Southeast Sessions.

This was the second month in a row that I have attended the Southeast Sessions at St Richard’s Church, and I will probably be going to quite a few in the future. The Southeast Sessions are acoustic sessions featuring amateur, up-and-coming, and established professional songwriting artists, showcasing and demoing their talent and original songs.

The quality varies, but it’s apparent that they all have talent.

Last month, the Artists were Brooke Law, Lawrence O, Maria Mihalik and Owen Morgan.

Brooke Law’s talent is outstanding, and she already has several albums and awards to her name.

October’s lineup: Owen Morgan, Brooke Law, Laurence O and Maria Mihalik.

This month, November, we had the talents of Florence Sommerville, Ben Lawrence, Luke Catley and Owen Morgan.

Florence Sommerville

Ben Lawrence

Luke Catley

Owen Morgan

Once again, it was the girl who was the brightest talent with awards to her name in the country music scene.  Both Florence and Ben have recorded singles to their names.

Luke is usually the sound technician at these sessions, but this month he was on stage.  He is currently studying a university course in songwriting as a mature student.

The Sessions are set up and organised by local Charlton man Owen Morgan, who hosts most of the shows.

The first time my wife and I attended one of these sessions, we were sitting there waiting for the show to start when we caught sight, out of the corner of our eye, a gentleman heading towards us wearing a very large crucifix.

My very first thought was Oh no, we are about to be accosted by the vicar who will harass us with God squad speak.

I, being a devout atheist, dreaded these conversations. Still, I needn’t have worried, as it turned out he was Owen Morgan, the organiser, who had just noticed a few new faces and wanted to introduce himself and welcome the new session viewers. It turns out, he’s a very nice bloke.

They have a very rudimentary bar, which is essentially just a hatch into the kitchen, serving a small selection of bottled beers, wines, and soft drinks.  The drinks are not cheap, but then again, the church is always looking for ways to generate a charitable profit.

I would highly recommend these sessions if you’re interested in encouraging new songwriting talent or simply looking for something to do midweek.

The ticketing for this event is somewhat unusual.  They have a ‘pay what you think the show is worth’ policy, with a recommended price of about £13. I personally think £13 is more than reasonable. However, how can you possibly judge if an event is worth the ticket value until you see the actual act? I personally think it is worth the recommended ticket price.