Holly Rose Webber
Harrogate, United Kingdom | Established. Jan 01, 2012
Music
Press
Holly Rose Webber, Blues Bar, Harrogate Sunday night in the Blues Bar is a good night for great music. This last Sunday was no exception with a rare performance from one of Harrogate’s finest singer songwriters Holly Rose Webber and her band made up of the best local artists, many headliners in their own right, including Dan Mizen (drums), Frank Mizen (pedal steel), Pete Oliver (bass), Rob Reynolds (guitar and vocals) and Phil Dean (lead guitar). Holly’s music is classic solid country rock with influences from legends such as Presley, Fleetwood Mac, Eagles and Aerosmith. It’s easy to hear and feel that sound coming through her songs, especially in the beautiful yet haunting title track from her debut album Sparkle & Fade. Performing a mixture of her own perfectly crafted songs such as Angel Eyes, the toe tapping Love Ain’t Enough, check out the video on YouTube, and the stunning Let Love Go, the strength of her lyrics and the power and emotion of her voice has the packed bar hooked from the opening song. Rockier numbers Shame on You, written by her father Roy Webber, from legendary Harrogate band Wally, and the excellent song Turn The Page has the audience foot stamping along. The show is peppered with a handful of covers, a unique and haunting ballad version of the Elvis hit song Suspicious Minds takes and Say You Love Me by Fleetwood Mac are bold and confidently performed. The star cover song of the evening was the brilliant Steve Miller classic Rock ‘n’ Me which Holly and the band played with sublime perfection, especially of note was the brilliant lead guitar of Phil Dean. As the show closes the applause is enthusiastic, deafening and well deserved. Watching Holly Rose Webber and her band perform in the confines of Blues Bar its easy to believe that she will soon be sparkling on bigger stages.
Read more at: http://www.harrogateadvertiser.co.uk/whats-on/music/live-review-holly-webber-wows-blues-bar-in-harrogate-1-7325302 - Harrogate Advertiser
Thanks to a brilliantly designed Americana-esque backdrop, a tasteful array of minor props and great lighting, the stage in Knaresborough's character-packed Frazer Theatre looks a million dollars. Which is appropriate. It's there to put the spotlight on the talents of a potentially million dollar singer. Harrogate's blond siren Holly Rose Webber doesn't play that often; her's is a talent to nature carefully, so this sold out Saturday night show is a special one. She's always been a wonderful singer but Holly has come on leaps and bounds as a performer since I last saw her in a packed little Blues Bar in Harrogate. Her voice was amazing back then but her stagecraft is starting to mature, too. The personal in-between song introductions, the postures and shapes as she sings, her rapport with her backing musicians. . . This Knaresborough venue comes ready-steeped in classic old skool atmosphere which tends to produce classic old skool performances by whoever is on stage. But they don't come more classic or old skool than Holly Rose Webber and her wonderful band of Rob Reynolds (acoustic guitar/vocals), Frank Mizen (pedal steel), Phil Dean (electric guitar), Ian Wallace (bass) and (Dan Mizen drums). The covers tonight are skilfully arranged and fit seemlessly into Holly's no-nonsense, slightly 1970s rock-country feel - Elvis, the Steve Miller Band. But Holly's self-penned material is just as good, whether the two impressive news songs from her forthcoming second album or gems like Love Ain't Enough from brilliant debut album Sparkle and Fade. Legendary broadcaster Bob Harris loves Holly's music enough to have booked her for his exciting new roots festival Under the Apple Tree next month - and no wonder. Tough but tender, straight to the point but with sensitivity and soul, these are big-hearted songs full of melody but no cheese sung by someone who oozes honesty. There's an impressively steely, tasteful core to Holly, her songs and her band - Janis Joplin if she hadn't been such a mess trying to compete with all those boys shredding their vocal cords. The only doubts remaining are her over own self-belief. With so few gigs under her belt, she is possibly still not firing fully on all cylinders But what an exciting thought that is. She'a already a class act but Holly Rose Webber is still not as good as she is going to get. Wow. When she does realise just how good she is, world watch out! - Knaresborough Post
Plenty of artists from a ‘rock’ background have made the pilgrimage to the home of country music since Bob Dylan’s classic 1969 album Nashville Skyline.
But few ‘unsigned’ British singers have gone across to work with a Grammy Award-winner.
Harrogate’s Holly Rose Webber has returned after recording several tracks with top producer Ray Kennedy, a man who has truly done it all.
Holly said: “I’ve never worked to hard in my life but it was worth every second.
“Nashville was so fantastic. I had the best time. It was really full-on. I didn’t leave the studio the whole time I was there.”
Holly travelled to Nashville with her musician father Roy, her musical mentor Frank Mizen, my mentor, her regular producer Dan Mizen and Jake Peppiate, a talented camera man and director who was making a film of the trip.
It proved to be a busy week as Ray passed on some of his wisdom and put Holly through her paces with the cream of Nashville’s musicians.
Holly said: “We had seven days to record a five-track EP which we did successfully and the songs sound great.
“Ray records using the most incredible vintage equipment in order to capture a real and pure sound.
“All the takes were done live as he doesn’t believe in auto tune but, in doing so, he really captured the emotion and live feel.
“He also really understands the art of songwriting. He’s a perfectionist, He’s been inspirational to me.”
Ray himself has been impressed with heartfelt singer-songwriter Holly.
Ray said: “Holly Rose Webber is a very strong willed and powerful singer. She has a distinctive sound and pours loads of emotion into her songs that come from real life experiences. I know Holly will be a successful because she has the talent, the passion and an amazing desire to be a significant recording artist and entertainer.”
All has gone so well, in fact, that Holly has been invited back to Nashville to work again with Ray.
She is currently working on her second album at Warehouse Recording Studio in Harrogate. - Harrogate Advertiser
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England in 1987, Holly Rose Webber fell under the influence of bands such as Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, the Small Faces, Gram Parsons, Jackson Browne and The Rolling Stones from a very early age. This, coupled with the influence of her Father (he was the singer in the psychedelic rock band Wally in the 1970s who were signed to Atlantic Records) meant it was no surprise that these voices influenced her decision to become a singer.
Being the only girl out of six brothers, she was raised and educated on rock and roll, soul, country, blues and everything in between. She spent her adolescence in and out of the studio dabbling in her own song writing and producing a couple of EPs. After finishing school and graduating from Leeds University with honours in Law, she decided to try her luck with the property market in Central London and moved to Notting Hill, selling multi-million pound properties throughout the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
In 2012 she began writing songs for her debut album “Sparkle & Fade” and in 2013 she left her career in London and moved back to the beloved motherland of Harrogate. Surrounding herself with some of Harrogate’s most talented musicians- all of whom are lifelong friends- she continued to write and build material for her album. It started off as a project, a bit of fun, but having played the demos to some very influential people in the music industry it became clear that it was a real opportunity to showcase her talent and Holly Rose Webber was born.
In 2013 she shot her first music videos for the single “Love Ain’t Enough” and her cover of the ever-popular Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds”. In 2014 BBC Introducing selected the track “Love Ain’t Enough” twice and invited the band in to do a live session in August 2015. The track “Shame on You” has also been selected and aired by BBC Introducing and played on BBC Radio 2 by Bob Harris. Holly Rose has had a couple of very successful trips to Nashville, where she recently met with one of the hottest producer’s in Nashville, Ray Kennedy (five time Grammy Award winner) and Joe Brown. Holly has just finished recording her EP in Nashville with Ray Kennedy. Her latest track, "Heartbreaker" has just been selected as Record of the Week by BBC Introducing and has recently aired on Radio 2 by Bob Harris.
Band Members
Links
