Willow Hill Review

The Carlisle Pub, Hastings September 22/09/2024

Willow Hill were a band, until the day of the concert, unknown to me.

Seeing a post on Facebook for the band’s pending gig at The Carlisle Pub in Hastings, UK. Being an afternoon gig and, on a Sunday, I thought “why not?”.

I had a listen to the band on Spotify before heading out and was pleasantly surprised. You know what it’s like, when you see the band in a live environment they just fall short. Willow Hill were not one of those bands! If anything, they were better live than on Spotify.

The Carlisle isn’t a super large venue, but plenty large enough. It has a stage, reasonable lighting and a history of live music going back decades.

The band came on stage and immediately had presence, Alexandra and her distinctive red hair clearly making a statement and contracting well with CT’s black cowboy hat and mirrored sunglasses.

The pair were not shy when it came to involving the audience, with edge of stage performing and for the final song, Alexandra climbed up on the bar and performed from there, to the crowd’s delight. I have to say I don’t think I have ever seen that before in real life, only in the movies, and it was a brilliant finish to the gig.

The band performed faultlessly, playing to the mood and wants of the audience. Their mix of well-known covers and originals was a real winner and had the crowd eating out of their hands.

From what I could see, the band had a real connection with The Carlisle audience, having played there before and seemingly knowing Willow Hill country band some of the audience well. This added to the feeling of inclusion as well as ramping up the energy levels.