporadic hushes from crowd members and Benjamin’s own friendly anecdote of someone answering their phone mid-song at a previous gig made it feel as though anything other than your complete adherence to silence would make you extremely unpopular.

The venue itself, The Brudenell Social Club, is a cool and quirky real old-school music venue in Hyde Park, Leeds, that has somehow brought together all the best elements of an old-fashioned working man’s club with a young student vibe and a great mix of locals and real music fans of all ages.

Each and every song by Benjamin was lapped up by the crowd – including the encore that was sung right at the front of the stage without the aid of the microphone.

One criticism of the set would be that there was not a lot of variation in tempo or sound from song to song.

Overall, a beautiful performance from Benjamin Francis Leftwich ensured a very pleasant evening.

And judging from the crowd response I think it’s safe to say that further chart success is likely on the cards and we will be hearing further relaxing musings from this young man.