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Well, well, well (three holes in the ground), I wasn’t expecting this! It’s Friday night, the horrors of four days without a gig are finally behind me, and I’m festering in my happy place at The Junction in Plymouth, quietly sucking on a Hobgoblin… hey, keep it clean!

Suddenly, my ears detect incoming talent, and my head does a quick 180, something my doctor has previously warned me about!

Tonight’s openers, Lilly Thomas and Nay, have already mesmerised us with their vocal delights and we are still looking forward to headliners Each Other, but right now, standing in splendid isolation on the stage is a young guy with an acoustic guitar, a setup I’ve seen a million times before, but this time there’s something special going on.

I immediately feel as though I’ve been plonked in a front row seat at The X Factor, when one of those surprise acts comes on that shuts the rabble up and silences the
judges.

Olly Skinner is a local lad who only needs six strings and his voice to stop people dead in their tracks. There are obvious signs of a busking background here, and that means we’re dealing with someone who has probably already seen the worst that audiences have to offer. Tonight’s crowd though, have obviously come to see their unassuming local hero in action, and they are hanging on every note that tumbles off the stage.

Seeing as I’m not expecting to review anyone tonight, I’m completely unprepared for this and haven’t even spoken to Skinner, so I have no idea whether or not he has any proper voice training behind him.
Some people though, just have pure natural talent, and I’m thinking that may well be the case here. Either way, the control he has over his vocal delivery is really superb and he makes it all seem totally effortless. Indeed, he is so comfortable on stage, he makes you feel as though you’re just sitting in his flat having a coffee, while he plays out a few tunes on the old six-string.

He chats to his audience as though they’re old friends, and with an easy-going smile and a glint in his eye, he proceeds to casually knock song after song out of the park. Especially notable is his beautifully re-imagined cover of Prince’s “When Doves Cry”, which probably could have charted in its own right if only old “Squiggle” hadn’t got there first.

According to his Spotify bio, Skinner already has an appearance at Ruckus 2025 under his belt and has previously opened for Colour TV here at The Junction - I’m not sure how I missed that! He cites Sam Fender, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen as his musical influences, and personally, I reckon they would each be proud to have him opening for them.
There is no written set list to be had, and when I later ask him for one, he simply points to his head and says, “It’s all in here mate!”

Cool dude or what?

Richard Hayward

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