Review | South Specific - After the event party at The Wedgewood Rooms: 'Delivered a gloriously eclectic mix'

An update, South Specific 2020 was released last year as a triple-CD package featuring the original album alongside 36 tracks from modern acts.

The event delivered a gloriously eclectic mix of nine bands delivering everything from high-energy punk riffs, power quartets and dirty rock and roll, to deliciously dark gothic post-punk and an instrumental garage/spy-fi surf four piece, to a ‘post-lockdown’ music-starved crowd that just lapped it up.

Headliners The Stayawakes, a south coast quartet, were greeted at 11pm for the final set of the evening by a still energetic crowd with many of the attendees having spent the full eight hours at the venue to support the event.

The single Lovestruck from their recently released album Pop Dreamz went down especially well with the crowd.

Rock and Roll was represented in force by The Glorias whose tag line ‘Rock and Roll so dirty you need to take a shower’ needed no explaining once they were on stage and managed to get the entire venue on their feet, singing to their catchy choruses.

Special mention too for drummer Den Barry taking on the task of frontman with aplomb while regular lead vocalist Gerard Driffield is temporarily side-lined.

Paul Groovy and the Pop Art Experience made good on a 24 year relationship with not only being audibly on point, but a sight for the eyes too, high-energy moves and amazing stage dress made this one of the hit sets of the evening.

And it was all in aid of Tonic – Music for Mental Health, a Portsmouth-based charity that raises mental health awareness, challenging stigma and promoting wellbeing through music and the arts,

A fantastic event and so nice to see life being breathed back into the Pompey music scene.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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