MATEUSZ

A jazz pianist at ONSA…brilliant! He was too. Subtle touch, great groove - it was all there. This cool customer (from Poland) got the evening off to a really classy start. He’ll be back.

FINCH

Finch was pretty good at previous ONSA events, however, this performance showed a great leap forward. ‘In Your Room’ was classy and original, most excellent. She also made a good job of ‘Take Your Momma Out’ (Scissor Sisters song). We reckon she should add a percussionist to her act…just a thought?

RICHARD HINGLEY

An assertive and strident performance from this ONSA first-timer. Tonight we had ‘Questions and Answers’, ‘Together’ and ‘Rocking In The Free World’…which went down a storm!

CLAIRE McAULEY

Now a staunch ONSA favourite. ‘Brookline’ had a great ambience. Every crystal clear word pure quality. You can’t fail to be drawn in by her performance. ‘Nameless’ and a nice cover of ‘Oh Bla Di O Bla Da’ completed another sparkling set.

MIDNIGHT RIDER

Although a rock band really, they cut it pretty damn good unplugged. ‘Don’t Let The World Come Undone’ is a good song as is ‘Let You Go’. Steve’s bass/vocal combination on ‘100mph’ is awesome. This was really good stuff & well appreciated by the crowd.

CHRIS REED

This kiwi’s first time at ONSA. He’s an accomplished writer with songs that ebb and flow with a hint of Damien Rice. ‘Stay With Me’ was the pick of the bunch. And, he proved that bringing a bunch of fans doesn’t half give you an advantage! Well done.

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GILL HOLDSWORTH

She’s bright and sparkles with talent does Gill. She lit-up the night with a brilliant trio of acoustic instrumental masterpieces including U2’s ‘With or Without You’ . Awesome - she brought the house down.

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LINDSAY WEST

She’s soulful, a bit quirky (and we like that) and entertaining! We just had to squeeze her into tonight’s event for a couple of quick numbers. Sort of Sinnead O’Connor meets Bjork?

JIM KELLEHER

Another instrumental acoustic master class from one of the arch-exponents of the art. Threw in a plucky (!) version of ‘Feels Like A Teen Spirit’, but ‘Twist’ was even better.

BIKINI BLACK SPECIAL

More driving gutsy guitar ably accompanied by carefully selected percussion from this duo tonight. Highlights were ‘Heaven’s Gate’ and ‘Midnight Train’ delivered with a bit of ‘Van Morrison–esque’ swagger and style.

CONCEPT

Final act of the night produced another good performance from Simon and gang. ‘My Stupid Sacrifice’ (assisted by Alice on Keys) plus 2 songs from the full line-up. There’s some good material here, particularly ‘Hero of My Song’ and Simon ably assisted by the rest of the musicians has the charm and charisma to pull it off. The flute is a nice touch too. A confident end to another good ONSA.