13 December 2012 Gazette 19
Gazette
MUSIC singer-songwriter: rising star of Lewis Watson
It’s elementary, my dear Watson Paul Hosford
IN the pantheon of musical stories it is not, perhaps, one that is that well worn. Young man makes an EP with his music teacher, the EP goes viral, sells a load of copies, goes to number one on iTunes and young man picks up a record deal. Aside from not being that well-worn, it is not that well known, either. Yet. L e w i s Wa t s o n , a
2 0 - y e a r- o l d f r o m Oxford is the latest in the stable of earnest, guitar-weilding singersongwriters. His English twang, soft lyrics and lovesick lyrics make him a comparison to Ed Sheeran. The fact that people are dubbing him a successor to Sheeran’s c r ow n a s t h e U K ’s number one overly-literal singer/songwriter says more about expectations for Sheeran than Watson, if you ask me but, I digress.
Wa t s o n h a s b e e n spending the last number of months travelling across Europe with a host of acts, including Swords natives Kodaline, with whom he packed The Button Factor y last week. There, Watson held his own in front of a crowd turning out for hometown heroes, no mean feat for a twentyyear-old and his guitar. Of course, it is easy for Watson to capture the imagination of a crowd
because his songs are so well crafted and his voice is easy-listening defined. After the release of his May 2012 breakthrough It’s Got 4 Sad Songs On It BT W, Watson released Another Four Sad Songs, a follow-up EP, in October. It is the eight songs on the two releases that have seen him tipped, right along with his touring mates, as one of the acts to watch in 2013. On the evidence so
Lewis Watson is tipped for big things in 2013, including a headline date in Dublin
far, it is hard to argue the label. A g r ow i n g o n l i n e following, a winsome voice and songs that are about as commercially friendly as they come. Watson has to be considered one of the UK’s
fasted rising stars and with backing from the aforementioned Sheeran, Zane Lowe and a tour to look forward to, he may well turn out to be a major talent. The songs on his two EPs show major poten-
tial, particularly Sink or Swim, which comes from Another Four Sad Songs. Watson will follow up his Button Factory slot with a headline show at the Academy 2 on March 22, tickets are €8.20.