Live at the Piece Hall, Hollie Cook, e The Skints

Hollie Cook hails from West London, and comes from musical roots with her Dad being Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols. She found solace in music from Marc Bolan, David Bowie and The Cure, and has been fascinated by arts from a young age having gotten into professional acting, singing and modeling. One day she decided that all of those performing arts just weren’t for her and found her way into performing on her own from a family friend called Ari Up, whom she sang backing vocals for.

I had the chance to go and see this songstress perform in her hometown, London UK, where she performed a set that was heavily reggae inspired. She worked the crowd fantastically, getting the audience involved in dancing and singing exerts of the song back to her. The whole vibe was just so fun, and it was a real party atmosphere. Backed by such an all star band of fantastic musicians, it is no wonder that everyone was having the best time throughout her set.

Music is an art form that has the ability to evoke a number of different emotions on the same album. Whether it makes you feel sad, brave, joyous, hopeful or reflective, something is conjured up when you press play. Amongst these emotions, ultimately music should make us feel good, happy and care free.

The Skints are a band who certainly evoke those feel good vibes and in a country that can often come across as very miserable, these Londoners help bring that ever so needed ray of sunshine to the often dreary feeling of London Town.

Combining reggae, ska, dub, hip hop and punk music to create their sound, The Skints have bought back the happy factor and it was a pleasure to see them at The Hackney Weekender.

From covers to their own material including ‘Rise Up’ and ‘Cost of Living’, they really know to conduct and control the crowd. With the audience swaying side to side and hands raised, The Skints introduced the BBC Hackney Weekender in perfect fashion and tenacity, but what’s a reggae group without a tribute to some reggae heavyweights? The Skints covered tracks by Dawn Penn and the infamous Bob Marley, and with them being back again in the UK towards the end of the year, don’t let the cold weather stop you from getting a ticket, there’s always sunshine with The Skints.