North Carolina native Kameron Marlowe first rose to fame after his YouTube videos were spotted by a talent recruiter for The Voice. He made it to the Top 24 on the show before moving to Nashville to start his songwriting career, releasing his debut single ‘Giving You Up' in 2019.
This year, after several successful tours – and a trip to the UK last year for C2C – he released his sophomore album ‘Keepin' The Lights On', the follow-up to 2020's ‘We Were Cowboys'. Here's a little spoiler we can reveal right now – when we release our ‘Top 20 Albums of the Year' next week, ‘Keepin' the Lights On' will be in the top 3! So, it's safe to say we were looking forward to seeing Marlowe in London at the Electric Ballroom.
It's fair to say Marlowe didn't disappoint, giving a performance of passion and power in front of a boisterous and enthusiastic crowd who sang along to the hits and who were also as raucous and as engaged throughout the deep cuts and album tracks too. Opening with a triple-shot of great songs, Marlowe showed from the off what a powerful tool his vocals are but it was during ‘Sober as a Drunk' that the first big singalong happened, with the crowd dancing and hollering at the top of the combined lungs! The stage set was simple, with some effective lighting and good interplay between the members of the band.
‘God damn you, London,' Marlowe explained at the end of ‘Sober as a Drunk,' clearly impressed with what he'd just seen and heard before launching into the very bluesy ‘Ain't Enough Whiskey.' One of Marlowe'd guitar players doubled up as a fiddle guy and his first moment in the sun arrived during the very funky, Charles Kelley-penned ‘Tennessee Don't Mind,' which was followed by the heartfelt ‘Never Really Know.' These songs combined highlight the strength and depth of Marlowe's second album, ‘Keepin the Lights On,' and shine a light on the artistic development that has happened to him between albums one and two.
The fiddle stayed front and centre for ‘Tequila Talkin' which elicited another big response from this Tuesday night party crowd in London, much to Marlowe's delight. ‘Giving You Up,' meanwhile, saw the crowd take over completely for a song that is much meatier, much more expansive live than in its recorded form, something that I think could be said for all the songs from Marlowe's ‘We Were Cowboys' album that were aired last night.
Some mid-section covers were handily placed and skilfully delivered too. ‘Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) was just as raucous a song in Marlowe's hands as it would have been in Big ‘n' Rich's whilst both ‘Livin on a Prayer' and ‘Burning House' saw Marlowe front and centre with an acoustic guitar and nothing else – both songs were heartily appreciated by the London choir and expertly delivered in stripped back form by an artist well in their stride, enjoying themselves and very grateful to be in front of such an appreciative crowd. When an artist connects with a crowd at a live venue in the way that Marlowe did with London last night, there's a real symbiotic vibe and terrific feeling in the room that is a joy to be a a part of.
The third and final part of the set began with the very anthemic ‘I Can Run' which was followed by a spirited cover of Teddy Swims' ‘Lose Control' that, once again, shone a light on what a powerful voice Kameron Marlowe has. A double whammy hit of ‘Girl on Fire' and ‘Burn ‘Em All' brought this sweaty, impassioned and powerful set to a close in suitably anthemic fashion before a second double whammy hit of ballads in the encore closed it down for good. ‘Broke Down in a Truck' is a monster ballad, perhaps the best one released by a mainstream Country artist in 2024, and so it was a real treat to see Marlowe encore with it, initially sitting on the drum riser to deliver the first verse before the power and passion of the song brought him to his feet.
Kameron Marlowe may not be the showiest artist. He may not be the most attention grabbing or noisiest voice in the room but his quiet confidence and gruff, powerful vocals are what make him stand out in a genre a little too full of wannabes and Morgan Wallen mini-me's right now. He stalked the stage like a man possessed in London, orchestrating the crowd with some aplomb, encouraging them (although this crowd didn't really need any encouraging!) to sing and dance their hearts out: which they duly did.
The set was skilfully planned, with a nice ebb and flow to it. There were big moments and quiet moments. Times to sing and dance and times to stand and watch Marlowe at work. It's important to remember that he is still an emerging and developing artist and still not the finished deal – so when he ended ‘Never Really Know' with the words ‘that's enough of this depressing shit,' it might be worth considering whether that was an appropriate end to what is his most tender, meaningful song, his ‘Whiskey Lullaby' and a song that easily has the potential to connect with a lot of people and be a monster hit in 2025! Slight mis-steps aside, this was a powerful performance from a man with a powerful set of lungs and a powerful mix of songs across a wide emotional spectrum. ‘Keepin' the Lights On' has added some depth and nuance to what he'd introduced the world to on ‘We Were Cowboys' and it was great to catch Kameron Marlowe at a stage in his career where both albums were so plentifully represented in his live set because if he keeps growing as an artist on albums three and four he's going to have to make some hard set list choices in the years to come. Hearts and minds were truly won over in London last night and the foundations well and truly laid for a return visit from an ‘artist on fire' with ‘nothing slowin' him down.'
Setlist: 1. 911 2. Over Now 3. Nothin' Slowin' Us Down 4. Sober as a Drunk 5. Ain't Enough Whiskey 6. Tennessee Don't Mind 7. Never Really Know 8. Tequila Talkin' 9. Steady Heart 10. Giving You Up 11. Leaning on You 12. Lock Me Up 13. Save a Horse 14. Keepin' the Lights On 15. Livin on a Prayer 16. Burning House 17. I Can Run 18. Lose Control 19. Girl on Fire 20. Burn ‘Em All 21. Broke Down in a Truck 22. Strangers Date: 17th December Venue: Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, UK
