The Hargreaves Project at The Albert Hall - Photo by Daniel Whiston Photography
With their latest EP Existing, The Hargreaves took to the Albert Hall alongside the Robin Hood Youth Orchestra and a year five choir from Milford Academy that they have been working with over the past few months. The Hargreaves Project has had a lot going off behind the scenes, and this was the big finale.
Joy Mumford - Photo by Daniel Whiston Photography
Joy Mumford started the musical side of the night with a short but sweet set filled with folky goodness. As one of her first gigs with her new band, the performance was very powerful. Joy has a beautiful voice, and is very talented in her own right, but her new band add an entirely new dimension to her sound, and output something very powerful. Bearing in mind how big the Albert Hall is, her sound managed to fill the room, as well as most of the hallways too; and anyone who was in sounds reach is surely still singing a few of those melodies now.
Throughout the night, the Robin Hood Youth Orchestra performed several arrangements of popular songs such as Feeling Good and Skyfall, all of which were incredible to watch. If they weren't in plain view, you would have no idea how young they were because they sounded like they'd been refining their sound for years.
The Golden Troubadours - Photo by Daniel Whiston Photography
Next up were The Golden Troubadours, a band who fitted in perfectly with the venue. With a chilled, almost dreamlike acoustic pop sound, within the first few songs they had the audience hooked on every word. The band were very skilled in the art of layering instruments to make a truly unique sound, with the whole band coming together to create a beautiful sonic backdrop for vocalist Matthew's voice. Their last song, Road of Bones, was something very special to witness. The only thing I can compare it to - and this is a compliment, in my book - is that it was like a Westlife, stand up off stool moment, but credible. Considering they ran out of EPs after their performance, I'd say it wasn't just me that was impressed.
The Hargreaves - Photo by Daniel Whiston Photography
The Hargreaves then took to the stage and powered straight into two brand new songs from their EP Existing with the help of their band. The sisters both have great pop voices, but I was honestly blown away by the range that they showed during the performance. They're masters at harmonising, yes, but when either of them took to the stage to do their own thing, they both showed incredible vocal range and great control.
After a very faithful cover of Fleetwood Mac's Dreams, the Milford Academy Choir and the Robin Hood Youth Orchestra both joined in with the sisters for a very moving performance of Falling. This was the Milford Academy first on stage performance, and despite how nervous they must have been, they absolutely smashed it.
The Milford Choir and The Robin Hood Youth Orchestra - Photo by Daniel Whiston Photography
The big moment of the night was of course, saved for the end. The charity single Existing was performed alongside the RHYO and the Milford Academy choir, and it was very powerful. A lot of work has been put into the whole project, but you could tell that this was the moment that everyone had been waiting for. As the opening latin-esque guitar riff got things going, the girls joined either side of the choir and bursted into a huge harmonisation that is still in my head today. The choir started to sway, and we realised that we were a part of the coolest school assembly ever.
The kids seemed overjoyed to be on stage, and as they looked across to their families in the hall it must have been a truly special moment for them. Surrounded by tons of incredibly proud parents, as the RHYO finished us off with a rendition of Car Wash we all had time to reflect on what had been a very special night. The lyrics to Existing say, "life is for living, not just existing", and I'm pretty happy to say, this project has certainly made a lot of youngsters believe that. With great performances from all parties invlolved, this was a true representation of an incredible project; I look forward to seeing what they do next.
The Hargreaves Project took place at The Albert Hall on Thursday 1 May 2014.
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