BWHudson Taylor played their biggest show yet with a headline slot at Whelan’s. Having supported the likes of Jake Bugg and Dropkick Muphys recently, the band are ready to step up to a bigger stage, and a sold-out crowd is testament to the band’s growing popularity. Little Bear were the first support act, and were impressive, slotting into the same genre as Hudson Taylor themselves with strong vocals, sweet melodies and powerful basslines that gave the songs that extra bit of oomph. The band successfully engaged with the crowd, encouraging them to sing along on their set highlight Few and Far Between, and were lively and keen on stage. Rosie Carney graced the stage next, with her delicate voice and wispy, dreamy guitars generating a haunting sound, but failed to attract the attention of the crowd, who conversed loudly throughout the performance. She also performed an incredibly unusual version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, that was strangely moving, but the crowd’s response to her performance was somewhat underwhelming.

Hudson Taylor opened with Drop In The Ocean and were welcomed with a huge roar from the crowd. The group really thrived on the atmosphere, and they wore huge grins the whole night. Their sound centres on the guitar playing and harmonious singing of the Hudson-Taylor brothers Alfie and Harry, but the backing band really help fill out the sound. Weapons was a beautiful, goosebump-inducing number with the violin adding to the tenderness of the song. On Left Alone the band tried something different, performing without microphones and with just one guitar. This stripped back effect worked reasonably well, creating a delicate atmosphere, but the boys voices were drowned out by the crowd during the chorus, with some enthusiastic members of the crowd working in their own harmonies.

The band kept the standard up throughout the night, with top-quality tunes like Déjà vu coming thick and fast throughout the show. The band have a varied back catalogue, including soft, slow delicate tracks while also having faster more up-beat ones. This versatility emphasises the brothers’ excellent song-writing capabilities. The boys gave a shout out for their mother’s birthday, much to the approval of the ever-adoring crowd. Cinematic Lifestyle was the last number before the encore and was yet another track featuring the wonderful harmonies that are the trademark of the group.

The band returned with a wonderfully uplifting cover of Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel, an artist the band owe a lot to musically speaking. This was followed up by the brilliant Battles, the band’s performance of the night. The band really got into this one, feeling every beat and every word. A cover of Eminem’s Lose Yourself was the final track, and they put an interesting twist on the song, making it much more uplifting than the original. The crowd went wild for it though, as they did for every song throughout the show. Hudson Taylor proved themselves to be a very exciting act, and their announcement that they’ve signed a record deal comes as no surprise.