Young rising Glasgow-star Kerr Mercer headlined St Luke’s to a buzzing sold-out crowd last week, all without having any music released!
The night was warmed up by two incredible supporting acts, Greg Pearson followed by Kings Elliot, whose touching and emotive set left a lasting impression on the crowd. Only her second time performing in Glasgow, Elliot offered beautiful lyricism and haunting vocals, both of which were particularly present during her upcoming single ‘Sweet Nothing’, set to be released in a few weeks’ time. Kings Elliot also had opened up about past mental health struggles, as well as detailing the origins of her song ‘Lost Again’ from the game The Callisto Protocol.
Mercer hit the stage with a warm, chatty presence, whilst also presenting a set of passionate, soulful vocals much appealing to the likes of Hozier and George Ezra. The fusion of soulful pop with elements of alt-indie created a unique set filled with emotion and storytelling for each song.
With impressive stage presence and natural charisma to stir up the crowd, the solo-artist provided relatable lyricism in his set, including the song ‘Petals,’ that questions if his feelings were being reciprocated, and ‘Waves’ that has a similar level of relatability. ‘One In A Million’ brought a more melancholic feel, laced with sad yet moving lyrics which formed an ethereal atmosphere with the audience holding up torchlights on their phones.
An additional highlight was the acoustic cover of Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Please, Please, Please’ where Mercer displayed his majestic vocal range before closing the set with ‘Carry Me Home’ and ‘Never Be You’. Three backup singers accompanied Mercer in delivering the closing tracks, which added beautiful vocal layering and emotional depth.
With a sold-out debut headline tour across Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester, Kerr Mercer is without a doubt one to watch in the up-and-coming music scene this year.
