Since its launch eight years ago, Song Suffragettes has become a must-see for many visitors to Nashville. The all-female writers’ round has seen over 300 alumni pass through the door of The Listening Room, with many of them going onto recording or publishing deals including the likes of Carly Pearce, Kelsea Ballerini and Ashley McBryde. Now, after a hugely successful trip across the pond for Country Music Week, Song Suffragettes has set up a permanent base in the UK at London’s Camden Club on the first Wednesday of each month.
The inaugural show took place last night, featuring UK acts Vic Allen (who hosted the evening), Hannah Rose Platt and Peri Rae, alongside Nashville resident Jordyn Mallory. I thought all four of them had a great vibe together on stage, telling the stories behind their songs, cracking jokes and bigging each other up – there was one particularly memorable early exchange about refusing to apologise – as well as sympathising over things like mastering TikTok. The interaction between the artists is one of the things I love most about Song Suffragettes and I thought they all bounced off each other really well.
Mallory kicked off the show with ‘Never Could Have Dreamed You Better’, a song she originally released as part of her duo Tupelo Honey. I was really impressed by the soulful edge to her voice, as well as the belt and power she showed off. That said, she also had more emotional moments in her set, including the bittersweet ‘Separate Ways’ (previously recorded by none other than Kip Moore), and ‘Tell Me Something I Don’t Know’, a breakup ballad which tugged at the heartstrings. For her final track, she performed ‘Damn Boy’, a playful number which had gone viral after it was covered by Christina Taylor. I came away feeling really impressed and excited to hear more from her in future.
That said, the British artists were certainly not to be outdone. Vic Allen drew on the loss of a situationship in the wistful, delicate ‘Pictures Of Us’, whilst singing of the struggles of walking away from a relationship in ‘I Can’ – which paired a rollicking, poppy melody with a clever take on the breakup song – and ‘Jealous’, with its you-couldn’t-make-it-up inspiration, as well as a refreshing sense of frankness. Her standout song for me was new single ‘Suitcase’, with its jangly melody and nostalgic lyrics dreaming of being back on the road. It had a lovely uplifting quality to it and I liked the slightly husky tone to her vocal which gave the song a great balance – there’s a sort of Michelle Branch-esque feel to it that particularly resonated with me.
Meanwhile, Hannah Rose Platt took a very different tack for her four songs, choosing to focus on spookiness and storytelling. I adored her opening track, the haunting ‘Chanel And Cigarettes’, with its startlingly vivid characters and lingering atmosphere, whilst ‘Yellow Roses’ was a lovely, emotional tribute to her late grandparents full of rich details and dreamy, sweet vocals. Her final song, ‘Dead Man On The G Train’, was a highlight of the whole show for me, with its dark, unsettling feel, brilliantly constructed characters and killer twist at the end – I can’t wait to hear a full version soon!
One thing that really stands out to me about many of the songs played at Song Suffragettes shows is they often touch on topics you don’t hear much of in mainstream country music. That was certainly the case for Peri Rae, who covered everything from the end of a toxic friendship in ‘My Heartbreak Makes You Glad’ to an ex-partner who encouraged her to pursue her dreams in the tender, touching ‘Wild Flower’, via the appropriately moving new track ‘Sad Song’. For me the standout from her set – and perhaps the whole show – was ‘The Coffee Girl’, about her decision to leave behind her barista job in London to pursue her music career full time. She really brought the characters of her regulars to life and her sweet, plaintive tones sounded absolutely gorgeous.
As is traditional for Song Suffragettes, the show concluded with a cover from all four performers, and they picked Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti Hero’. I thought their voices blended together brilliantly and they handled the song’s vocal trickery well too. It proved a strong end to a triumphant evening and the audience clearly loved it, bursting into applause and whoops as they drew the track to a close.
Overall Song Suffragettes’ first resident show in London was a big success, highlighting the amazing talent UK country has to offer and showing that our artists can compete with those in the US, as well as showcasing the fantastic songwriting skills of our female artists. As speaker Sophie Daniels of the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance mentioned before the show, just 14 per cent of major songwriters are female – something which Song Suffragettes seeks to change. With powerful writing and performances like this, hopefully it won’t be long before we see these shows having an impact on the wider music world. Long may it continue!
Set list: 1. Never Could Have Dreamed You Better (performed by Jordyn Mallory) 2. Pictures Of Us (performed by Vic Allen) 3. Chanel And Cigarettes (performed by Hannah Rose Platt) 4. My Heartbreak Makes You Glad (performed by Peri Rae) 5. Separate Ways (performed by Jordyn Mallory) 6. I Can (performed by Vic Allen) 7. Yellow Roses (performed by Hannah Rose Platt) 8. The Coffee Girl (performed by Peri Rae) 9. Tell Me Something I Don’t Know (performed by Jordyn Mallory) 10. Jealous (performed by Vic Allen) 11. 1954 (performed by Hannah Rose Platt) 12. Sad Song (performed by Peri Rae) 13. Damn Boy (performed by Jordyn Mallory) 14. Suitcase (performed by Vic Allen) 15. Dead Man On The G Train (performed by Hannah Rose Platt) 16. Wild Flower (performed by Peri Rae) 17. Anti Hero (Taylor Swift cover) (performed by Jordyn Mallory, Vic Allen, Hannah Rose Platt and Peri Rae) Performance date: 2nd November 2022
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